I’m tired.
This morning, we helped our new second pastor move in. My 52-year-old body is not very happy with me right now for lifting all those boxes.
But that’s not the only reason I’m tired. We’ve needed a second pastor for several years. I’ve been working a little too much and a little too hard for a little too long.
I need a nap. But it’s not just the work or physical exhaustion. My heart is tired. Family and marriage problems weigh heavy. I carry around a lot of stress and guilt.
I’ve been feeling it lately. And then this morning, I read Jesus’ invitation in Matthew chapter 11: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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” (Matthew 11:28-30).
Do you know what a yoke is? Jesus wasn’t talking about the yellow part of an egg. A yoke is a wooden frame placed over the shoulders of horses or oxen so they can pull a plow.
Yokes were heavy. Yokes were burdensome. Yokes were like backpacks full of canned goods.
I have a friend named Fred. Into his late 70s, every year, Fred would go hiking in the mountains with his buddies. To train, he would raid the pantry, loading up his backpack with dozens of cans of tomato soup, sweet peas, peaches, and artichoke hearts. He would then walk up and down the streets of our small town, carrying his kitchen pantry.
That’s what I think of every time I hear Jesus’ words in Matthew chapter 11. That’s often what I feel like I’m carrying around.
But then my Savior offers me a trade.
“Give me your burdens – your backpack full of heavy cans,” he says. “I’ll carry that for you, and you can carry my yoke.”
That begs the question. What is Jesus’ yoke? He tells us that his yoke is easy and his burden is light, but what is it?
Jesus’ yoke isn’t a list of demands. His yoke is the gospel – the good news that he has carried our sin, our guilt, and our death for us.
His yoke is his promises. Promises like: “I will be with you always.” Promises like: “I know the plans I have for you.”
Promises like the promise of forgiveness in Holy Communion. Every Sunday after giving God’s people Jesus’ body and blood in the Sacrament, I tell them, “Go in peace, your sins are forgiven.”
Years ago, a woman joined our church. Every time I said those words, she would quietly sigh with a smile. An invisible weight lifted off her shoulders.
Jesus’ promises tend to do that.
When the weight of your problems, your pain, your guilt, or your worry feels like you are carrying your kitchen pantry on your shoulders, go to Jesus in prayer. Turn to his promises and find rest for your soul.
That’s what I did today. Now I’m going to take a nap.
Pastor Andrew Schroer has been a pastor for over 25 years and is currently serving at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Edna, Texas. You can find his latest books, “364 Days of Thanksgiving” and “364 Days of Devotion,” on Amazon.com.
