The timeless invitation of Jesus to all who all labour and are overburdened to go to Him is comforting as it is hopeful. Well aware of the oppression people from all walks of life were facing under the Roman empire, He used the same images of oppression – yoke and burden – but turned them into promises of respite and rest. Only in the Lord can negatives be turned into positives, because God is the great reconciler of all differences, where darkness turns into light, oppression into liberation.

But finding rest in Jesus does not mean that we cast aside responsibilities and "dump" all our burdens on the Lord, as it were. Read the words again. Jesus invites us to shoulder His yoke and learn from Him. But the yoke is easy and the burden light.

This is what discipleship is all about – learning from the Master the way of navigating the world with its temptations and pitfalls. The rest Jesus assures is not just rest for the weary body, but more importantly, rest for the soul: an invigoration of the spirit within us, a re-charging that inspires and motivates us to take up our cross and follow Him in confident strides until we reach heaven, where the reward will be infinitely great.