Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ Matthew 11:28-30

Aaaagh!!! Not another task online to do! It seems work today is mainly dealing with the ephemeral ether of the Internet, Intranet, Internal-frustration net, and small-gain net! Teaching well (I’m a teacher) seems to be way down the priority list because of admin requirements and time spent having to locate screens that are screaming at you to keep up! The privilege of teaching real students (even if they were silent– at least you knew of their existence!) has become black screens or suddenly disappearing students with just their names on Zoom. Work, once the busy bandwagon of rushing around physically, is now sitting around in constant activity, getting eye strain, a stiff neck, and tech headaches trying to find either the entry or exit point of various requirements – emails to check, links to find, permissions to seek, the right password to enter or unlock, or update, tutorials to complete, compliance videos to watch, menus to scroll, Microsoft Teams, Google Docs, Zoom, and I’m only at the tip of this impersonal ‘iceberg’, that leaves you worn out, sitting long into the wee hours battling a huge guilt complex for not being able to meet demands.

My topic is work matters but all I want to write about is rest. In Matthew 11, the yoke was meant to ease an uncomfortable heavy load. Take a scarf, loop it around your neck and that of a friend or family member like two oxen yoked together. Feel the softness and the fun. The image of a yoke that Jesus used indicates that the rest promised is while inside his yoke, Jesus is very close, less than 1.5m, without a mask, breathing the air He breathes, completely and eternally safe.

The IVP Bible Commentary says that the yoke image also alludes to obedience and accepting responsibility. Oxen are yoked when working obediently and responsibly. By His presence, Jesus gives respite, a breather, while at the same time empowering us (2 Peter 1: 1-11) by His Spirit to work in sync with our Yokefellow.  Aha!

Rose Laing