Coffee With God

Reflection: Matthew 11: 28-30

Jesus addresses those “who labour and are burdened” and promises rest. Indeed, He places Himself among them, because He carries the burden of the Cross. And in Chapter 16 we would also read, “If anyone wants to follow me, let him take up his cross and follow me” (Mt.16:24). The Cross of Jesus needs to be understood as his love for the humanity. He accepted the Cross not as a punishment, rather as the ultimate expression of love. The evangelist Matthew cleverly presents a distinction between the yoke of Jesus and the yoke of the Law. A yoke is a heavy, and panful piece of wood laid on the shoulders of an ox to pull the weight of the cart and to keep the ox on track, preventing it from straying away. The rabbis present the Law of Mosses as a yoke which helped the Israel from straying away from Yahweh. But as centuries have passed, the Law became an instrument for the priests, scribes and pharisees to oppress the ordinary people. Thus the Law became a burden. Through the words of Jesus, Matthew is addressing his fellow-Jews who are crushed under the heavy burdens of the yoke of the Mosaic Law. Under them, it was next to impossible not to put a foot wrong somewhere. The law demanded scrupulous observation of the tiniest obligation. It is to these people that Jesus offers a lighter yoke. William Barclay suggests that it was quite common to have double yokes when two animals pulled a vehicle together. Jesus is offering to share his yoke with us. He and I will pull together and he will share the burden with me. Jesus does not say that if we go to him that we will have no more troubles, no more pain, no more disappointments… There will be “yokes” to carry but Jesus offers to carry them with us. When children are so protected by doting parents that their every whim is answered and every negative feeling anticipated, what do we end up with? Spoiled brats. Jesus will not spoil us in that way. The challenges of life are necessary for us to grow and mature. But they are easier to bear when he carries them with us, when we know that we are never alone in our difficulties and sorrows. To follow Jesus is not to carry a great weight but to experience a great sense of liberation. If we have not found that experience yet then we are not yet carrying the yoke of Jesus.