Pentecost 7                    Matt. 11:16-19, 25-30                        7/3/05

                                           "Wadda Yoke"

I’d like a show of hands in answer to a few questions, please.

How many of you are ready for a holiday, a day off, a vacation?

How many of you at times have more work to do and obligations to meet in your everyday lives than you feel you can handle?

How many of you, at least at times, feel over-burdened, overwhelmed, and/or alone as you face life’s difficulties?

(And you don’t have to race your hand if you don’t want to on this question) How many of you, in addition to the weight of work and family obligations, are carrying the weight of guilt for some past sin or failure, hurting from wounds caused by unhealthy relationships, chafing over injustices done to you, or plodding through a life too filled with pain?

And Jesus says, "Take my yoke upon you..."

‘Wadda yoke!’

As we shall see though, when we truly understand what Jesus is offering with that yoke, we can say, (positive emphasis) "WADDA YOKE!

There are sooo many burdens we bear. Most of us work a good bit more than a forty hour week and when we come home there’s more work to do. In fact, I’d be willing to guess that very few of us will use this holiday for rest. If we’re not entertaining company or traveling, there are all kinds of chores to do at home. There’s just never enough time to get it all done.

Do you even have time to remember back to or imagine the "good old days" when a boy or man could take a fishing pole to the creek and just sit for hours waiting for a fish to bite? Or the "good old days" when after the dishes were washed and put away, mother or daughter could go sit out on the porch and gaze at the fireflies dancing among the stars?

In fact, unless we’ve been very independent, our culture may even have trained us to feel guilty and uncomfortable when we take even a moment to rest. It tries to school us to feel that every minute must be filled with physical and/or mental activity. It’s as though an eleventh commandment has come down, "Thou shalt not rest".

But, I want to tell you, this modern obsession with constant activity is crazy. In fact, I’ll go further with that; it is sinful. God rested on the seventh day of creation as a model for us of "Holy Rest" and furthermore, He commanded us to rest in the Third Commandment of the Ten Commandments HE gave us.

This rest that we are called to by God in the Old Testament and by Jesus in today’s Gospel lesson isn’t just sitting in front of a TV and becoming a couch potato. It isn’t just saying, "It’s a holiday and I’m sleeping in." It isn’t sitting back and letting someone else do what needs to be done at home, at work, in the community or at church.

No, the rest we are called to is a deeper and much more satisfying rest. It is the act of bringing our burdens to Jesus.

We come to Him with the problem we can’t solve with a co-worker or boss. We come to Him with our weariness of picking up after the kids for the umpteenth time only to return five minutes later to find more mess. We come to Him with the overwhelming number of demands made on our time to seek guidance in which burdens we should carry. We come to Him with the painful weight of broken relationships, hurt feelings, shame, and all the other burdens of our emotional life.

We come,... and I wish I could say we just lay them at Jesus’ feet and walk away burden free...but I can’t. That’s not what Jesus offers. What Jesus offers is a "yoke". Now, at this point, you may be thinking, "Wadda joke". She says I’m supposed to bring all these crushing burdens to Jesus and instead of leaving them, I’m supposed to add a yoke?"

I agree that doesn’t sound very helpful. And until this week, I confess, I didn’t understand what Jesus meant by this yoke. All too often I looked upon Jesus’ yoke as just one more burden to bear - if I couldn’t avoid it.

I learned something really interesting this week though. A yoke, particularly as it was used in Jesus’ times was intended for two animals - specifically a team of oxen. It was designed in such a way that the team bore the burden together. They shared the load.

Thus, Jesus is offering us something to lighten our burdens. No, we can’t avoid the difficulties and pains of life. No, we can’t dump our cares and troubles in Jesus’ lap and go merrily on our way. No, we can’t get out of the tough work of getting our lives straightened out, building healthy relationships or living out our discipleship. But, the Good News is we do not have to bear our burdens alone.

Jesus is the other member of the team. He is our yoke-fellow and His promises to always hear our prayers, to be with us to the end of the age, to help us in time of trouble and to forgive us no matter what we have done, are no joke.

At times we experience Jesus directly yoked with us. He does hear our every prayer and can act directly in our hearts and lives to ease our burdens. This may be a miracle of healing or a teaching experience that helps us follow Jesus example as a way to peace.

Just as often though when we look at our yoke fellow, it is a Christian brother or sister whom Jesus is working through. Just the other day I felt burdened beyond my ability to bear. I was feeling hurt, betrayed, confused and angry. While I hate imposing on anyone, I really needed a burden bearer, so I called a friend and asked if I could come over to vent. For over an hour I poured out my pain and mostly she just listened supportively. At the end, she prayed with/for me. I left her home with my soul truly rested and with a deep awareness that Jesus had born my burden through her. Wadda yoke!

In your bulletin today I’ve included a small picture of a yoke. I suggest that you stick it in your wallet. Then when life get you down, when you feel over burdened, when you’re frazzled from all the activities you engage in, look at this picture. Let it remind you that you never carry your burdens alone. Jesus is sharing that yoke with you. Amen