Unpack that sack

 This week's verses are Matthew 11:28-30:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.”

I've heard that the lifestyle imposed on an apprentice was sometimes referred to as a yoke. In that context, these verses would be referring to the Christian life, as opposed to the life that might have been offered by the Pharisees.

People who became disciples of the Pharisees found a hard life. There was a great emphasis on outward "politically correct" displays of virtue. People would exhaust themselves trying to always say the right thing and do the right thing and be the first to outdo the others so that people would count them among the righteous.

Jesus' discipleship was not like that. Jesus still had high standards. His standards were even higher than the Pharisees. The difference was that Jesus offered grace and help. Instead of adding rules to rules, Jesus focused on the single-minded devotion that comes from relationship.

In comparing the Pharisees' "yoke" to the one offered by Jesus, we are comparing self-aggrandizing distraction to selfless devotion. In trying to do "everything everyone else is doing, plus a bit more to show how special I am (or to cover my shortcomings)," the Pharisees invested a lot in things that just weren't high priorities.

Jesus calls them out on it elsewhere. He says they strain out a gnat and swallow a camel. He says they focus on a speck in someone else's eye and miss the giant plank in their own. He chides Martha for a similar attitude, when she tries to guilt Mary into doing the same performative service she is wearing herself out in, when Mary is simply taking a rest and focusing on learning from Jesus. 

We can be weary from the many distractions we have introduced into our lives. And of how high the standards are that we are measured against. But if we get rid of all of that, making our lives just living in simple faith, devoting ourselves to being schooled by Jesus, I would imagine our burden would be quite a bit lighter.

Are there "right" noble things you are doing that have nothing to do with your Christian walk? Are you trying to virtue signal instead of being truly virtuous in your devotion? Are you trying to build your career, become a person of influence, maybe get a bit richer and better recognized, and so on, wearing yourself out to try to become a bigger person, instead of focusing on Jesus to become a better person? Which yoke do you want?

 Jesus tells us that he is gentle and humble in heart and that in taking his yoke on us and learning from him, we will find rest for our souls. His load is not hard to carry. Why?

Imagine you're carrying a giant sack and people keep handing you things to put in it. It's all decent stuff, but some are things you need, and some are things you don't.  You don't necessarily know which is which, so you just carry it all. That's what everyone does. But Jesus offers an alternative: He will help you sort through it and carry only what you need. But you need to stop walking and actually stop and sit down with him and show him what you're carrying.

Jesus forgives our sins when we come to him. He is patient and humble when we fail. He is gentle in his discipline. He will teach us the better way and how to only carry what we need.

We fill our lives with distractions and things we "should" do. With social media and the perpetual workday, hundreds of channels of TV, endless podcasts and streaming, we are probably worse off than anyone in history. But Jesus is the same as he has always been, and the yoke he commands us to take is just as light as it was in the beginning.

Do you want the yoke Jesus is offering? If so, take some time to stop dragging the old one along, and sit down with him to unpack the heavy sack and find out what can be left by the side of the road.