Marshallans | Noble Order

Theme: The Message of Christ is not success on earth, but peace for those who live by the spirit. It is the little ones, the humble and the meek, who are able to receive Christ’s teachings and to understand that his yoke is easy, his burden light.

Jesus bids us to come unto him when we are burdened – but he will never coddle us. Instead, he waits until we are humble enough to submit to his yoke; his plan is not our own.

Introduction: My yoke is easy, my burden light. There are some who hear these words and expect instant magical relief from their pains and sorrows. Others see in this gentle teaching of Christ a much deeper message, one touching their very life and destiny. The gospel message goes to the heart of our religious life. If we understand it properly, it can release enormous power for us. Christ does not waste words, nor does he deceive us: he is the Way, he is the Lord.

Point 1: People follow their own will. Most people do not realize that they battle their way through life not asking the Lord what he wants, but determined to carry out their own goals and objectives. They don’t really know how to turn it all over to him, to surrender everything. They push and pressure to get what they want, and they learn the hard way that life does not easily bend to their will. Even so, they cling to their battle plan, convinced they are on the right path. They do not ask the Lord to show them his will; they only turn to him to rally his support for their way. They want him to fit right in with their ideas, and they pray that he make their dreams come true. This is normal human behavior: it is not bad, but neither is it Christian.

Point 2: Jesus followed his Father’s will. Experience teaches us that sorrow, sickness and death are part of every life. Jesus does not come to exempt us from the human condition: he comes to save us from eternal damnation. He says, “I am the Way.” It is we who must surrender to his Way. Our life is not really our own to do with it as we please. We can learn from him by considering how he dealt with God the Father. He surrendered his life to the Father. The Father did not provide instantaneous relief; he allowed the pain of his Son’s life to continue.

Point 3: Jesus is our model. Christ shouldered the yoke that was placed upon him in a spirit of joyful acceptance, not in a mood of grim resignation. The same Spirit that enabled him to do this is in us right now. It is the Spirit of God who gives us the strength to surrender. This is what the Lord asks of us. “Should MY yoke … and you will find rest for your soul.” It is HIS plan that we must follow if we wish to bear good fruit. Our plan of life will be good and worthy only insofar as it conforms to his will.

Conclusion: Do you ever ask the Lord what he wants of you? Are you terrified that he may ask something foreign to your present set of values or way of life? Most people like to think of themselves as being in tune with Jesus, but often their hearts are not filled with joy and peace, but with bitterness, resentment, hostility, fear. Do not expect to be given the people of Christ, or to have your yoke made easy and light if your yoke is your own creation. His yoke is of divine creation. In his will, you shall find your peace; through your commitment to Jesus, you shall draw the power you need day by day to do what he wants. Indeed, his yoke is easier and lighter than any you could fashion for yourself. But it is only when you shoulder it that you experience the truth of Jesus’ words.

QUESTIONS THAT MAY LEAD TO OTHER THOUGHTS / REFLECTION / DISCUSSION / WRITTEN

In the passage Matthew 11: 25-30 we have the greatest claim that Jesus ever made, the claim which is the centre of the Christian faith, that he alone can reveal God to men. Other men may be sons of God; he is The Son. John put this in a different way, when he tells us that Jesus said, "He who has seen me has seen the Father" (Jn.14:9). What Jesus says is this: "If you want to see what God is like, if you want to see the mind of God, the heart of God, the nature of God, if you want to see God's whole attitude to men--look at me!" It is the Christian conviction that in Jesus Christ alone we see what God is like; and it is also the Christian conviction that Jesus can give that knowledge to anyone who is humble enough and trustful enough to receive it.

In This passage Jesus says, "My burden is light." As a Rabbi had it: "My burden is become my song." It is not that the burden is easy to carry; but it is laid on us in love; it is meant to be carried in love; and love makes even the heaviest burden light. When we remember the love of God, when we know that our burden is to love God and to love men, then the burden becomes a song. There is an old story which tells how a man came upon a little boy carrying a still smaller boy, who was lame, upon his back. "That's a heavy burden for you to carry," said the man. "That's no burden," came the answer. "That's my small brother." The burden which is given in love and carried in love is always light.

When he consults himself, man knows he is great. When he contemplates the universe around him, he knows that he is little: and his ultimate greatness consists in his knowledge of his littleness. (Blaise Pascal)

To pray is to meditate, to meditate is to imitate. To recapture the taste for humility there is nothing better than a long and silent contemplation of the humble Jesus. Review the principal scenes in his life. In each of them lies hidden a grace of humility which we need only inhale in order to nourish our soul. Hear Jesus say to each of us: “My son, come to me to learn how to become meek and humble of heart; it is the key to wisdom and to knowledge; it is the secret of a fruitful life. Without humility your life is an illusion, and sterile. But beware, the humility I expect from you is not the false humility of the unfaithful servant who buried his talent in the earth; humility which shuns activity for fear of peril, of difficulty, of contradiction, is, in truth, cowardice. (Gaston Courtois)

Never forget that we are little. Little we are before the task we have to accomplish, as I have now tried to make you see in the light of Love’s demands. Yet, rather than overwhelming us, the disproportion should throw us inwardly upon the power of Jesus. Our radical incapacity must be transmuted into the self-abandonment of the child, with the certainty of being heard by dint of prayer, desire, perseverance and humility. (Rene Voillaume)

I asked God for strength that I may achieve;
I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for riches that I might be happy;
I was given poverty that I might be wise.
I asked for power that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life;
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for – but everything I had hoped for;
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men most richly blessed. (Anonymous)