Holy Monday
"Let every man and woman count himself immortal. Let them catch the revelation of Jesus in his resurrection. Let them say not merely, 'Christ is risen,' but 'I shall rise.' - Phillips Brooks
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
So, the week of weeks begins.
I smile in reflection upon my very first week as the vicar of a congregation. It was Holy Week, 1986. Yes, most clergy are eased into new positions, especially their first as the head pastor. I started during the busiest seven days of the ecclesial year.
I had no context, as I had never lead a congregation before, when I introduced myself to them on Palm Sunday morning. It was a heady, busy experience and a lot to carry, but I made it.
It was then that I understood the yoke.
A pious legend about Jesus is that, as a carpenter, his specialty was the making and fitting of yokes.
Anthropologically, yokes are fascinating as they are cross-cultural and timeless. Yokes are depicted in all but the most ancient of art. I have seen them in use in the Caribbean, the Sahara, coastal Thailand, and inland Sri Lanka. They mostly look the same; they are all used for carrying buckets of water, sand, animal feed, and anything else that is required in rural life. Yokes are among the oldest tools of the human race.
In order to make them useful, it is best if they are custom fitted to the neck and shoulders of the carrier. This is where a carpenter is important.
The idea of Jesus specializing in this type of craftsmanship makes his statement, “My yoke is easy; my burden is light” [Matthew 11:30] all the more perspicacious.
It is especially so as we carry our burden, from the weight of sin to the weight of mortality, during the course of this week. If we use the spiritual tool shaped and supplied by Jesus, that burden will indeed be manageable until it is ultimately relieved through his glorious resurrection.
Today’s lections include the following: