Come to me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. Your souls will find rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden light. –Mt. 11:25
"Stay with that for a while," Fr. Lou said yesterday. That's formational penance there. Here, this is what you need, chew on that and let the vitamins eek out into your system. I'll try to do that.
Gentle and humble of heart. As much as I am not this, perhaps is as much as I am not taking His Yoke upon my shoulders. I continue to learn what this Yoke is and how to take it upon myself. I think I have too much of a notion that the Yoke is hard and heavy. Don't many of us? The statement from the Gospel above is very much that, Good News. It's not more burden. It's not a heavier load to pull or carry. It's a different kind of yoke altogether. We haven't formerly understood this kind of yoked-ness. It's taking a while for us to figure it out.
Unfortunately, after all these years, our collective "figuring out" of the New Yoke of Jesus, hasn't been the clearest thing in the world. As much as we are teaching a hard yoke, I dont' think we understand what He was/IS saying to us, to the world. That statement of His seems in stark contrast to so much we see even in Scripture, much less to that which we do and have heard ourselves teaching each other. I wonder if something like this, and some other key statements, shouldn't act as kind of a lens through which we see the rest - always going back to touch base with the easy Yoke, the light burden. Help me see and experience this more clearly Lord.
October 10, 2007
> 9:06 AM
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