You Will Find Rest For Your Souls
Last Sunday the St. Andrew Men’s vocal group, Ambassadors for Christ, sang the beautiful old hymn, “What a Friend we Have in Jesus.” When I thanked one of the fellows after church, I commented that I don’t remember learning the hymn, but have always known it. He responded, “I know what you mean – songs like that – we just seem to learn them by osmosis, don’t we?” He was exactly right. Those words and melody just soak in and become part of us.
As is often the case, I began to wonder if there could be a theme for a devotion in these words, and of course there is. The phrasing is rather old-fashioned, and some of the terms aren’t used in everyday language any more. But we still understand the message – that although we are anxious, friendless, or discouraged, we are never alone. We can cry and complain and worry and fret and be angry, but Jesus is there to hear us and offer comfort. The promise is not that Jesus will make all the difficulties go away; the promise is that he will help us cope with and carry them.
This is not a long hymn – only three stanzas, and the third begins with a question: “Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?” When I hear this phrase, I immediately have a mental image of a person with a huge (almost cartoonish) bag slung over his shoulder, bent almost double by the weight of it, struggling to just put one foot in front of the other. Most of us cringe at the thought of being so burdened with sorrow and hopelessness, but we do realize and understand that there are people both around us and around the world who are carrying some mighty heavy loads.
This whole stanza is evidently inspired by Jesus’ statement to his disciples in Matthew 11:28-30:
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
The Lutheran Study Bible has some interesting information on Jesus’ use of the word “yoke”. To me, a yoke is the bulky, wooden device by which a pair of oxen were connected to a harness so as to pull a heavy plow or wagon. However, Jesus uses the terminology of the rabbis, who described the task of obeying God’s Law as a yoke. In these verses, Jesus invites us to put on the yoke of his teaching, which is not burdensome, but light. Remember, he tells us that he came not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. As we accept Christ as the fulfillment of God’s Law, it then becomes the gift of God’s will for us as his people. Following our Lord in this conflict-filled world may not be easy, and many have been persecuted for claiming the name of Christian. But our spirits will find rest and peace, and in God’s good time, his will is done.
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers