We are so burdened. We are so tired. We seem to be carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders. But have you ever thought about where those crosses we have been carrying come from? Are the crosses we carry from God? Or did we place these crosses upon ourselves?
I remember sitting in Mass listening to the priest preach on this Gospel from Matthew. “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28
Before this day I honestly had no idea what this gospel was on about and I didn’t get its significance. I often take Scripture for granted. But since that Sunday I have seen this gospel in a new light.
The burdens we carry are often the weight we place upon ourselves - due to sin, pride and fear. We have this natural desire to crave validation from others. We have this preoccupation of how we are seen by others. We live in a society where we are constantly comparing and seeing how we measure up. We fear being forgotten, of not being worthy, of not being successful enough. We fear vulnerability and yet try to hide behind masks to cover up our deepest desires and hurts. We fear the unknown and not having control. That certainly doesn’t seem ‘light’ to me - instead we are weighed down by all these burdens.
I know for a fact that God didn’t place these crosses on my own shoulders. But I was the one who decided to carry these crosses.
What’s the cure? The priest in his homily said the cure is the yoke of Christ. What did Jesus mean when he said His yoke is easy and His burden is light? Well, it doesn’t mean that our crosses won’t be heavy, but it does mean that when we place ourselves under His load, we are freed from the burden of sin. He gives us freedom through His resurrection, rather than the burden of death. When we go to Jesus, He doesn’t take our crosses away, but instead He carries the crosses with us - making it lighter for us, easier to carry. Showing us that we can depend and rely on Him, that we can lean on Him.
Jesus helps us carry our crosses and leads us to the Resurrection and eternal life, to peace and rest, to true happiness. Just as Jesus carried His cross for our Salvation, He first showed us by example, He shows us that He knows exactly what we are going through though He endured so much more. Jesus humbles Himself and places Himself in service of us. How does Jesus love us that much?
This passage in the gospel now gives me so much comfort. Knowing that if I pick up my cross and follow Him, it will be much lighter and more peaceful. It doesn’t necessarily mean it will be easy, but I know I’d rather have Jesus lessen the load and carry my cross with me rather than carrying it and bearing the complete weight all on my own.
What I pray for us all today, is that we let go of the crosses we place upon ourselves, and instead carry the crosses we have before us, following God, and allowing Him to help us carry the weight and lighten the burdens we feel.
janz.
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