Tag Archives: Yoke

The Rhythm of God

creative-danceLiving in the Spirit
August 12, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Genesis 45:1-15

Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, “Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there—since there are five more years of famine to come—so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.” — Genesis 45:9-11

I’ll bet that was an interesting trip home. Ten brothers, nine of them having sold the twelfth brother into slavery some years ago, are pondering how they are going to tell their elderly father that they had lied to him about Joseph being killed by a wild animal, that they had sold Joseph into slavery, that somehow in his position as a slave he had worked his way into being the prime ruler in Egypt right under Pharaoh, and that Joseph now wanted his dad and all his brothers to come live with him in Egypt where all their needs would be met. Probably even more interesting was Jacob’s reaction to this news.

Did you notice the change in the language in Genesis as it moves to the story of Joseph from the story of Jacob? Jacob’s life was shared as human history except for the dream at Bethel and the wrestling match at Penuel. Joseph has found God in all of life and credits God with what has happened to him. This is the rhythm of God and humans throughout the Bible and actually ever since it was canonized. The devotion of individuals and groups ebbs and flows. But God’s rhythm is always there, people sometimes move too far away to hear it or they just do not listen.

This scripture reminded me of one of the sayings of Jesus: ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matthew11:28-30)

Prayer: Lord of the Dance, Let me share your yoke so that I may always be close enough to hear your rhythm. Open my ears that I also will always listen for it. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

God’s Purpose

Living in the Spirit
July 6, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

 ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’  — Matthew 11:28-30

This is one of my all-time favorite sayings of Jesus. There is nothing that means more to me than to know that I am yoked with him. At first blush we might consider that as a tremendous lack of freedom—of being enslaved. The paradox of faith is that being totally and completely in synch with God is the most freeing aspect of our lives. God did not create the world and all that lives as a part of it to be isolated, out of control random sparks of energy. We were created to be interdependent. We were created out of love for the purpose of loving. From the moment of each of our births, we had our first job: loving God and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. While that is a most challenging avocation, we never ever have to do it alone. We have a co-worker striving with us each step of the way who is also everyone else’s co-worker, if they choose to accept his yoke.

A part of our job of loving our neighbor is telling them about this marvelous co-worker. Letting them know that there is one who can free them from all that infringes on their wholeness as a child of God. We then must let God’s love continue to work within us and them to mold us together into oneness. It is at this point that we struggle. It is really hard to stay active in our faith while at the same time trusting fully that God is working God’s purpose out through and among us when it seems like the world about us is falling apart. I don’t know about you but I sometimes need to tell God what God should be doing when it really is supposed to be the other way around.

I am a goal oriented person, but I have learned over the years (usually the hard way) that in most instances staying faithful to the process is what makes the end result happen. I love to sing and when I sing right, breathing properly for example and singing in my head not my throat, I can sing better and longer. When I push and sing primarily in my throat, I am soon hoarse and unable to sing. Being a Christian requires us to trust in the process, do it diligently, and know that God has got our backs.

Prayer: Thank you for your love and your yoke. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.