The "Yoke" of Freedom

Who Leads, and Who Will Follow, or be Led?

I began to write this reflection on a historic Monday in January; when Donald Trump was sworn into office as our president on the same day our nation observed the annual commemoration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

American flags around the Capitol grounds that were being flown at half-staff, in honor of the life of the late-President Jimmy Carter, were ordered by the House speaker to be raised for inauguration day. But rather ironically, freezing weather (or providential design?) made that mechanically difficult on several flagstaffs.

Regardless, it’s not that difficult to distinguish the stark differences in the life path that each of those three prominent figures freely chose to follow. At the same time, one might wonder, whatever possessed each of them? One was an assassinated civil rights leader and pastor. Another was not only a former president, but a world humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize recipient. And the last of the three … I leave to your own description.

But -- on a more personal level -- one might ask of oneself: Given the choice – when any of us are accorded the freedom to do so –what is it that calls, leads, draws, or propels us forward?

Some Scripture Context for Consideration

“Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” (John 21:18)

There’s that passage in the canonical Gospel of John about which I’ve been ruminating, once again. From a textual standpoint, Biblical scholars generally agree the writer of that book gathered such “Jesus sayings” many, many decades after the death of the Galilean peasant sage. The quote attributed to Jesus of Nazareth was part of an oral tradition; replicated from that collection by the author/s.

Nearly two millennia later, we have our own life stories to tell. As such, I would suggest a possible, relevant application of that ancient gospel passage for you or me might be about the consequences of a new lifepath one might not necessarily have consciously or deliberately chosen for oneself; whether or not one may have thought we’d been given the freedom or deeper foresight, to choose it.

In such case, freedom is not simply the right to do whatever you damn well please; but rather the willingness to accept a beckoning call to sometimes go where one would otherwise not have chosen to go. It might have come like the stirring of a gentle breeze; or, on the other hand, a blustering wind.

In the Christian faith tradition, it is sometimes referred to as being led by the “Spirit” (Gr. pneuma, wind, breath). And with it, there comes the open acceptance of what could be likened to an unwelcome gift, with what might be called the “yoke” of freedom.

A Cautionary Tale

“We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us. Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn out the pain. Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” – Joseph Campbell

The other day, my beloved was watching one of her favorite British murder mystery series on television. As I walked past, I happened to briefly glance at the screen, and noticed one of the characters was dressed as an Anglican clergyman.

“He’s got his clerical collar on backwards!” I impulsively exclaimed. The button that was supposed to be worn in the back of the collar was clearly in view of the camera. Backwards? What did it matter? Well, if you know me at all, I just happen to be one who looks for the possible metaphor in almost anything …

For decades -- in an earlier life chapter of my own – I had strapped on a clerical collar daily, and freely accepted the yoke of formal ministry in the Anglican faith tradition; along with the priestly stole I often likened to a dog leash; which, in turn, led me to faithfully lead a flock of followers.

It is when I relinquished that garb many years later, I was free to move forward, not backward. And, rather than clinging to the vestiges of a very meaningful bygone past, I was free to seek and discover that to which, by faith (Gr. pistis, trust), I might be led once more, and raised up once again.

So, mine is a cautionary tale; when an old yoke can sometimes come to resemble a noose. There is spirit. And, we are more than dust in the wind; when one can recognize the freedom which one has to be led.

© 2025 by John William Bennison, Rel.D. All rights reserved. This article should only be used or reproduced with proper credit. To read more commentaries by John Bennison from the perspective of a Christian progressive go to http://wordsnways.com