Let me wish all of you a Happy 4th of July, a day when we celebrate our independence from the oppressive yoke of British rule. Unfortunately, this year, there is more fizzle than sizzle, as we continue to struggle under the yoke of the coronavirus pandemic. The image of a yoke is not common in our urban culture, but I’m sure you’re all familiar with it. It’s that wooden piece that keeps two oxen together as they plough a field or haul goods. We actually have an image of a yoke in our stained glass windows. Those of you in the main body of the church can look to your right and find it draped over the shoulders of Jeremiah; you see him there in the top panel of the fourth window from the front. And, don’t miss the Holy Spirit that is draped over his shoulders as well, on top of the yoke. It is the perfect image for us today. Jesus lived in an agrarian society where everyone knew what a yoke was, and in today’s Gospel, a yoke is the central image Jesus uses to invite us into union not just with him, but with the Father and with the Holy Spirit, just as Jeremiah is depicted in our stained glass window.
Before we get to the yoke, however, we hear Jesus declare in today’s Gospel account: “No one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” This statement reveals two important aspects of our faith. First, only in Jesus do we find the fullness of all revelation of God. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states so well, beginning with a quote from the Letter to the Hebrews: “‘In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son.’ Christ, the Son of God made man, is the Father’s one, perfect and unsurpassable Word. In him, he has said everything; there will be no other word than this one” (§65).
Second, Jesus chooses to reveal the Father to us, and to walk beside us in our journey back to the Father. Therefore, his instruction to all of us who are burdened and who labor – to come to him, and to take his yoke upon ourselves – is meant to invite us to be yoked with him, so that he may help us pull and plough our way through the fields we walk as we journey through life. We can find rest when we allow him to take the lead with that yoke and do the heavy work God calls us to do in this life. When we yoke ourselves to Christ, he leads the way and lightens the load as he helps us to avoid the rocks in our paths and lightens our burdens.
Notice that Jesus does not say we will no longer have burdens, but that he will carry them with us; in fact, he will take the lead. His strength will be our strength, infusing us with trust and helping us place all our difficulties before him.
And when we commit ourselves to him, we become one with him, as well as with the Father whom he has revealed to us, and with the Holy Spirit who gives us all the gifts we need – most notably, faith, hope and love.
As we look around us, we see many who try to walk alone. Some even mistakenly believe that to take Jesus’ yoke upon them means that they are somehow limiting their freedom. But, the exact opposite is true. Doing this brings us the fullest freedom as we freely choose to do the Father’s will.
Jesus assures us that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. It is in him that we find perfect freedom and the fullness of our desires – to be one with God. After all, God has made us for himself and, as St. Augustine declared so well, our hearts are restless until they rest in him. This is God’s gracious will – that we come to know the freedom of trusting him completely and returning to him in his everlasting glory. In Jesus, he has given us the way, and this way is given freely and abundantly.
I don’t want you to miss the first part of today’s Gospel; it’s a rare opportunity for us to hear Jesus pray. Notice, he begins with praise: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth.” He goes on with: “Yes, Father, such as been your gracious will.” This sounds so much like the way he taught us to pray, doesn’t it? “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy will be done.” We’ll pray in this way together in just a few minutes. Then, Jesus acknowledges how God works: hiding his ways from the wise and the learned and revealing them to the little ones. Before God, we are all little ones and we fool ourselves when we think that we are wise and learned. In fact, like the scribes and the Pharisees of our Lord’s time, our so-called wisdom and knowledge can get in the way of being open – like a little one – to God’s truth which, so often, is very different from the wisdom of this world. St. Paul refers to that in today’s second reading when he warns us that, if we live according to the flesh – that is, the ways of this world – we will die. It is only when we allow the Spirit of God to dwell in us that we truly live!
And, the Spirit of God comes to dwell in us most powerfully in Holy Communion, when we receive our Lord in his Body and Blood and become one with him and the Father and the Son, truly becoming the Body of Christ. That’s why it’s so important for us to receive Holy Communion regularly and that’s why we rejoice as one among us receives Holy Communion for the first time. Congratulations, Teddy; may you receive Holy Communion with equal joy throughout your life!
Finally, after demonstrating his own way of prayer, Jesus invites us to follow his way: “Come to me, … and I will give you rest.” But, that rest is not in this world, it’s to be found in the next. In today’s first reading, we hear the prophet Zechariah call for his people to rejoice heartily as they await the coming of their king. Unfortunately – as is so often the case – they misunderstood Zechariah who realized that this world will always be at war. We will be at war with ourselves and with the powers of the devil until the end of time. The ancient Israelites were looking for an earthly king while he was preparing them for our true savior and king, Jesus, who would meekly ride an ass into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday – hailed as the king of the Jews – only to stand quietly before the earthly ruler – Pontius Pilate – and then be crucified. When he tells us “Take my yoke,” he is saying, “Do as I do, trust in God and his plan as I do.” Then, he will give life to our mortal bodies, as we rise like he did in the resurrection of the dead.
Today’s readings challenge us to be as simple, as meek and humble, as obedient as Jesus himself. He leads us to give thanks when we are feeling burdened. Jesus offers his own yoke of trusting that God is present and leading us in the precise circumstances of each moment – even this challenging moment we are all experiencing together in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and the unrest much of our country is struggling with as it addresses, once again, the injustice of racism. Like Jesus, who humbly submitted to the Father’s will, we will then find our burdens lightened in this world and gain eternal rest in heaven.