Living Lightly

Michael Andres

Reading

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.
Matthew 11:28-30

Reflection

I don’t think there are too many folks who would mistake me for a farm boy. Don’t get me wrong, the idea of owning and stewarding some vast tract of land in the Texas Hill Country or even further west past the bend of the Rio Grande near the upper reaches of the Chihuahuan Desert is a dream I’ve spent a fair amount of time thinking about. But truth be told I’m probably better suited for decorative cattle instead of a real herd and have more in common with the wardrobe department of “Yellowstone” than I do with anyone whose earned their living off the land.

So, it’s not too much of a shocker when I say that I’ve never understood the true depth of Jesus’ words about his yoke being easy, his burden light. It doesn’t seem to me (you know, from my time spent in the Cracker Barrel waiting room) that yokes of any kind are particularly light, and I can’t imagine that wearing one is easy. The idea feels cumbersome, the labor challenging.

We share in an ethos of self-reliance, first witnessed in the indigenous people of this land and later by the immigrants, adventures, forlorn and war-torn folks who also made this land their home. We enjoy our freedoms and we find solace or at least a shared grit in the idea of pulling ourselves up by our own boots. Wearing a yoke, much less someone else’s goes against a certain streak of pride we maintain as folks in this part of the country.

But that’s Jesus’ point.

The invitation those who follow Jesus can accept each day is to not only live in an upside down world, but to labor each day to turn it right side up…not with our own lines of sight, but Jesus’. Following Jesus, walking in his footsteps, being people of grace and justice, welcome and kindness, love and voice, is to give up our rugged self-determinism in exchange for the transformation of our very souls.

Theologian Dallas Willard writes, “When a human being says, ‘I want to have my way!’ God says, ‘Alright, you can have your way.’ Sadly, the worst thing that can ever happen to a human being is to have their way when that way doesn’t include God.”

Trading in the yoke of self-reliance and control in exchange for one of surrender is a true gift of freedom. Our vulnerabilities are no longer liabilities but bedrocks upon which God develops strength and provides healing. Our earnest effort is met with a guiding and helping hand, an offer of relief and a better way of toiling, existing, being. Jesus’ yoke is light simply because it’s not ours.

Giving up our burdens, expressing our vulnerabilities and releasing them as liabilities of the self, releasing ourselves into the transforming work of the Holy Spirit is the offer Jesus gives us. Every day. It’s hard work. It’s good, honest work. Life-giving and life-saving. And it’s worth it.

Read again these words from Matthew. They’re from a different translation – The Message:
Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.

What’ll be next for us?