The Weight and The Burden

Matthew 11:28-30

“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.”

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I pulled into Nazareth, I was feelin' about half past dead;
I just need some place where I can lay my head.
"Hey, mister, can you tell me where a man might find a bed?"
He just grinned and shook my hand, and "No!", was all he said.

Take a load off Fanny, take a load for free;
Take a load off Fanny, and you put the load right on me.

"The Weight" written by Robbie Robertson and performed by The Band with Mavis Staples and the Staples Singers from "The Last Waltz"

Just to get this out of the way, this song wasn't written as a biblical allegory. It was written about a guy pulling into Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Each verse has the singer encountering people from town. It's as easy as that.

Then again, if you can't draw a parallel to the birth narrative of Jesus you aren't trying very hard. While this devotional takes the easy biblical reference, it's the rest of the song, the encounters with other townsfolk, that makes it interesting.

Through the rest of the song, after the Inn Keeper the singer meets Carmen and the Devil, Miss Moses and Luke and Anna Lee, Chester and Jack the Dog. It's just a slice of life in Bethlehem. Maybe it does seem a little more like scripture every moment through the day.

The Gospels are filled with random people whose lives intersect Jesus and his disciples. Sometimes the fellow travelers are annoyed, but Jesus is always gracious. He runs into people carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders everyday, and everyday Jesus makes the way lighter.

In Christ there is rest for the burdened, weary soul. Jesus never promised a Club Med for the soul. We aren't promised everyday will be a picnic, what we are promised is that Jesus is there and his way is better than anyway we can discern on our own.

By the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are saved. Our loads add nothing to the journey and more often than not they detract from the path. It's up to us to pull off the road, and while we're walking the streets of Nazareth, be sure to say hello to Jesus and take his load. Gentle and humble are better than busy and laden any day of the week.