Sunday, September 9, 2012

 How to Lighten Your Overload
Psalm 119:81-88
Matthew 11:28-30
            Information overload.  Financial overload.  Family overload.  Work overload.  School overload.  How much overload can one person carry?  Sometimes even vacations can seem like an overload when we feel the need to cram as much “relaxation” into our time off as is humanly possible.  Is there ever an end to overloads?
            I always laugh (inwardly) when college students come to me and tell me how much stress they’re feeling.  I want to tell them that if they think this is stress, wait until they’re out earning a living and trying to figure out how to survive with a less-than-adequate paycheck.  I don’t say it out loud, of course, since I don’t want to discourage them completely.  But those of us who have experienced life for any amount of time know that stress can keep piling up and piling on, until we feel like we’re at the bottom of a huge inverted pyramid.
            This is where the writer of Psalm 119 finds himself.  In v. 83 we read:  “For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke.”  If you’ve ever driven through western Kentucky you’ve seen little sheds with smoke coming out of them.  They’re not burning.  This is the way tobacco is dried.  A fire is lit under the hanging leaves to draw out the moisture.  This “cures” the leaves and makes them ready to be used.  If a wineskin were dried over a fire, it would be good for nothing.  It would be cracked and leaking.
            In v. 87, we find how far the drying-out process has progressed for the writer.  He says:  “They have almost made an end of me on earth, but I have not forsaken your precepts.”  We can substitute “instructions,” or “teachings,“ or even “commandments” for precepts and get a more complete understanding of this verse.  The writer realizes that reliance on God’s guidance is even more necessary in times of drought and stress than in times of plenty.
            This is what Jesus had in mind when he spoke the words recorded in Matthew.  Jesus is teaching those who have gathered around him.  They are probably there as much for the healing miracles as for the words of life Jesus offers, but they are listening.  He has just established for them his relationship with the Father.  God has empowered Jesus by giving him all things.  Because of this, the only way to know God is through knowing Jesus, God on earth. 
            “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest,” Jesus says.  What delightful words!  What a wonderful message!  Here is a way to get rid of all our stress, all our overloads. Jesus will take them from us and relieve us of all that puts us at the point of collapse.
            But wait!  That’s not all he has to say.  “Take my yoke upon you,” Jesus adds—and makes us pause.  How can we lighten our load by taking on a yoke?  Won’t we have even more burden?  A yoke connects us to a cart or a plow, or some other device where we’ll have work to do.  How will this help?
            As usual with Jesus’ teaching, we have to read through to the end.  He continues:  “Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls [italics mine].  “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  And there we have the crux of the teaching.  The overloads are still there, but our souls will be at rest.  We may have the same stressors in our lives, but we won’t feel them weighing on our souls.
            Remember, a yoke has two sides.  Two oxen, two mules, or two horses are yoked together to make the burden lighter.  And who is in the other half of our yoke?  You know.

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