I wonder if anyone else is weary these days. Perhaps a better question would be to wonder if there’s possibly anyone who is not weary these days. We are wearied so many things. Wearied by grief – losses big and small that just keep piling up. Wearied by the constant focus and attention needed to traverse the unfamiliar and uncertain terrain in which we find ourselves. Wearied by long hours, long days, long weeks and months. Wearied by work that is not what we signed up for. Wearied by stress, anxiety, and isolation. Wearied by injustice, hatred, and violence. Wearied by illness, by pain, by struggles known and unknown.
At a time when an overwhelming sense of weariness feels like the “new normal”, it is a balm to hear again Jesus’ familiar words – “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
Sometimes rest looks like a vacation or a long nap, ignoring phone calls and emails and tuning out the world for a brief time. Other times, though, rest from bone-deep weariness is only found on the other side of whatever it is we are facing. While it is restful, and important, to step away momentarily from the challenges we face, avoidance is only a temporary solution. Eventually reality comes crashing back, and we realize that the only way out is through. In the midst of our weariness, how do we keep going?
If we return to the Gospel passage and keep reading, we find that the rest Jesus offers is not the take-a-nap-and-get-away-from-it-all kind of rest (though he does that, too!).
Instead, the rest that Jesus gives is when he comes alongside us, sharing burdens and offering guidance. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me;” Jesus says, “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.”
A yoke is a curved piece of wood used to help distribute the weight of a load across the shoulders. It is often used for a team of oxen, which are connected to one another by the yoke, and then hitched to a wagon or plow. The oxen follow the shouted directions of the driver, and learn that, when they are connected, their work becomes much more difficult if they strain in different directions, rather than toward a common goal.
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| "Yoke of oxen" by Jean on Flickr |
When we take on Jesus’ yoke, we are joined to him, and led down his way of justice, mercy, humility, and love. In taking on Jesus’ yoke, we find guidance as we learn what this way, what this work, entails. As we take on Jesus’ yoke, we find that our burden is not increased, but instead lessened, as it is shared.
Rather than burden us further with impossible requirements or relentless demands, Jesus reminds us that he has come precisely for those who are wearied and burdened. Jesus reminds us that we need not scramble to earn what God has already given us by grace. He reminds us that there is nothing we must do in order to be valued and loved by the God who created us and called us good. In sharing Jesus’ yoke, we know that he will be with us through whatever comes.
As we do this work together, we give thanks for a God who comes alongside us and shares our burdens. We give thanks for a God who strengthens, supports, and guides us through our weariness. We give thanks for a God who shows us a better way, and who promises us rest.
One of the prayers in the Compline, or Night Prayer, service goes like this: “Be present, merciful God, and protect us through the hours of this night, so that we who are wearied by the changes and chances of life may find our rest in you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
We are indeed wearied by the “changes and chances of life.” As we continue moving forward through the unknown, we find rest in God’s promises – that we are loved, that we are not alone, and that the work of salvation has already been done for us. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we take on Jesus’ yoke and walk alongside him in the way of love and justice.
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