Monday, September 10, 2007 Alipio: Sharing the load By Fr. Jose Alipio The Yoke
Mt 11:28-30
AS EASTERN religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism have become known in this country, many of the religious practices of these mystical faiths have been adopted by the so-called New Age religions. These various meditative practices are called yogas. Now the Sanskrit word ‘yoga’ simply means ‘yoke.’ If you think of the heavy wooden yoke that binds a team of oxen together, you have a visual picture of what a yoga exercise is all about. The exercises are disciplines that join us to the spiritual dimension of the universe. Certain exercises that involve controlled breathing, mental visualization, repetitive chanting are employed to get in touch with the spiritual depths of one’s own personality. Each discipline is seen as a way of experiencing directly the reality of God.
New Age religion has come under such heavy criticism that it may surprise us to find Jesus using the same concept. “Take my yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me.” On this occasion, Jesus pictured the Christian life as a yoked relationship between himself and the believer. That yoked relationship involves two things. For one thing, it means that the believer takes Christ as his Teacher. “Take my yoke on your shoulders and learn from me.” Christ is the norm of our lives. But in the second place, taking on the yoke means that the believer is never required to bear the burden of his own existence alone. “Your soul will find rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” And there’s the great difference between eastern and Christian uses of this term. They bear their yoke alone, our yoke is shared with Christ.
