Remember back in the dark days of 2020 during the rolling lockdowns when everyone of influence was reassuring us that “we’re all in this together”?
It’s the quip we couldn’t escape. But it’s worth recalling who said it first. It was Jesus.
Actually, he said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Mt 11:29)
Jesus is telling us that there are many ways to plough a field, but there is one way that is by far the easiest and most rewarding, and that is yoking ourselves to him. If we get in the same yoke, we won’t feel as overwhelmed or overworked.
What does a yoke with Jesus offer? Well, one thing is certain: we won’t be going at our preferred pace. Chances are we will either be ploughing way more slowly than we think is bearable, or way faster than we think is survivable. We might even plough in seemingly aimless circles and stop for lingering breaks here and there.
Jesus wants to be on equal footing with us, and he doesn’t resort to empty platitudes to manipulate us into doing what he wants. He desires to labour alongside us. He desires to shoulder our injustices and to encounter our pain with us that we may experience a lighter load.
When country superstar Carrie Underwood sings about Jesus “taking the wheel,” it’s because she knows she needs a new driver in her life. But actually, Jesus is so respectful of us that he prefers to let us participate directly in the driving. He tells us: “watch me and learn from me. I don’t want to do it for you. I want you to feel the satisfaction of a job well done. I want to complete the work with you. I will show you the best way and I will even shoulder most of the burden so that you don’t tire yourself out.” This is the friend we have in Jesus.
Sometimes in marriage, we are prone to dragging our spouse along at our speed. We resent the fact that they don’t plough the field the way we think is best. Not only do we tire ourselves out with stress and the emotional exhaustion, but we also don’t experience the beautiful vista at the end of (and during) the job: a field that is perfectly ploughed. Jesus presents a way of journeying that sometimes looks really unproductive. But by now, we know that love often looks unproductive.
When we lack trust in our spouse, it can wear us out. When we lack trust in Jesus, we are also worn out by worry. When we walk with Jesus, we can take our relationship a step further in choosing to yoke ourselves to him. He will tell us how to plough or even if that particular field is meant for us to plough on that particular day.
When we encounter problems in our marriages and we aren’t on the same page as our spouse, the temptation is to isolate ourselves and to solve it alone. But Jesus wants to work with us in the yoke of our suffering. He is the best worker and he also has faith in our ability to journey with him through any trial he allows. Since he always wills our good, we can rest in the trust that he will never leave us orphaned in our pain.
When Jesus spoke, he used parables and concrete imagery to bring home tangible truths about himself. When the time for telling stories has come to a close, Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem and tenderly presents us with the startling intimacy of the Eucharist. In the Eucharist, we see where Jesus was going with all of the parables. We see in the Eucharist the extent of God’s plan for us: compassion and mercy to the point of complete self-gift.
If we can begin to journey with Jesus in the yoke, who knows where the roads will lead? Most certainly to eternal life (praise God) but the wonder of it all doesn’t stop there. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Cor 2:9) .
If God thought up the Eucharist as a way for us to always be together, we can certainly trust him enough to wear his yoke.