Year A, Lectionary 100
Although we experience division, suffering, and conflict, God brings and offers us peace. We must choose to bind ourselves to Jesus' yoke instead of earthly addictions that lead to sorrow. His yoke is actually easy because Jesus walks with us and it's tied down to the source of life. It's hard to learn and comprehend this through earthly logic but it makes sense when we approach it from a child-like dependency on God our Father.
Hate feeling lost on Sundays at church? Searching for a better explanation of the Bible than what you hear from your pastor's sermon? Check out the following collection of audio, video, and text commentaries from various Christian experts for a better understanding of today's scripture that deal with: Approach • Child • Chosen • Commandment • Community • Control • Divine • Faith • Flesh • Gather • Holy Spirit • Holy Trinity • Hospitality • Humility • Invitation • Joy • Kingdom • Know • Knowledge • Learn • Love • Mercy • Obedience • Peace • Praise • Prayer • Prophet • Receive • Relationship • Remember • Repent • Rest • Resurrection • Revelation • Salvation • Sin • Spirit • Struggle • Suffering • Understand • Wisdom • Work • Yoke •
“Christians who are baptized already have the Spirit of God dwelling in them...but it hasn't fully manifested itself in the resurrection of their bodies just yet so they still experience suffering...though they really belong to the life of the new creation and they're journeying toward that life”
“when Jesus is being rejected by these Galilean cities, they're not just rejecting the Messiah or the King of Israel, the long-awaited king, they're rejecting this great mystery of the Trinity itself, of the divine sonship of Christ”
“He wants us to take up the yoke of humility and gentleness and he will help us to carry our burdens and to carry our crosses so that we can follow him and when we do that, what we'll discover is rest for our souls”
“Jesus’ yoke is not easier or lighter because he demands less but because he bears more of the load with the burdened”
“So why are you burned out? Perhaps because you're taking on some other yoke that Christ isn't calling you to. Perhaps you're taking on some work that Christ hasn't asked you to do.”
“Jesus is exhorting us that to have a faith that is child-like is a good thing. To have a faith that is childish is not. And there is a clear distinction.”
“So in our prayer lives we have to stop obsessing about getting it perfect. We have to learn how to show up so we can listen.”
“Don't you often wish you had something custom made by Jesus? Well church, your yoke is custom made. It fits you exactly because Jesus, the master craftsperson, has fitted the yoke on you and measured it so that you will be able to bear the labor of the long day”
“When we have the love of Jesus in our hearts what people see as burdensome we see as awesome. When we have the love of Jesus in our hearts what people see as pressure we see as a pleasure. What people see as a pain we see as gain. When in the same situation people feel stressed we feel blessed.”
“every once in a while unforeseen burdens come upon you. Tragedies, disasters and sometimes personal disasters that happen to us and we're carrying them, this heavy load and nobody knows about it except us and Jesus. But Jesus knows.”
“So the occasion to which I'm being invited is rest. The date and time of the occasion is now, today, and the location for this occasion is Jesus Christ. The dress code is gentility or humility and then finally the RSVP is the Yoke of Christ.”
“when my yoke feels the most difficult, when my burden feels heaviest, it is compassion and tenderness that give me rest”
“if you are quiet enough and gentle and humble enough and open enough, God will lead you and guide you to a joy the world can't give you and the world can't take from you”
“Can we have the humility to come as little ones' asking Wisdom to help us to understand, to change and to live in a new way? Can we let go of some of the good things to allow a greater good to emerge?”
“knowing God is the heart of the Christian life, not keeping score. The gospel often turns things upside down, we turn the other cheek, the poor are lifted up, life conquers death but today we do more of that, we are called to look for a king of peace not the sword.”
“Today, my brothers and sisters, God challenges to look at our daily lives and to see how we deal with the day-to-day struggles and issues that might arise. Do we deal with them like the children of God or do we deal with them like the children of this world, children who live only according to the flesh?”