HELLO!

This Sunday, July 5^th, we focus on some of the most iconic words from the Gospels stories of Jesus, “Come to me, all that are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” As someone who has been involved in political debates and theological debates for decades, these words resonate with me as they speak to one of the most crucial divides in the way we think about our most cherished human virtues. On one hand, there are progressives, people like me, who think of freedom and expression and diversity, as the most important gifts we inherit as humans. On the other hand, there are more conservative minded, people like those I meet on the street, people I meet in business and the military, who think of self-sufficiency and loyalty and character, as the most important gifts we have been given. As people of faith, who model ourselves on Jesus, the incarnate child of a living God, how do we understand our purpose, our destiny, our story, as we live day by day?

We come to the word “yoke”. When I am speaking to my conservative friends, as I was this week, a word that comes up frequently is structure. “People need structure”, a friend explained to me, “and without it, there are temptations, pathways to behaviours that can lead to death”. Conservatives use the word “structure” often as it helps them articulate their fears, and a hope, with a yoke-like harness of limits and direction, life can be pointed in the “right direction”. For progressives like me, these “yokes” can be life-giving, daily practices of gratitude, mindfulness, justice-making, but a yoke is also a symbol of slavery and prisoners of war. In one commentary I read, from a progressive voice, “yokes can be an invitation to wisdom (see Sirach 51:26) “Put your neck under her yoke and let your souls receive instruction”. Jesus’ discipleship may appear, at first glance, to be a burden but in practice it becomes life-giving. To take Jesus’ yoke upon oneself is to be yoked to the one in whom God’s kin-dom of justice, mercy, and compassion is breaking into this world, and to find the rest for which the soul longs. It is not that Jesus invites us to a life of ease. Following him will be full of risks and challenges, as he has made clear. Jesus calls us to a life of humble service, but it is a life of freedom and joy instead of slavery. We are “fitted” for a life of “beloved community”, as Martin Luther King called it. I believe the distinction, between “freedom” on one hand (progressives) and “structure” on the other (conservatives) can be bridged, clarified, and engaged, when we talk about what this yoke is for, whom it is for, what this freedom and structure builds, what the vision creates. When I am speaking to progressives, I remind us not all persons do well with talk of freedom without talk of purpose and direction, a sense of limits and a need for personal and communal discipline. When I am speaking to conservatives, I remind them, the purpose is not the status quo (see Jesus who pushes back on the conventional), that structure in aid of patriarchy, racism, and colonialism, is not a “a lighter burden” for all, only for those with privilege. In these conversations we listen to one another’s fears and hopes, while God’s Spirit brings wisdom.

Peace, Kevin

PS When I speak about how some need “structure”, how we all need direction and disciple, a larger purpose to our lives and I am met with disbelief, an argument that freedom and freedom alone is sufficient to a good life, I think of Bob Dylan’s song, “You Gotta Serve Somebody”.