“I am the Lord your God, who brought you
out of Egypt, and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.” (Lev.
26:13) “Is this not the fast I choose- to loosen the bonds of wickedness, and to break every yoke?” (Isa. 58:6) “It was
for freedom that Christ set us free, therefore do not be subject again to a
yoke of slavery.” (Gal. 5:1) “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke
is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:29-30).
The Bible has a lot of references to Yokes, and none of them is connected to an egg. Other than in a store, I've never seen a yoke ... but I know that yokes were used to unite beasts of burden so that they could work as a team, and I know that the apostle Paul warned the Corinthians against marrying non-Christians because they would be unevenly yoked if they did. That's not a politically correct thing to say in our time, but still it's good advice. If you've ever been in a relationship with someone who didn't share the same values and priorities that you did, you know how difficult it is to walk smoothly, gain momentum, reach a common goal, or even go in the same direction... if you are unevenly yoked!
Being yoked evenly with a significant other is important because your life will be a tug-of-war if you aren't... but the Bible also talks about the yokes that people, or even a people, carry ... as a burden... like the women we see in third world countries carrying two pails of water, one attached to each end of a long pole that sits across their shoulders. Sometimes, just eeking out a living is a burden. Surely poverty is a burden, and poor health can be a burden too. Sometimes we're born with a yoke across our shoulders... because we're born to a crack addict, or into an abusive home, or with a trait or disability that others won't accept. Sometimes, our yoke is a sign that we were victimized somewhere along the road of life. Maybe we were sexually abused, maybe we were horribly mistreated or abandoned, maybe we had to steal and lie and sell ourselves to survive... and that moment in time becomes our yoke. Sometimes people of color, female, disabled, or gay share a yoke which society systematically lays upon the entire lot of them... by setting up barriers and denying opportunity.
Sometimes, the yoke we carry is the yoke we choose to carry. It's a burden that we picked up ourselves. Some people are burdened by addictions- alcohol for sure- but there are many other candidates as well- drugs, lies, sex, work, power, prestige, wealth, and people-pleasing come to mind, and some people are burdened by their need to be loved, to be in control, their need to be perfect, and its cousin, the fear of not being good enough. All of these and each one of these is a yoke that separates us from our fellows and from God... and some of them... will take our family, our hope, and even our soul!
The Bible has a lot of references to Yokes, and none of them is connected to an egg. Other than in a store, I've never seen a yoke ... but I know that yokes were used to unite beasts of burden so that they could work as a team, and I know that the apostle Paul warned the Corinthians against marrying non-Christians because they would be unevenly yoked if they did. That's not a politically correct thing to say in our time, but still it's good advice. If you've ever been in a relationship with someone who didn't share the same values and priorities that you did, you know how difficult it is to walk smoothly, gain momentum, reach a common goal, or even go in the same direction... if you are unevenly yoked!
Being yoked evenly with a significant other is important because your life will be a tug-of-war if you aren't... but the Bible also talks about the yokes that people, or even a people, carry ... as a burden... like the women we see in third world countries carrying two pails of water, one attached to each end of a long pole that sits across their shoulders. Sometimes, just eeking out a living is a burden. Surely poverty is a burden, and poor health can be a burden too. Sometimes we're born with a yoke across our shoulders... because we're born to a crack addict, or into an abusive home, or with a trait or disability that others won't accept. Sometimes, our yoke is a sign that we were victimized somewhere along the road of life. Maybe we were sexually abused, maybe we were horribly mistreated or abandoned, maybe we had to steal and lie and sell ourselves to survive... and that moment in time becomes our yoke. Sometimes people of color, female, disabled, or gay share a yoke which society systematically lays upon the entire lot of them... by setting up barriers and denying opportunity.
Sometimes, the yoke we carry is the yoke we choose to carry. It's a burden that we picked up ourselves. Some people are burdened by addictions- alcohol for sure- but there are many other candidates as well- drugs, lies, sex, work, power, prestige, wealth, and people-pleasing come to mind, and some people are burdened by their need to be loved, to be in control, their need to be perfect, and its cousin, the fear of not being good enough. All of these and each one of these is a yoke that separates us from our fellows and from God... and some of them... will take our family, our hope, and even our soul!
However, there’s one yoke that we all share and that's the yoke of sin, which is in and of itself a death sentence. Friends, even if we're good people, even if we mow our yards, go to church, and pay our taxes, we’re enslaved to self and sin. We’re all bundles of pride and fear, scared to death of hanging on and of letting go, and we're all prone to go our own way. None of us loves God with every fiber of our body and none of us loves our neighbor as ourselves, and therefore, whether were a pauper or a king, a sinner or a saint, we're yoked to sin. We need a savior because the issue is NOT a matter of being yoked or not yoked, but simply a matter of whom (or what) we'll be yoked to and how choking that yoke will be. Those who can’t believe in simple things and who can’t bring themselves to let go… will never lay their burdens down…but to those who are burdened and seeking relief, Jesus says this: come to me. Yoke yourself to me as a disciple and learn from me, which is what disciples did in those days. They left their families… to learn from their teacher. They traveled with him, observed him, and became like him. His priorities became their priorities. His values became their values. His passions-their passions- his joys their joys- his tears their tears.
Being yoked to the right teacher was fulfilling and empowering…but Jesus' yoke is also liberating and life-giving. It's easy because it will free you from your past, your wounds, your pride, your worries, your fears, your false gods, your sins, and yourself, which is the real source of your slavery. Take my yoke, he said, and you’ll be free. Take my yoke and you’ll discover the joy of living and a peace that passes all understanding. Take my yoke and you will find rest for your souls ... for my yoke is easy and my burden is light! Amen.
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