Dec. 7, 2022 – Matthew 11:28-30
Despite what we sometimes hear, both the first reading and today’s Gospel remind us that our God is never far away, especially in difficult times. In the Gospel, Jesus makes a promise and an invitation, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus reiterates what Isaiah says, that we have a caring and tireless God who cares for his own: “I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is gentle and my burden is light.”
Jesus seems to be referring primarily to the burdens that the Mosaic Law, in the interpretation of the scribes and Pharisees, imposed on people, and that to comply with them it was almost impossible not to err. For them. perfection in God’s eyes was the scrupulous observance of these rules. “My yoke is sweet”: for the Orthodox Jew, religion was a matter of rules, i.e., 613 Mosaic rules
and thousands of oral interpretations, which covered every aspect of life. Jesus invites Jews oppressed by these rules, and us, to take his yoke on our shoulders. In Palestine, ox yokes were made of wood and were carved to fit the ox. Christ’s yoke can be seen as the sum total of our responsibilities in fulfilling our Christian duties. The yoke of Jesus is light because it is given with love. It is the commandment to love others as Jesus did. Moreover, the yoke of Christ is also a yoke to be borne with Him. Therefore, we are not yoked to pull the plow by ourselves and our own strength alone without help. We are yoked together with Christ to work with Him using His strength.
“My burden is light”: Jesus does not say that His burden is easy to carry, but that it has been entrusted to us with love. This burden must be carried with love, and love makes even the heaviest burden light. Following Jesus will find peace, rest and true refreshment. We are burdened by many things: business, worries about work, marriage, money, health, children, security, old age and a thousand other things. Jesus asks us to give Him our burdens and take His. Saying to us, “Take my yoke . . . and you will find rest,” Christ asks us to do things in a Christian way.
For good workers .
Jesus never promises to take away pain; what Jesus does is to help us bear it and even overcome it. A life without any pain, without any failure or disappointment, a life without difficulties or challenges, is no life.
Fr Joby Kavungal RCJ