Brief synopsis of the readings: Zechariah describes the king as triumphant but who rides on a humble colt. War will be ended and his dominion will cover all the ends of the earth. In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus gives thanks to his father for hiding things from the wise and the learned but given them to the “little ones.” He then addresses his followers to come, those who are burdened because “I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

I suspect if we showed these readings to someone today who knew nothing about Christianity they would find these readings puzzling. And in fairness, sometimes I think we do too. Left to our own planning a king would never ride on a lowly beast of burden. In Jesus’ day a king would ride in a carriage; today he would ride in a BMW, or a Tesla if he pretended to care about the earth.

While we’re on the subject, who would waste good stuff on the “little ones?” We Christians often talk about the Golden Rule: Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You.” Cynics among us have a different golden rule: Whoever has the gold makes the rules. We’re used to honoring the rich, powerful, and well educated. They get the good tax breaks and invitations to “soft openings.” Every year in cities that have marathons the fastest runners get to the head of the start line. Because let’s face facts: at some level we believe they are rich, powerful and well educated because of their drive, hard work and good decisions. If Benjamin Franklin is right, that God helps those who help themselves, doesn’t it make sense that the “little ones” are those who don’t help themselves and instead depend on the hard work of others? And aren’t the rich and powerful the ones who have figured out how to ensure that their yokes are easy and their burdens are light?

For all the evidence we have that this is true, none of that evidence comes from Scripture and it especially does not come from the teachings of Jesus. If Jesus has a mission statement it’s that the last shall be first and the first shall be last.

If the king comes in a carriage or a BMW or a Tesla, well, doesn’t it really tell us to look to the trappings? I believe it does not give the king’s subjects of loyalty to him as much as it gives a sense of envy. I believe it makes his subjects want their own fine things and encourages them to find the ambition to do what it takes to have them. How often in world history has the death of a king led to a power struggle over who will succeed him? When English King Henry I died in 1135 it led to a civil war between his daughter and nephew that went on for nearly 20 years and is often called “When Christ And His Saints Slept.” On the other hand on Palm Sunday Jesus entered Jerusalem he rode on a simple colt.

And I suspect that neither Jesus nor the colt felt heavily yoked or burdened. Most of us these days don’t think much about yokes and if we think of anything we think of yokes as tools to burden animals to enrich our lives. And it’s true that yokes can be harsh and burdensome but they don’t have to be.

A well fitted yoke actually decreases the burden on the wearer. Farmers in the Middle Ages in Europe made improvements that made it easier for their horses and oxen to plow the fields. This not only lightened their burden, it allowed them to plow more land and increase the wealth of the farmers. When we read about famous pilgrimages it was partly a result of their increased wealth.

When Scripture describes decreased burdens I don’t think it means that we should shift the burdens away from ourselves to others, but instead we should see our discipleship in terms of a better fitting yoke. I think it means we should put away our ambitions for the trappings of wealth and live with more simplicity.

Years ago there was a seminarian a few years behind me who never appeared to fit in well with the community. He had great respect for the community but I always got the sense that he chose us because he was told that of the religious communities in his area we were “the best.” Whether or not that was true I think he was looking in the wrong direction for his life. After about 3 years he was asked to leave because the burden (on him and on us) became too great. Shortly after this he found a place that better suited his calling and is now a priest doing fine work. He may have thought of us as “the best” but we clearly weren’t the best for him. The diocese where he found his home would have been tortuous for me. Only when he put aside his ambition did he find the yoke that fit him. He no longer sees what he does (or who he’s with) as a burden.

Life can be difficult and sometimes we need to be willing to accept burdens. But there are other times when we (or others around us) find our burden comes from a poorly fitted yoke. There are times when we struggle because we listen to our ambition instead of listening to God when the siren call of the BMW tempts us when we should be paying attention to the single colt. This runs counter to what we are told but in the end the colt will give us a healthier ride.

It will also fascinate those who know nothing of our faith.