I hope you and your family were able to enjoy a restful term break. As we step out of our holiday rhythms, it might feel like we are leaving the possibility of rest behind us as we look forward to a full term of worthwhile and productive activities ahead of us. Yet Jesus offers a compelling invitation to us who long to find rest in the midst of busy days. He says:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Jesus’ invitation to take up his yoke feels like a paradox doesn’t it? A yoke is a work instrument. His agrarian audience recognised a yoke as the wooden beam that bound two animals together and helped them to carry a load. It seems that Jesus is offering exactly what the weary don’t need. They need a freshly made bed or a holiday, not a way to work. But Jesus realises that the most restful gift he can give the tired is not an escape, but equipment: a fresh way to carry the weights of life.
As we take on his yoke, we find that the burdens he asks us to bear are lighter than we’re used to. He doesn’t ask us to bear the weights of the world; he holds those in his hands. Instead, when we step under Jesus’ yoke, we experience the lightness of living for love. What would you not do for love? There are things which I wouldn’t do for any amount of money, but I’ll do them for someone I love. When you follow Jesus’ way, the only burdens you need to carry are the ones that are motivated by love for him and love for others, and that takes kilos off the burden.
But most of all, Jesus’ burden is not one he asks you to bear alone. He walks in the yoke beside you. We know that ‘a burden shared is a burden halved’, and this is even more true when the burdens of life are shared with someone who is always approachable, endlessly compassionate, and supernaturally strong.
As we embark on a new term, my prayer is that everyone in the Meriden community would find this rest for their souls.