July 7, 2002
Seventh Sunday After Pentecost
"The Easy Yoke"
(Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30)
Rev. Billy D. Strayhorn
[16] "But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
[17] 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.'
[18] For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon';
[19] the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."
[25] At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants;
[26] yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
[27] All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
[28] "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
[29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
[30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
[NRSV]
In one of his sermons, Dr. Carl L. Schenck tells the story about a fifth grade Sunday School teacher who was teaching a class on the text I just read. During the lesson, the teacher asked the fifth graders, "What is a yoke?"
Most of the kids said a yoke is the yellow part in the center of an egg. But there was one particularly bright student who had another definition. That student said, "A yoke is a collar you put around a horse."
And the teacher, thinking this child was really quite bright, asked the natural follow-up question in light of the lesson, "What then would be the yoke of Christ?"
The child thought for a moment and said, "I suppose that would be when God's got you by the throat." (1)
Unfortunately a lot of people believe that way. They think being Yoked with God or Yoke with Christ is a burden. And they don't understand this passage at all.
A. Many of the Jews of Jesus time felt the same way. The Law and a life of trying to keep the law was a burden too great for any of them to carry. There was absolutely no way that an Orthodox Jew could keep all the sacrificial, dietary, religious and cleanliness laws that had been handed down and added to generation after generation.
Jesus described the Scribes and Pharisees this way in Matthew 23:4. He said, "They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders"
In other words, to the average everyday Jew, religion was a thing of endless rules. They all lived in a barbed wire maze of rules and regulations which dictated every action of their life. They lived a life filled with the voice of guilt that constantly berated them with the words: "Thou shalt not."
They were beat down and weary from the simple struggle of life. And then their faith only made it worse. No wonder Jesus said: "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." [Vs 28]
B. William Barclay in his Daily Study Bible Series tells of a legend about Jesus. This legend said that Jesus made the best ox-yokes in all of Galilee. People from all over the country would come to buy the best yokes that skill could make.
In those days, just like now, shops had their signs above the door. Legend has it that the sign above the door of Jesus' carpenter's shop in Nazareth read: "My yokes fit well." (2)
And here Jesus may have been having a little fun and making a little play on words. For He says, "My yoke is easy." But the Greek word could also mean "well-fitting." So maybe He was using his reputation to drive home His point.
You see, Jesus knew that each yoke was custom made to fit the neck of a particular ox. That way it wouldn't harm or gall the neck of the animal. And if the legend is true, then people knew that and understood the allusion.
Jesus was saying that a life yoked with him would "fit well." That the life Christ offers to us is not one of burden, not one of weariness from trying to keep the shouldn'ts. Rather it is a life custom made for our abilities and needs. A life that has Jesus as its partner.
That's what Jesus want's for each of us. Jesus frees us from our burdens. And the rest that Jesus promises is love, mercy, healing, wholeness and that peace with God which surpasses all understanding. It's not the end of labor. It's a relationship. A relationship that changes us and our purpose in life.
Ruth stood with head bowed and hands folded in front of her. On the outside she looked radiant, proud and expectant. Inside she was alive with excitement and joy. A joy so profound that she almost had to hold her breath to keep from shouting. There kneeling at the altar rail in front of her this morning was Eva.
Their journey together began while Ruth was helping inmates at the County Jail prepare for the GED.
That seemed so long ago.
That day Eva walked into the classroom would always stick in her mind because, of all the men and women that Ruth had ever taught, Eva looked the least likely to be incarcerated.
Eva was a winsome red head of about 22 or 23 who looked about 15 or 16. Eva looked young and innocent until you looked in her eyes. They were weary, care worn, frightened eyes that were experienced with too much experience for a girl who was so young and looked even younger.
Over the months Ruth got to know Eva better. But it took awhile for Eva to begin to trust Ruth. But Ruth's gentle loving spirit won her over.
Ruth found out that as a little girl Eva felt like she was never good enough for her father or mother. And she especially never felt good enough for the church they attended. There the preacher and the members kept piling on the "ought to's" and "shouldn'ts" until she could hardly stand it. They kept telling her all the things she had to do to earn God's love. And if she didn't, this God of theirs would get really angry and cast her out into the outer darkness or worse.
Consequently she felt like an outcast. And she looked for acceptance and love in all the wrong people, all the wrong places and all the wrong ways. That's how she wound up in the County Jail.
Eva decided to make some changes and began studying for her GED. Week after week Ruth was there. And week after week they talked as well as studied. Some nights they did more talking than studying, but Ruth never seemed to mind. And as a result, a friendship began to blossom.
When Eva was released, Ruth was right there. She helped her find a place of her own and even helped her find a job. It didn't pay much but there was opportunity for advancement, especially since she had her GED.
Although she was reluctant, Eva even started attending worship with Ruth. And that's when things began to change. For the first time, Eva began paying attention. At first it was with arms crossed in a defensive posture. And after that first service she looked almost shocked as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She even began reading the New Testament to see if the preacher was right.
One day at lunch with Ruth she said: "The few times I've attended your church, all the preacher has talked about is grace and forgiveness. He didn't give us lists of things to do. He didn't make me feel guilty. He didn't make me feel like an outcast. He made me feel welcome and wanted.
"That's something I haven't ever felt much of. And when you and I have talked about it, you've always told me how easy it is to be a Christina, and you make it look easy.
"I wanted someone to tell me I was a good girl who made a mistake. I didn't want someone who would only tell me how bad I was and how horrible it would be for me if I didn't do better. I keep trying to do better but for some reason I always seem to blow it.
"My parents and their church just got mad at me if I blew it. But you don't get mad. Neither do the people in your church. You're disappointed, but you still love me. If you can do that, then maybe God can do that too. I want to know the Jesus you love. I want to know the Jesus who can love me even when I make a mistake. I want that Jesus to love me."
Ruth said, "Oh, Eva, He does."
That was four months ago. Today Eva was making her own decision.
Pastor John dipped his hand into the waters of the Baptismal, scooped up a palm full of water and placed it on Eva's head. Ruth saw it trickle down her neck as Pastor John said: "Eva Marie Weller, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the and of the Holy Spirit."
Then he asked Ruth to place her hand on Eva's head along with his in the ancient custom of the laying on of hands. Then he prayed, "May the Holy Spirit work within you, that being born of water and the Spirit, you may be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ."
When Eva stood there were tears running down her cheeks and a smile spread across her face. Ruth immediately noticed two things about Eva. First she was standing tall and straight unlike before. Whenever Ruth had seen Eva, it was as if she were burdened with the weight of the world. Now, it was obvious that those burdens had been lifted. Eva looked so unburdened, so light and care free that she looked as if she might just float away any second.
And secondly, when Eva smiled, her face was radiant. And if you looked in her eyes, you would see that the weariness of all those burdens was gone. But even more importantly the wariness, the distrust of others had been removed and replaced with an indescribable joy.
Ruth's smile was almost as radiant as Eva's. All because Eva had found a place, a way and a person to help her unburden her soul. She'd found and been found by her Savior who said: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Vss 29-30)
Eva discovered that a yoke is not an instrument of burden. God's hand isn't around our throat. A Yoke is an instrument of grace, it's made to make the burden lighter.
It's not an instrument of torture. It's an instrument of mercy, created to fit our needs and abilities perfectly.
And it's not meant to give pain. It's meant to reduce and save from pain.
When we're yoked with Christ, we find mercy and grace. We find life less painful. And most importantly we find rest.
Life is filled with struggles. It's not all peaches and cream as some people think. Life is hard. We all struggle to make it. We struggle with sin. We struggle with truth. We struggle with the problems of the world. We struggle with the world's rejection of God's solutions. We struggle from our failures and even from our successes.
We all struggle with life and living life. And when we struggle we get exhausted and weary. Today, once again, Jesus says, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."
Today Jesus invites you to leave your weariness and your burdens behind. Today Jesus offers refreshment for your weary soul, your weary spirit. Today Jesus invites you to His table to drink deep from His cup of Salvation and to be filled on His Bread of Life.
Come.
1. Dr. Carl L. Schenck, "Who Is Jesus? The One Of The Light Yoke" (www.SermonMall.com)
2. WILLIAM BARCLAY, The Daily Study Bible Series, Revised Edition, THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, BIBLE COMPANION SOFTWARE, A Ministry of Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., Neptune, New Jersey (WordSearch Bible Software)
3. An original story, please give credit.
4.
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