Matthew 11:28-30

Exodus 3:13-20

Psalm 105:1 and 5, 8-9, 24-25, 26-27

Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus said:

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I am meek and humble of heart;

and you will find rest for yourselves.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I want to shoulder the yoke today with your Son at my side. I need to learn from him and be transformed in the depths of my heart. Do not let my pride and vanity rear their ugly head. I want to be gentle and meek of heart. I want true humility and to enjoy the peaceful rest of eternal life.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Take My Yoke Upon You: After addressing his Father in a prayer of praise and thanksgiving, Jesus turns his attention to his disciples and invites them to share in divine rest. The invitation is not to a life of ease and comfort. We will find rest by taking upon ourselves the yoke of Christ. A yoke was a frame, usually made of wood, that connected two animals and allowed them to pull a plow. We do not plow the field alone. Christ is with us and at our side as our brother. We mysteriously and paradoxically find rest by shouldering a yoke. In the beginning, Adam and Eve were called to work in the garden, to tend it and protect it. Only after they sinned did their work become characterized as toil. In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees and scribes had tied up heavy burdens for the people to carry (Matthew 23:4). Jesus came to free us from the yoke of the Old Law and the human traditions of the scribes and Pharisees. Once again, the freedom Christ brings does not mean a carefree life of ease of comfort. It is rather a life in the Spirit, a life of total dedication, loving sacrifice, and self-offering.

2. The Yoke of Sin: When we shoulder the yoke of Christ, it means that we have been freed from another yoke – the yoke of sin. The Exodus story, narrated in the First Reading, can be interpreted allegorically as a symbol of our passage from the yoke and slavery of sin to the yoke of freedom. The Israelites were oppressed and subjected to hard labor in Egypt. Sin has a similar effect, especially when we fall into habitual sin and addictive bad habits. God speaks to Moses today about the “misery of Egypt.” We have all experienced the “misery of sin.” It is truly remarkable that we return again and again to that which does not satisfy and to that which leaves us empty and unfulfilled. And that was the experience of the Israelites, who, while in the wilderness, longed to go back to the slavery of Egypt and have their fill of the Egyptian fleshpots  (Exodus 16:3). Do we do the same thing? Do we long for the fleeting pleasures of sin even after experiencing the liberating grace of God?

3. Freedom: Freedom is not the ability to arbitrarily choose between good and evil. True freedom has a direction, and it is pointed toward our ultimate good. We exercise our free choice when we choose between good and evil. When we choose evil, it is an abuse of our freedom. When we choose the good, the true, and the beautiful, it is an exercise of our freedom that leads to a deeper freedom. As Jesus says, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). From the beginning, the devil lied about our freedom. He tempted Adam and Eve and suggested that true freedom, divine freedom, was found in determining for ourselves what is good and evil. But that is a lie. True freedom is found not in doing whatever we want, but in heeding the voice of our Father who calls us to sanctity, eternal life, and true freedom. It is the freedom that only he can give through his Son and in his Spirit.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I contemplate you each day and see that you truly are meek and humble of heart. Meekness is not weakness. Humility is not false self-deprecation. Meekness is the gentleness of one who loves. Humility is about living the truth of who we are – creatures who have been redeemed and are sanctified, servants who lay down their lives for others. May I truly be meek and humble of heart as you are.

Living the Word of God: Do I know how I can grow in meekness and humility? What is God the Father asking me to do to transform my heart into the heart of his Son?