"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart,… For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
The chosen people of God in the Old Testament were used to associating God with might and power that comes with a thunderous sound like a “roaring lion,” just as how God was described in the Book of Amos. This time in the New Testament, Jesus gave God a new character — a God living among us with a human face that radiates gentleness and abject humility.
Given the chance to worship a lowly God whose paradigm is centered towards his people, would we rather not do it with a reverence fit for a humble king, the way today’s psalm has urged us to chant: “I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God”?
And if we may further ask what kind of a king is Jesus is, the first reading gives us the answer: “Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he,… humble and riding on a donkey.” Can we fathom enough how God has chosen His Son to be a king who rides what is often considered the “stupidest” of all farm animals? Humility at its best.
Jesus’ brand of kingship is stated clearly in our Gospel today: “…I am meek and humble of heart.” This humble-hearted king offers not only rest but his yoke that is easy and his that is light. What Jesus is offering to us is a unique dependence on God in everything we do, the kind that will last us more than our earthly lifetime knowing that God is God. The easy yoke and light burden are no less than God’s loving hand, gently guiding us through our earthly journey towards our heavenly goal. How can that be best illustrated? One priest in our community often tells us that the farmers of the Middle East Asia (which culturally includes Israel) use a double yoke for two farm beasts of burden doing a kind of team work. With that in mind, we can easily imagine Jesus, our humble King, not only accompanying us in carrying our daily load but rather working together side by side with us, taking the other yoke, making our yoke easy and our burden most certainly light and manageable. Were it an ad for a product or service, who wouldn’t jump at such an offering of dependence on God if we are assured of divine companionship in the person of Jesus himself?
Lastly, aside from Christ’s invitation towards a total dependence on the Father through Him, He is also challenging us to emulate his brand of humble, proactive leadership — a king who walks us through all our miseries. In response to him, we may reflect: Have I dared walk someone through his pain and struggles? Have I lifted a finger at my subordinates’ heavy loads? As a person of authority, am I instead a light yoke or an unreasonably heavy burden?
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