Reflection for December 10
Iya, age 8
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Sounds like just what we need right now in dark December — to let go of our burdens and find a nice spot in the warm sand by turquoise water. Ahh…blessed rest. But if we keep reading, the next line in the gospel suggests that putting our feet up is not what Jesus had in mind. “Take my yoke upon you.” That sounds heavy and a lot like work. But is it?
Think about it — one poor ox struggling to pull a heavy cart up a hill, suddenly finds the offer of a yoke to another ox, and accepting it, finds himself up the hill in no time. A good-fitting yoke, so I’ve heard, is a blessing. It’s possible we are thinking all wrong about what it means to rest. Maybe it’s not freedom from our tasks, but freedom for our tasks.
We are all called to a path in life meant just for us. For just about all of us, that path can feel like a heavy burden with which we struggle, all alone. There are times when we might feel we have come to the end of what it is possible to do alone. And that might be true. This is the time not to quit, but to turn to Jesus, who offers to share our burden with his yoke. If we choose to accept his yoke, we will find rest for ourselves and be able to continue on our path.
The fact is, if we are really pursuing a calling given to us by God, we were never meant to be alone, bearing the whole burden. We just need to be willing to walk that path and work with God to bring to fruition what God hopes for in us. Jesus will take care of the rest. What Jesus offers is partnership, freedom, and blessed rest. Take up his yoke and learn from him.
Pam Hardiman