Having grown up on a farm I am very familiar with the imagery of a yoke that is talked about in the Gospel today. The idea is that a wooden plank would be put between two animals in order to disburse the load of heavy equipment like a plow. The key here is that typically a yoke involves two animals.
Imagine carrying the weight of your life on your own. We all have trials and tribulations we go through and it can always help to have the support of our family, friends, and even sometimes a therapist to help us through the difficult things in our lives. But in America we tend to have the mentality that we don’t like to ask for help. It is sometimes seen as weakness to involve other people in the things that hurt us. We want to pull ourselves up on our own and make our own path.
While it is commendable to try to be the best version of ourselves that we can be, we cannot go through this life alone. This is a heresy known as Pelagianism where we assume that we can make it to heaven of our own accord or we can conquer sin without the help of God. If you have ever tried to overcome sin, addiction, trials, or anything else that life throws at you, then you know that you can’t do it alone.
Thankfully, Jesus makes it clear that his yoke is light. Imagine again pulling all of this weight on your own and then Jesus steps in, picks up the yoke, and carries it with you to disburse the weight. This imagery can’t help but make me think of Jesus carrying his cross. He took our sin on his own shoulders in order that we might have the grace to succeed in the spiritual life.
You do not have to do it alone. In fact, Jesus commands that we don’t. He wants to help us. Let’s allow him to disperse the weight of life so that we might have life and have it to the full.
From all of us here at Diocesan, God bless!
Como me crié en una granja, la imagen de un yugo, como la que se habla en el Evangelio de hoy, me es muy familiar. La idea es que se interponga una tabla de madera entre dos animales para desembolsar la carga de equipo pesado como un arado. La clave aquí es que típicamente un yugo involucra dos animales.
Imagina llevar el peso de tu vida por tu propia cuenta. Todos tenemos pruebas y tribulaciones por las que pasamos y siempre puede ayudar tener el apoyo de nuestra familia, amigos e incluso, a veces, un consejero para ayudarnos a superar las cosas difíciles de nuestras vidas. Pero en Estados Unidos tendemos a tener la mentalidad de que no nos gusta pedir ayuda. A veces se ve como una debilidad involucrar a otras personas en las cosas que nos lastiman. Queremos levantarnos por nosotros mismos y hacer nuestro propio camino.
Si bien es admirable tratar de ser la mejor versión posible de nosotros mismos, no podemos pasar por esta vida solos. Esta es una herejía conocida como pelagianismo en la que asumimos que podemos llegar al cielo por nuestra propia cuenta o podemos conquistar el pecado sin la ayuda de Dios. Si alguna vez has tratado de superar el pecado, la adicción, las pruebas o cualquier otra cosa que la vida se te presente, sabes que no puedes hacerlo solo.
Afortunadamente, Jesús deja claro que su yugo es ligero. Imagínate nuevamente cargando todo este peso por tu propia cuenta y luego Jesús interviene, levanta el yugo y lo lleva contigo para desembolsar el peso. Esta imagen no puede evitar hacerme pensar en Jesús cargando su cruz. Él tomó nuestro pecado sobre sus propios hombros para que pudiéramos tener la gracia de tener éxito en la vida espiritual.
No tienes que hacerlo solo. De hecho, Jesús manda que no lo hagamos. Quiere ayudarnos. Dejemos que él disperse el peso de la vida para que tengamos vida y la tengamos en plenitud.
De parte de todos nosotros aquí en Diocesan, ¡Dios los bendiga!
Tommy Shultz is a Business Development Representative for Diocesan. In this role he is committed to bringing the best software to dioceses and parishes while helping them evangelize on the digital continent. Tommy has worked in various diocese and parish roles since his graduation from Franciscan University with a Theology degree. He hopes to use his skills in evangelization, marketing, and communications, to serve the Church and bring the Good News to all. His favorite quote comes from St. John Paul II, who said, “A person is an entity of a sort to which the only proper and adequate way to relate is love.”
Feature Image Credit: Paul Jai, unsplash.com/photos/Pt9JWmvHbGw
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