The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry
Part two: The Solution
The Secret of the Easy Yoke (1|2)
Pages 75-81
TOGETHER read the book (END READING AT: Am I missing something?)
then the following scripture slowly and attentively.
INDIVIDUALLY take notes in your journal on what stands out.
Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV) “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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.”
GROUP DISCUSSION:
To be one of Jesus’ talmidim is to apprentice under Jesus. Put simply, it’s to organize your life around three basic goals:
Be with Jesus
Become like Jesus
Do what he would do if he were you.
What is your reaction to that statement? Is it over-simplified? Is it impossible?
Share just one or two things that stood out to you while reading the book and/or scripture. (try to keep it brief)
TOGETHER pray for one another.
INDIVIDUALLY answer the questions in your journal - process your notes and pray.
Read Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of Matthew 11:28-30 from the Message (slowly and attentively) and meditate on it:
Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.
Have you heard or read the Message paraphrase of this verse before?
What resonates with you in this scripture? and/or this paraphrase?
What would it look like to live freely and lightly?
Anne Peterson said, “Burnout isn’t a place to visit and come back from; it’s our permanent residence.”
What is your reaction to that statement?
Jesus’s invitation is to take up his yoke - to travel through life at his side, learning from him how to shoulder the weight of life with ease. To take a step out of the burnout society to a life of soul rest.
What is your reaction to that statement? What do you think that might look like?
Pause and pray - talk to Jesus about your current state. Are you worn out? Living with a low-grade fatigue that rarely goes away? Are you a little burned out on religion? OR are you doing quite well in this season? Journal about your current state as you take up Jesus’s invitation.
EXTRA READING:
“Let our whole body, then, be preserved in Christ Jesus; and let every one be subject to his neighbor. Let the rich man provide for the wants of the poor, and let the poor man bless God because he has given him a community that can provide for his needs. Let us consider then, brothers, the matter out of which we were made, how we came into the world, from utter darkness, as if emerging from a grave. He who made us and fashioned us, prepared his bountiful gifts for us before we were born, and introduced us into His world. Since, therefore, we receive all these things from Him, we ought to give Him thanks for everything; to whom be glory forever and ever.”
- Clement of Rome (35 - 99)