Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens..."

“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)

Question:

All my life, having been deeply touched in the "inner mystical realm" and by the words of Jesus’ teachings (via Emmet Fox, Joel Goldsmith, Myrtle and Charles Fillmore), yet I am not a Christian, and I wonder why this phrase draws me into something deep in my heart, or even has ANY meaning. I dislike the outer appearances of all current religions, with their main focus upon evil, judgment, protocol, unloving dogma, money and misguided human leaders, yet am driven to penetrate the true meaning of this whole passage. Thank you very much. I’ve loved Unity services and teachings for 25 years.

Comment:

Whenever Jesus speaks as the “I am” we can be sure that he is speaking as the Christ in full expression. “I am” is the name given to Moses as the indwelling Presence of God—the Lord of his being. And so it is here. The ministry of Jesus is attracting both followers and opposition, and it is becoming increasingly obvious that following Jesus, and believing in his message that we are all One with God and the kingdom of heaven is at hand, will not be an easy path. 

He has been clear since the Sermon on the Mount that his ministry is focused on those who feel unfulfilled (“poor in spirit”) in the artificial confines of traditional religion.  They are more likely to hear his message, and to undertake the work of expressing their innate Christ power, because their lives are already uncomfortable and taxing. And so in this beautiful passage Jesus invites them to take up his yoke—to share in the work that he has undertaken of sharing, expressing and demonstrating the spiritual truth. It may seem to be an onerous and overwhelming task, but that’s only from a human perspective. Once we are fully expressive of our innate Christ nature, every sense of labor or suffering falls away and we are left with the joy of the kingdom.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed