Light
A bond that frees us, and a weight that lightens our load
December 7th 2015
Jesus said, ‘Take my yoke upon you... For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ What is a yoke? It is a piece of wood used to harness cattle. But when he speaks of a burden, he is referring instead to the donkey. These images seem strange at first – did Jesus see us as cattle and donkeys?...
In reality, if Jesus talks of his yoke and his burden, his aim is to contrast them with the yokes and burdens that humans place on their own shoulders and back or accept from others. They think they are free, they believe they are their own masters, but in reality they are slaves to their own lower nature, which is greedy for material possessions and success, or else they put themselves at the service of people who use them for their own interests. If we understand that what Jesus is expressing in words is the divine Principle, the Christ, we realize that when he talks of the yoke, the bond and the burden, he is referring to the light. And what bond can be gentler than the light, and what weight can be lighter? Light is a bond that frees us, a weight that lightens our load.