“My yoke is easy and my burden is light."

My dear friends in Christ,

What does Jesus mean when he says: “my yoke is easy and my burden is light?” Jesus is telling all who are weary and burdened to come to Him for rest. He isn’t speaking of physical burdens. He is speaking about the heavy burden of the system of works that the Pharisees laid on the backs of the people. The “yoke of the Pharisees” is the burdensome yoke of self-righteousness and legalistic law-keeping. It has been said by biblical scholars that the Pharisees had added over 600 regulations regarding what qualified as “working” on the Sabbath. That is a heavy burden! Jesus was saying that any kind of law-keeping is burdensome and amounts to a “heavy yoke” of oppression because no amount of lawkeeping can bridge the gap between our sinfulness and God’s holiness. The good news is that Jesus promises to alleviate the oppressive yoke or burden of selfrighteousness and legalism for all who come to Him. Jesus encourages those who are “heavy laden” to take His yoke upon them, and in so doing they will find rest for their souls. The yoke of Jesus is light and easy to carry because it is the yoke of repentance and faith followed by a singular commitment to follow Him.

If you have a friend, colleague, or family member that has an interest in becoming Catholic, The RCIA team is ready to meet you next week. It is Inquiry Weekend after all masses of July 15th and 16th. Won’t you please join us?

May God bless you all!

Fr. John