Mt 11:28-30
[Jesus said,] 28“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
Reflection
My yoke is easy: A yoke is an agricultural equipment consisting of a heavy bar of wood fitted over the neck of a working beast, allowing it to pull a plow or cart. Jews use it as a figure of speech for the instructions a teacher imparts to his disciples. Rabbis use it as a symbol for the Torah or law of Moses.
Here, Jesus uses it as a symbol of his reinterpretation of the law. The scribes and Pharisees insist on the meticulous observance of the 613 commandments in order to stand righteous before God. This is a great burden for ordinary people. On the other hand, Jesus promises messianic rest in the kingdom of God which he inaugurates. His yoke is easy because it is devoid of meticulous observance of a multitude of regulations. Instead, it focuses on the essential points to be followed. Since his teachings are shorter than that of the Pharisees, his yoke is quantitatively easier. But what he demands is a deepening observance of the law, where one follows the law of God from the heart. And since the demands of love of God and neighbor are inexhaustible, the yoke of Jesus is qualitatively more demanding.
Nevertheless, Jesus does not leave us with the same burden of fulfilling the law by our own meager strength. He provides his Spirit to help us understand the spirit of his law and to give us strength to fulfill it. The Palestinian yoke is a fitting symbol of the teachings of Christ and the balancing of them in our practical lives. Since Palestinian soil is arid and harder to plow, two working animals, instead of the usual one, are fitted with the farm yoke. Christians carry the yoke together with Christ himself. Thus, his yoke is easy and the burden is light because they are shared by the Master and the disciple.