Get serious, Jesus! You say that your burden is light (Mt 11:30). Hardly! There are many times that I feel crushed by the burdens of life. I have so many responsibilities. There are so many jobs to do. The days are so long. I have to work so hard. The demands are so constant. There are so few breaks. You say the burden is light. I probably should not disagree with the Son of God, but I say that the burdens are huge, sometimes oppressive, and more than I can manage.
The yoke is a symbol for the burden. A yoke is a wooden frame or harness attached to the shoulders of a pair of oxen to pull a plow or cart. The yoke enables the oxen to pull much weight and do much work. For a Christian, the yoke can symbolize the gospel, which the believer chooses to harness to their shoulders, with all of its duties and obligations, or it can symbolize one’s God-given vocation in life, with its endless tasks and responsibilities.
The yoke is far from easy. It is a burden to live the gospel, such as to speak and insist on the truth in the midst of distortion and dishonesty, and then to bear the burden of the consequences. It is a burden to accept the vocation as a parent with the endless jobs that follow: getting up at night, feeding the baby, changing diapers, giving baths, doctor appointments, and everything else that goes with being a mother or father.
How is it, then, that the yoke could be easy? Jesus and Joseph worked in a carpenter’s shop in Nazareth (see Mt 13:55; Mk 6:3). Carpenters are woodworkers, and much of their craft is to make items for the home: tables and chairs, door and window frames, and doors. Nazareth is surrounded by farmland, and farmers went to the carpenter’s shop to get yokes for their oxen. Jesus would have made many yokes over his long career in the carpenter’s shop.
Oxen come in different sizes and shapes, particularly the bone and muscle structure of the shoulders. If the yoke does not fit properly, it hurts to pull and the oxen refuse to work. Therefore, each yoke has to be tailor-made, individually form-fitted. Jesus was an expert both at measuring the oxen and customizing yokes that fit just right. When the yoke fits properly, the oxen will pull and do an enormous amount of work.
When it comes to a person’s calling or vocation in life, a person’s “yoke,” each one is individually tailor-made by God. One is called to be a parent. Another is called to be a school teacher, a nurse, a technician, or a cook. Every calling is burdensome, but because the yoke is form-fitted to the individual by God, and when a person accepts their vocation, the person gains a sense of purpose and determination, which makes the burden lighter. God supplies the energy to carry the load, and renews the energy day by day, all which makes a heavy burden lighter.
The main factor affecting the weightiness of the burden is love. If a parent loves their infant child, the burden of getting up at night, feeding the baby, or changing the diaper instantly becomes light. Similarly, when teachers love their students, health care professionals love their patients, and workers love their customers, their workload becomes light, not because the job is easy, but because the burden is carried willingly and joyfully. When love of God and neighbor is the driving force, what would otherwise be a burden is light.
