Yoked with Jesus and Yoked with Each Other
St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD
July 5, 2026
Year A, Proper 9: The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Zechariah 9:9-12
Psalm 145:8-15
Romans 7:15-25a
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
Two Sundays ago, right after the 10:00 service, I loaded up my trusty Honda Fit and drove down to Southern Maryland, to St. Mary’s College, where I would spend the week at a writing conference.
The conference was a truly amazing experience in a beautiful place – really one of the best weeks of my life – but it did mean that I was away from Sue and our cat posse for a week - and I also missed out on a few things here at St. Thomas’, most especially the baptism of little Millie last Sunday at the 10:00 service.
Now, I could have pushed myself and been here – we all know I love a baptism – but I was content to leave that privilege to Rev. Amelia, who, of course, did a wonderful job.
Together, you – we – pulled up another chair at the Christian table for Millie, who has begun her Christian life with the support of her parents, godparents, grandparents, and all of us.
In baptism, God made an indissoluble, unbreakable, bond with Millie
And at Millie’s baptism, like at every baptism, the whole congregation renewed the Baptismal Covenant.
I think a lot, and talk a lot, about the Baptismal Covenant, especially those five big promises that we make – to continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to resist evil and repent when we mess up, to proclaim by word and example the Good News, to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves, to strive for justice and peace among all people, respecting the dignity of every human being.
At the baptismal preparation meeting with Millie’s parents, Rev. Amelia spoke about the Baptismal Covenant – and one of the things we always point out is that these promises are hard!
To seek and serve Christ in all persons – it’s that “all” that trips me up every time – go ahead, think of a person in whom, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t see Christ. Now, to seek and serve Christ in “many” people or even “most” people, sure thing, I’m in. But “all,” that’s hard.
And it’s hard “to strive for justice and peace among all people, respecting the dignity of every human being.”
That’s why the response to each of those hard promises is “I will, with God’s help.”
“I will with God’s help” reminds us that we don’t – can’t – keep any of these promises on our own.
The Christian life is only possible because we are bound to God - and we are bound to one another.
Or, to use the image that Jesus gives us in today’s gospel lesson, we are yoked – yoked with Jesus and yoked with each other.
Among other things, my writing conference was yet another reminder of how much I don’t know – there are so many writers and writing techniques that are unknown to me – and that’s both exciting (it’s fun to learn new things) and daunting (will I really be able to learn all this?).
If we’ve been together for a while, you know a few other things that I don’t know much about – sheep, math, or golf.
I also don’t know much about beasts of burden or about yokes.
So, if you’re like me, it’s worth mentioning that a yoke is a crossbeam placed over the necks of working animals, like oxen, to bind them together, so they can work in unison, work more effectively.
In the Old Testament, “yoke” is usually used as an image for oppression, but, in his usual Jesus way, Jesus takes that metaphor and gives it a new twist – Jesus’ yoke is easy, Jesus’ burden is light – Jesus’ yoke is easy because it unites us with him, and unites us with one another.
So, yesterday, July 4, was a special day – it is remarkable that our great American experiment has reached the milestone of 250 years. Lots to celebrate – and, of course, much work still to be done to perfect this union of ours.
But, you know, last Wednesday, July 1, was also a special day.
We celebrated the Feast of Pauli Murray – Baltimore’s own, born here in 1910 – the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray.
Her story is amazing – essentially orphaned at a young age, she faced many obstacles and much rejection because of her race and gender, and yet she persevered, managing to do many great things.
She was an activist and a lawyer – she certainly did her part to create a more perfect union, helping to lay the groundwork for the landmark case, Brown v. Board of Education – she was a friend of Eleanor Roosevelt – she was a poet – Annette Brown powerfully read one of her poems at our North Cemetery service – and, kind of late in life, she went to seminary and was ordained an Episcopal priest, among the first women to be ordained, and the very first African-American woman.
Against stiff headwinds, Pauli Murray achieved much, thanks to her own gifts and perseverance, of course, but as a person of faith, I think she would agree that it was her bond with God gave her the strength and courage to keep going – that being yoked with Christ and with other Christians of goodwill, may not have made things easy, but made possible what might have seemed impossible.
Yoked with Jesus and yoked with each other.
The other thing about July 1 is that it was my fifth anniversary as rector of St. Thomas’ – that feels fast to me, though your mileage may vary!
But, just like a milestone birthday, or a birthday before a milestone birthday, this little milestone anniversary got me thinking about these very active five years, reflecting on some of the highlights of what we have done together.
Around four years ago, one parishioner raised the possibility of assisting refugees fleeing Afghanistan as the Taliban returned to power. That idea blossomed into a group of parishioners gathered around the table trying to figure out very complex refugee rules and regulations, and that led us to become friends with other people and other institutions doing this holy work of hospitality, and, finally, that developed into welcoming a beautiful family into our lives here at St. Thomas’.
Yoked with Jesus and yoked with each other.
For years, parishioners volunteered as readers over at Owings Mills Elementary School, but then a couple of years ago, that seed of service grew into a new and exciting and transformational afterschool enrichment program: Owls First. Our own parishioners relearned elementary school math and tutored young children while also offering them recreation, and then we widened the circle even more by inviting kids from Owings Mills High School to also serve as tutors.
Yoked with Jesus and yoked with each other.
It was about four years ago that a couple of parishioners began to wonder about the handful of grave markers resting just north of the churchyard wall. Well, those questions led us on quite a journey of discovery, learning a lot more about our history, finding out that many more people than we might have imagined – both enslaved and free – rest in that little strip of land.
We spent a great deal of time discussing and reflecting on how best to honor and memorialize these people who had been mostly forgotten, and, of course, just two weeks ago, our bishop led us in a consecration service that none of us will ever forget.
Yoked with Jesus and yoked with each other.
And then there is the capital campaign.
Honestly, when this idea first came up, none of us really wanted to take it on, but because our lay leaders care so much about this place and its future, they said “yes.” We were able to assemble a wise, talented, and energetic team, we hired a consultant who sent us Mel Kalagian, who we all came to love, and we got to work, not entirely sure how it was going to work out but so moved by the response – touched by both your generosity and the stories of how much this church – this community - means to you, to all of us.
Not only has the capital campaign been successful in pledges – it’s also helped to bring us closer together.
Yoked with Jesus and yoked with each other.
And as I reflect on all that we have done over these past five years, it’s obvious that we have not done any of it on our own - we could never have done any of it on our own.
In baptism, God makes an indissoluble, unbreakable bond with us.
Jesus has called us to take on his yoke – a yoke so much easier than going it alone - a yoke we do not wear alone.
We are yoked – yoked with Jesus and yoked with each other.
And, with God’s help, like Pauli Murray and so many saints, past, present, and future, we can do even more holy things, amazing things, together.
Amen.
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