Thought for the week: ​ Rev Dr William Morton - 'Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me’

In the service, a coloured stole was placed over one shoulder and its ends tied together on my other side. I wore the stole in that way until my ordination, when the tradition is to wear it around one’s neck, and hanging to knee length. The stole not only represented that I was ordained, but that I was one who serves - in the Greek, diakonos, hence ‘deacon’.

I remember being told then that the stole represents the yoke by which Christ directs us, steers us, and guides us. A yoke was a beam of wood placed over a cow’s or horse’s shoulders to which machinery or other heavy objects may be attached. The analogy came from our Lord Himself.

In the gospel reading , from St Matthew, chapter 11, verses 16-19, and 20-25, Jesus is recorded as saying: "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.’

Just as in the case of a farm animal wearing a yoke to pull along a machine, or a heavy implement, there are times in the Christian life when the going can be tough. Is not the secret in linking ourselves, wholeheartedly, to Christ? It’s not simply a question of walking alongside Him, but physically binding ourselves to Him, so that He may direct us, lead us, encourage us.

Today, we are being invited to align ourselves with Christ and submit wholeheartedly to His yoke – not just placing it on when it is convenient, but strapping it on securely. That wholeheartedness is only found in sharing the yoke of Christ, the heart of God and the heart of humanity beating as one.