MT 11:25-30
Dear Friends, In today’s gospel passage, we have an attractive invitation to be set free of our burdens.Many times, as a pastor, I counseled people that God does not allow us to be burdened beyond our ability to accept life’s troubles. More than a few times I got the response, “Well, God hasn’t checked my situation recently because I am on overload!” The message of today’s readings assures us God is up to date on the state of affairs in each of our lives. Indeed, the Father has sent Jesus to share our difficulties and trials.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus presents himself as one who truly knows the Father and his compassionate and saving will. When Jesus is inviting us to come to him, he is inviting us to make a choice against the religious leaders. He is inviting us to make a choice against the distortion of the Law that the Priests, Scribes and Pharisees used to maintain power, privilege and wealth. We are invited to come to Jesus, free of the burdens of their misleading guidance of the Law. Jesus did not offer the burdensome yoke of the slanted twisting of the Law. His was the yoke of the faithful and loving obedience to the will of God. With Jesus, we are invited into the sea of mercy and love that the true understanding of the Law produces. The honest acceptance of the Law brings genuine rest and freedom. The rest Jesus promises is not just the lack of work and stress. The rest Jesus is proclaiming is rooted in God’s day of rest on the seventh day of Creation, the Sabbath. This is the fullness of life in the kingdom. This rest is here and now, in this life, and it opens into eternal life.
Jesus says “Come to me.” (Mt 11:28). Jesus offered not the burdensome yoke created by the religious leaders of his day. As the full and privileged source of the complete revelation of the Father, the yoke he offers “is easy, and my burden light.” (Mt 11:30). We are to take his yoke, a yoke rooted in love not obligation. This is far different than the yoke of the leaders with its various intricacies, and even deceptions, of a legal system gone astray. This was the case in Jesus’ day and is often the same distortion in our day.
Jesus’ teachings all go beyond the rituals and external dictates. The message of Jesus is always centered on the engagement of the heart and relationships that are true and meaningful.
Where will we find rest for our souls? Where will we discover the peace that our hearts long for? Where will we encounter the wisdom that will set us free? Jesus opens the way in his invitation. “Come to me.” (Mt 11:28) Jesus is inviting us to embrace him and his summons to love. He is calling us to the depths of righteousness in the heart. He is calling us to live in authenticity with all persons. He is calling us to cast off the burden of the endless “dos and don’ts” and to make our way into the freedom that true love offers.
When we come to Jesus, we will find another way to live. In Jesus’ way, we are engulfed in a love that enlightens us with the wisdom to see the way of truth and love. The continuing struggle to break loose of self-interest, to welcome the commitment to sacrifice and service, to eliminate the security rooted in excessive possessions, these preferences all lead to finding rest for our souls. “Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.” (Mt 11:30). Jesus calls us to a love of God and love of neighbor that promises joy and peace now and everlasting life in the future.
Love is the driving force behind Jesus’ transforming promise to ease the burden of life. We need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus because he holds the seeds of wisdom leading us into the fullness of the Father’s kingdom.
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