Relieving heavy burdens

Norah Summers November 21, 2023 3 2

Playlists

Add to Favourites

Save for later

Listen to this daily worship

Matthew 11: 28-30 (GNT)

28 “Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. 30 For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.”

I have got to Day 3 without so far referring to an earworm. But here it comes. The chorus ‘His yoke is easy . . .’ occurs in Handel’s Messiah.

The composer sets the words to a light bouncy rhythm, in a fairly high register, and the word ‘easy’ has a lot of notes, which makes the singer’s mouth remain in a smile-like configuration. Genius.

A yoke is for carrying burdens, balancing them more equally around the bearer’s centre of gravity. But the yoke itself has to be solid and secure, so in a way it adds to the weight. Oxen and horses were long in common use, and still are in places today – yoked together, they would share the burden of pulling the plough or other implement. Did the carpenter’s shop in Nazareth supply the local demand? What was the best wood to use? What was the best design to maximise efficiency and minimise strain on the animals?

Jesus always knew what he was talking about. His illustrations were always drawn from the everyday life of his community. He was one of us, a skilled tradesman in a small town, knowing his materials, his tools and his clientele. He would make yokes as easy as possible for the local folk to use – and so too he would use them in his teaching.

Prayer:

Loving God, we pray for all who carry heavy burdens –

literally, fetching water from a mile away,

or carrying goods to market on their heads;

spending their days in hard physical labour,

often to the profit of others;

caring for others, with all the demands that makes on body and mind;

weighed down by guilt or regret from the past;

struggling with the worry of making ends meet today;

filled with anxiety about an uncertain future.

You did not promise that there would be no burdens to carry,

but you did promise us that if we asked

you would share our burden,

lighten our load,

and ease the yoke.

So we’re asking…