Alone? Not!

Jul 19, 2018

Both of my grandfathers were farmers, beginning their careers in the days when farmers followed teams of Clydesdale horses yoked together pulling ploughs across South Canterbury and North Otago countryside.

I have no doubt that when they heard from today’s gospel that the yoke of Jesus is easy, the image of their farm horses linked to form a team came easily to mind.

One horse could certainly pull much more than a single man, but a yoke enabled a couple of horses, or even a full team, to pull great weights over long distances for many hours.

Its an important image for humans and Jesus would have used it knowing that his hearers would know exactly what he was talking about.

While we might sometimes feel lonely, we are never alone. This is never more true than when we are feeling burdened and in need of rest. In these moments we are ripe for relationship with Jesus and with others.

An invitation: When you feel loneliness, hear the words of Jesus speaking directly to you:

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”  Mt 11:28-30

 

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Posts

moving waters

moving waters

Bible questions still pop up regularly in quiz shows and they often cost otherwise sharp players much needed points.
I’m ready for a question asking for the two names for the last book of the Bible. The book often known as Apocalypse is perhaps more often referred to as the Book of Revelation.
It’s common (thanks to movies) to think of an apocalypse as a devastating and unwelcome time of destruction.

to dream

to dream

The pics I use on these daily posts are sometimes snapped by me, and often borrowed from free-use websites. I thought it might be interesting to move towards using only my own snaps, and then only those taken in the past 24 hours. We’ll see how I go.
I took the pic above yesterday morning on an early walk.

to really see

to really see

Perhaps we find the miracles of Jesus too difficult to understand. How can we cope with what we may not have seen with our own eyes?
Many people cope with the miraculous by reducing it to what they can understand. They say Jesus just increased the blind man’s psychological vision, or opened his eyes of faith rather than actually giving him physical sight.

the rich earth

the rich earth

Over the years I have celebrated hundreds of funerals, many well prepared with family and friends gathering to celebrate the life of the one they love. There are efficient funeral directors, beautiful flowers, glossy brochures, photographs and video presentations, eulogies and even artificial grass and sterilised sand at the graveside.

Patrick’s day

Patrick’s day

Most people who celebrate on St. Patrick’s day today think of wearing green and enjoying good Irish music, Guinness and perhaps dancing at an Irish pub. But it’s easy to forget that Patrick was a robust disciple of Jesus Christ who brought the Good News of the ultimate and eternal liberation through Jesus Christ to the people of Ireland.