Zec 9:9-10; Ps 145:1-2,8-11,13-14; Rom 8:9,11-13; Mt 11:25-30

THE CURE FOR BEING HEAVY BURDENED IN LIFE IS CHRIST JESUS

Beloved in Christ, we can all find ourselves burdened for many reasons and these could sometimes make us tired and wish to even give up. Let us ask ourselves: What in my life wearies me? What exhausts me? What am I tired of in life’s journey and wish to give up? From what do I need rest? It may be worries about my loved ones, health concerns, financial concerns, relationships, future concerns, feeling overwhelmed by my responsibilities, or perhaps feeling lonely. What do I do at these times? How do I handle the weariness?

Do I carry my burdens alone? Or do I take them to Jesus? Many a time, we carry these heavy burdens as a result of trying to figure things out on our own and by ourselves. The best thing that can happen to us in such moments of heavy burdens, is a companion or helping hand and that is what Jesus offers. Jesus invites us in today’s gospel for a time with Him, a time for nourishment, and a time for rest in order to have enough strength to continue life’s journey when He says, “Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest”. Through this invitation, Jesus initiates a more personal relationship with you and me. What will be our response to the Lord’s invitation of life-giving and rest?

Today, Jesus invites us to come to Him just as we are – with all our life and burdens and He is able to give us a nourishing rest. “Come” is an imperative and a strong appeal to the will of another. It expresses the desire and compassionate heart of Jesus Christ who calls us to turn to Him.

It is a call to completely surrender our lives over to Him; a call to wake up from our sleep in our relationship with Him to be more committed. He not only calls on us to come to him with our burdens, but to learn from him, to make our own his standards and his values; which are so often at variance with the standards and values of the age in which live.

“Me” is a personal pronoun, and when Jesus says, “Come to me”, He calls us not just to a programme but to Himself. Christianity is a relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is not inviting us only to a one-day or three days programme; He is not inviting us to only a retreat, rally, or crusade: He is rather inviting us into a relationship. Seemingly, nobody can treat you better than Jesus and there is no better friend or companion than Jesus.

We are all reminded that from the word’s scripture today, that it is in God alone that we have true hope of redemption and liberation of all our troubles and trials and the bondage of sin. In fact, there is no place of rest better and refreshing than Jesus. Let us all respond to Jesus’ call now and draw closer to Him for rest and fulfilment – for if not you, who and if not now, when.

Lastly, when Jesus says we should learn from Him, it means that He has already given us a pattern of life to follow; and of course, the kingdom values. It’s not surprising that he says: “Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.

Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light” (Mt 11:28-30). To put today’s reflection in retrospect, Jesus wants us to mimic His virtues of gentleness and humbleness of heart. As a great teacher, Lord and master, in whose stead we all function and yearn a share in His divine life, He asks of us to do that in order to have rest for our souls in him.

We are all Christ’s witnesses in this world, the ones who should be proclaiming His truth and Good News; therefore, whatever we do, we all have a responsibility to transmit faith, instil discipline, and teach morality by our words and actions.

We should not only learn from Christ; we should let others also learn from us the right way. As we observe people, many are also watching us. Let us be the agent of change we want to see in people.