Theological Truth: Following Jesus means more than admiring or observing him; it means accepting his invitation to walk with him in his way of Love.
When I was growing up, our next-door neighbor was an airline pilot. I can remember him arriving home in his cool car, wearing his cool pilot’s uniform, and of course, those cool aviator sunglasses. He and his wife didn’t have any children, so they traveled a lot, and I would cut their grass and check their mail while they were away.
To compensate for my efforts, he took me out flying in a small two-seater plane. What I remember most vividly about that experience was sitting next to him in the cockpit. After taking off and flying over Lake Pontchartrain and buzzing a couple of fishing boats, he said to me, “Why don’t you take the controls?” Excuse me?! This did not seem like a safe idea. But the “controls” were right in front of me – basically a second “steering wheel” that mirrored exactly whatever he did on his “steering wheel.” So after a few basic instructions, he let go and I assumed the controls. Terrifying and exhilarating!
Later, I learned two things. First, he never really fully let go. And second, the paired instruments guiding the plane aren’t called steering wheels, they’re called yokes. Not like the yellow part of an egg…but “yoke” like in the words we hear from Jesus: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me” and again, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” The yokes in that plane and the yoke of Jesus are about journeying together, walking together, working together. Yokes are about solidarity, not subjugation.
This is very different than the yokes that the early disciples wore. The Jewish people of first century Palestine were under the heel of their Roman overlords. A few religious elites had made their peace with the daily indignities of being a subjugated people. They enjoyed a modicum of comfort and privilege within the Roman occupation. But the vast majority of the people lived subjugated lives. They toiled under the constant threat of their Roman occupiers. They could not hope for justice. They could not escape the crushing demands of Roman taxation. They weren’t yoked with Rome; they were yoked by Rome for the benefit of the empire. That yoke was a soul-crushing and spirit-killing burden.
That’s why Jesus introduces his invitation with these comforting and familiar words, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” He understands the weight they’re carrying – physically, politically, spiritually, and financially. He also knows that the alternative yokes offered by others to either collaborate, withdraw, or violently rebel are not viable. God’s people are weary and need rest. They need a different yoke and a better partner.
So do we. Jesus knows the burdens we’re carrying. He sees the weariness in our faces. He knows we need the help of a different kind of yoke. Jesus offers an alternative way – the way of nonviolent, active resistance fueled by love and grounded in solidarity with God. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me,” he says, “for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” This is a very different kind of yoke – a yoke based on sharing rather than domination, gentleness rather than power, humility instead of arrogance.
When we accept this yoke, we choose to “walk in Love as Christ loved us and gave himself for us.” We receive the gift of God’s offer of solidarity. We are yoked with Christ, not by Christ. That’s why there’s rest for our souls. We don’t have to do this alone. That’s not how yokes work.
The yoke in farming terms is meant to harness together two or more oxen. The yoke makes them a team. When Jesus says, “My yoke is easy,” he doesn’t mean it isn’t difficult. He means it’s good and appropriate and suitable for the purpose intended. It’s not contrary to our nature. Being yoked with God is how we were made to live – united and connected with the ground of our being. Like a young ox that benefits from being paired with a wise, seasoned, strong, and patient partner, Christ invites us to take up his yoke, to learn from his gentle and humble heart, to walk with him step by step.
But let’s be honest about this. It’s still work – difficult and counter-cultural work. (Like I tell Shannon all the time, “I was built for comfort, not for speed…and not for hard work either.” There’s a reason I live in the city rather than on a farm!) Nevertheless, being yoked with Jesus means going where Love leads and doing what Love requires – things like welcoming, including, forgiving, sharing, learning, serving, trusting. We’re not carrying the weight alone, but we still have our share of lifting to do. And it’s not always easy.
Sally Mueller knows about both the promise of being yoked with Christ and the work that it requires. She and her husband Jim had to carry the burden of his leukemia diagnosis. You can imagine the emotional burden of that. Being yoked with Jesus didn’t avoid that reality or eliminate that pain. But that wasn’t the end of the story. Sally and Jim shouldered his illness with Jesus. How did they do that? Soon after the diagnosis, Karen Geary, wife of Trinity’s Associate Rector Bruce Geary, sent them a prayer by St. Francis de Sales. Sally says, “The prayer brought great consolation and faith that we were not alone in our journey.”
They experienced Christ sharing their load, yoked with them, walking with them, and lightening the burden of their grief. They found rest for their souls. Sally went on praying the prayer after Jim’s death, designing and producing a cross stitch of the prayer that now hangs in the Foster Room. These words remind us of what it means to share the yoke with Christ:
“Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow. The same God who loves and cares for you today, will love and care for you tomorrow and every day. Either he will shield you from suffering or he will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then, put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations and say continually, ‘The Lord is my shepherd, my strength, and my shield; my heart has trusted in him, and I am helped. He is not only with me, but in me and I in him.’”
We are all wearied by the changes and chances of this world. Whether our yoke is keeping up with the Khardashians, keeping up with the relentless pace of change, or just keeping up with our bills, we are all carrying heavy burdens. But we do not walk this way alone. A picture of that prayer is in your insert. Take it home and pray it daily to help you remember that you are not only yoked to Jesus, but you are also yoked with him. Take his yoke upon you and learn from him. For he is gentle and humble of heart. And he gives rest for our souls.
— Fr. AJ Heine, Rector, Trinity Episcopal Church of Staunton
Sixth Sunday After Pentecost, July 9, 2023
Readings: Zechariah 9:9-12; Psalm 145:8-15; Romans 7:15-25a; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
