Homily: July 9-2023, Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Yoke).

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 "For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

A yoke is a wooden beam sometimes used between a pair of oxen so that they pull together a load, usually to till the land. The pair of oxen walks together so that the work is done with less effort. It was probably first used around 4000 BC, so the people listening to Jesus, who were mostly farmers, would understand what He was talking about.

But what is this yoke that Jesus was referencing? Because the work done by the oxen was hard labour and the yoke restricted their freedom, the term ‘yoke’ had been used to refer to burdensome life, hardship and heavy responsibility.

The Jewish people were at that time burdened by the law. The 613 sub-laws created by the Jewish religious leaders made life very difficult and burdensome for the people. They made it seem impossible to satisfy God’s expectations, no one except the Jewish leaders could fulfil all that the sub-laws prescribed.

Here Jesus is saying that His yoke, His way of keeping the faith and fulfilling the law would be easy and light. How?

Jesus summarized all the law and prophets into two simple commandments: "Love God and love neighbor." 

This sounds very simple indeed. Yet, if we look carefully at the new set of rules that Jesus introduced, it seems more difficult. For example, in the old law, it was "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth", that seems fair, but Jesus says if somebody strikes your right cheek, let him strike your left cheek also. Would you do it?

The Mosaic law stated, "do not commit adultery" but for Jesus, if a man just looked at a woman with lust, he would have committed adultery in his heart. Many, including the Jewish leaders would have failed this many times over.

Another example: "Do not murder" is in the old law, but Jesus says, "Do not hate your brother" because hatred equals murder.

Sounds too easy for anyone and everyone to fail Jesus’ new set of instructions yet His teaching is totally consistent with the basis of God’s law: love God and love neighbor.

But why did He say it is easy and light?

Because we would not be on our own, we would be carrying the yoke together with the Holy Spirit, our advocate, our helper. He will be pairing up with us. Carrying Jesus’ yoke this way, we will not even feel the weight.

Relying on the Holy Spirit, even raising the dead to life would be effortless. That was how the Apostles could work miracles like Jesus. They carried His yoke and worked alongside Jesus. They followed in His footsteps and even took joy in being persecuted and tortured.

Yes, on our own, we cannot fulfill the Lord's commandments; on our own, we cannot reach holiness. We need the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of love, the Spirit of joy. 

Dear brothers and sisters, we are not alone when we live by God’s law. We are in the Spirit. The Spirit in us will make us holy and enable us to do God's will easily.

His yoke is love, His burden is love, His way is love. When we live by love, we live free. Amen.


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