Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.

In the time of Jesus, the symbol of yoke was used for the Law – Torah or for the Kingdom. It meant commitment to fulfill the requirements of Torah or living the lifestyle of the Kingdom. None of the sages, rabbis, ever used the expression “my yoke”. My yoke is found only in the Scriptures referring to Wisdom. Jesus uses it in an unexpected way. Quite a shocking way. He suggests that he is the divine Wisdom we read about in the Book of Wisdom (Sir 24:1.7-8.17-23)

¹Wisdom sings her own praises,
among her own people she proclaims her glory […]
⁷“From the mouth of the Most High I came forth […]
Among all these I sought a resting place.
In whose inheritance should I abide?
⁸Then the Creator of all gave me his command,
and my Creator chose the spot for my tent.
He said, ‘In Jacob make your dwelling,
in Israel your inheritance.’
¹⁷I bud forth delights like a vine;
my blossoms are glorious and rich fruit.
¹⁸ I am the mother of fair love, of reverence,
of knowledge, and of holy hope;
To all my children I give
to be everlasting: to those named by Him.
¹⁹ Come to me, all who desire me,
and be filled with my fruits.
²⁰ You will remember me as sweeter than honey,
better to have than the honeycomb.
²¹Those who eat of me will hunger still,
those who drink of me will thirst for more.
²²Whoever obeys me will not be put to shame,
and those who serve me will never go astray.”
²³All this is the book of the covenant of the Most High God,
the Law which Moses commanded us
as a heritage for the community of Jacob.

Jesus identifies himself with the Divine Wisdom, coming from the Most High directly (v. 7) and was commanded to make a dwelling among the people of Israel (v.8) bringing her fruits to share with them (v. 17-18). One specific fruit is everlasting life (v. 18b).

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Sirach identifies the Wisdom with the Book of the Law (Torah) in verse 23. Thus, the sages of Israel always thought of the Wisdom as the Book of Torah, the Law as light for the life. They understood Sirach speaking symbolically only. However, Jesus reveals himself as the personified Wisdom itself, and consequently, as the embodiment of the Torah! In the flow of the gospel story, we did not hear any reaction of the people standing around him. I believe it is not the omission of Matthew but rather the historical reality: people were shocked and probably could not believe what they just heard!

Jesus is the embodiment of the Torah and the Wisdom of God himself! When he repeats the invitations to come to him and find refreshment, restoration, and renewal, he requests to take my yoke on as well. Historically, the yoke was a wooden bar or frame that joined two animals, like oxen or horses, so that they can pull a wagon, plow, thresh wheat, grind flour, etc., together. This is an important detail for the rabbis urged to take on the yoke of the Law, suggesting you work hard to fulfill it. Here Jesus invites people to join him, to walk together, to pull the ‘burden of the Law’ together. This is a totally different image. Totally different situation. Jesus offers help, support. He offers an effective presence. You are not doing it alone but with me!

Furthermore, he invites us to learn from him. In other words, if you want to know how to fulfill the Torah – and he made clear that the greatest commandment of the Law is loving God and loving your neighbor – watch me, imitate me! St. Paul often repeats this saving challenge: be imitators of God (Eph 5:1), be imitators of me as I am of Christ (1 Cor 11:1; 4:16; Phil 3:17; Heb 6:12; 13:17; 2 Thess 3:7). The essence of Christian life is nothing else but receiving the new life in Christ and become his imitators! Jesus empowers us to fulfill this through an intimate communion with him: personal and communal prayer, the Word of God, sacraments of Eucharist and Confession.

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St. Cyril of Alexandria, commenting on this passage, says that Christ invites us to come to him: Draw near to me, so that you may become sharers of the divine nature and partakers of the Holy Spirit. Jesus called everyone, not only the people of Israel. As the Maker and Lord of all, he spoke to the weary Jews who did not have the strength to bear the yoke of the law. He spoke to idolaters (pagans) heavy laden and oppressed by the devil and weighed down by the multitude of their sins. To Jews he said, “obtain the profit of my coming to you. Bow down to the truth. Acknowledge your Advocate and Lord. I set you free from bondage under the law, bondage in which you endured a great deal of toil and hardship, unable to accomplish it easily and accumulating for yourselves a very great burden of sins. (Fragment 149)