The sacred author of the Letter to the Hebrews wrote in chapter four, verse twelve: Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). Many have endeavored to flesh out this saying. Suffice it to say that sometimes the Scriptures challenge us and sometimes they comfort us.
I suspect that many find comfort in the words that we hear Jesus utter today. He speaks of rest for the weary and a light burden for those who are heavy laden. However, like most Scripture passages, we might be reading into Jesus’ words rather than drawing out their real meaning. One test that we can always employ on any passage from Scripture is to look at the context in which Jesus makes the statement. All too often, the Gospel passages in the lectionary are lacking in providing the context. This may just be the case today.
This passage comes at the very end of chapter eleven of St. Matthew’s Gospel. It might surprise you to know that immediately before he made this prayer to his Father, he had some rather scathing words for Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. They had seen the many signs that he had performed, the many healings. A leper had been cleansed, the servant of a Roman centurion had been healed, demons had been expelled, a paralytic had walked, a hemorrhaging woman had been cured, a young girl had been restored to life, two blind men had been given their sight, and a mute man’s tongue had been loosed. Did these miracles bring the crowds to repentance? Apparently not; for Jesus tells these towns that it will go easier on Sodom than on them at the end of time. Instead of being moved to repentance, they accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath and of being in league with Satan.
So what do you suppose Jesus’ prayer is really about at the end of chapter eleven? Notice that at the beginning he praises God for revealing something to little ones while keeping it secret from the wise and the clever. Which category do we fall into? In which category do the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum fit?
The fact of the matter is that there is a little bit of both in each of us. We are the wise and the clever whenever we forget who is really in charge of our lives. Control is something that we all strive to maintain when it comes to the way we live. By way of contrast, when we place our trust in God and let God direct our lives, then we can claim to be the little ones upon whom Jesus lavishes his praise today.
Trying to control the course of our lives is a very tiring enterprise. The person who is in control cannot afford to rest. As Psalm 134 tells us, God neither slumbers nor sleeps. While God may not need to sleep, to rest, we on the other hand will fall into utter exhaustion if we never let go of the controls that drive our lives.
So Jesus invites us to rest in him, to set aside the desire to control our lives and to trust him, the humble and meek shepherd who offers to guide us to a place of rest and happiness. Using the image of a yoke, Jesus promises us that he will lift our burdens and give us rest. A yoke is used to make it possible for two beasts of burden to work in tandem with each other. Without it, each beast would try to go its own way. If we are yoked to Jesus, we need not fear that we will stray from the path. As the pithy statement goes: “Let go and let God.” It is, after all, God’s will that we are called to obey.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator