Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

July 5, 2026

Matthew 11: 25-30

Jesus tells us today that the yoke which was required trying to carry out the many dictates of the Law of Moses is no longer needed if we choose to let it go. He tells us of a new yoke; one that is easy and its burden is light.

What is a yoke? For many today, yoke as a noun is a foreign concept that we have never experienced. Today, we do not see many teams of animals joined together by a wooden device that is designed to make them a team. Not many mules are joined to pull a plough. Not many oxen are yoked together to till a rice field. Our experience of a yoke in its original sense is from a painting or picture.

So often, we think of the yoke as that of the Law which is so heavy and rough. Jesus offers a yoke that fits us better, that does not require us to know and follow seemingly meaningless regulations. Instead, his yoke is based on the new Law: Love one another, as I have loved you. But I think the image of the yoke goes even further.

A yoke binds two animals together so that they work as one. The yoke is itself designed to make work easier. If two work as one, the burden is lighter; we take comfort from the companionship and strength of the other. The yoke itself is a help to foster love of the other. Think what it means if the partner in the yoke is Jesus himself. If we see the other partner in the yoke as Jesus, how light the burden becomes. It does require a new way of thinking; but, after all, that is exactly what Jesus was asking us at the Last Supper. The yoke joins; it comforts; it straightens; it fosters love and appreciation. That is exactly the life Jesus lived and is asking us to embrace.

There is a wonderful legend concerning the quiet years of Jesus, the years prior to his visible ministry. The legend claims that Jesus the carpenter was one of the master yoke-makers in the Nazareth area. People came from miles around for a yoke, hand-carved and crafted by Jesus son of Joseph. When customers arrived with their team of oxen Jesus would spend considerable time measuring the team, their height, the width, the space between them, and the size of their shoulders. Within a week, the team would be brought back and he would carefully place the newly made yoke over the shoulders, watching for rough places, smoothing out the edges and fitting them perfectly to this particular team of oxen. That’s the yoke Jesus invites us to take. Do not be misled by the word “easy,” for its root word in Greek speaks directly of the tailor-made yokes: they were “well-fitting.” The yoke Jesus invites us to take, the yoke that brings rest to weary souls, is one that is made exactly to our lives and hearts. The yoke he invites us to wear fits us well, does not rub us nor cause us to develop sore spirits and is designed for two. His yokes were always designed for two. And our yoke-partner is none other than Christ himself.

It is in this light that we embrace our first reading from the prophet Zachariah: “Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion, shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! Your King shall come to you; just savior is he…” This Savior-King has come to proclaim peace and bring peace. He has come to offer a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light. And why is this yoke easy and light? It is because that it is taken up, not as a burden, like the old Law, rather it is taken up out of love. Love for our yoke-partner, Jesus Christ, who allows us to see and known his Father.

Fr. John Tran