Thoughts for the Day
Sunday, 9th July 2023: A message for the weary
Jesus Matthew 11 Burden
Reading : Verses from Matthew, Chapter 11
Jesus said ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 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.’
(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)
Thoughts
Feeling tired? Under stress? Life is getting you down? No this is not an advert for some wonder-drug or medicine. Jesu never promised his disciples, or us, that life would be easy, and when we think of the world that he lived in it was surely very little different to the one we see around us today. Men and women carried heavy burdens - of danger, of poverty, and of ill health. Individually and as a nation they were under threat, as it is for so many today. But often we can make these burdens bigger by carrying them alone, giving us extra stress and worry.
We are unaccustomed to the notion of a yoke, though no doubt we've seen oxen yoked together in old pictures, or milk-maids carrying pails of milk around towns. It's a concept we have lost, although the equivalent might be the young person carrying a tent and all their equipment in a rucksack on their back. But perhaps we can imagine the weight and the way the shoulders would get sore from heavy burden. Jesus says all our worries and concerns are like that heavy rucksack.
When we feel at our wits end there is one thing we can do: 'Drop what weighs us down by giving it to God.' Although we should note that Charles Spurgeon the great preacher once said, "When God places a burden upon you, be places his arms under you." This year I would personally definitely agree with Spurgeon's words! And remember, as someone once said: "Being a Christian isn't easy, but the retirement plan is amazing."
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
sometimes we are burdened
beyond our strength to continue.
Help us to have the faith to
know that You are holding us up
and that we are not alone.
May we be strong enough to
pass all our worries over to You
and to stop fretting ourselves
further.
Amen.
You might like to play 'His yoke is easy" from Handel's Messiah (not an easy thing to sing - perhaps this was Handel's theological thought on the phrase):