14th Sunday in Ordinary Time - July 3, 2011: The "Yoke" of Christ

Click Here for the Mass Readings for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time - July 3, 2011 (Year A):

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves."  (Mt 11:28-29)

This Sunday Jesus calls out to all those who are burdened and weary of heart to draw close to Him and find rest.  Sooner or later everyone feels burdened (or overburdened) in life.  There are innumerable reasons for these burdens - sometimes we create our own burdens through bad choices, other times we suffer burdens because of the faults of others. But whatever the cause of our burdens may be, Jesus invites us in Sunday's Gospel to learn from Him the path of true rest.

The "rest" Jesus speaks of is not physical rest, but a rest which only God can give.  As Jesus indicates in the passage above, He is the true source of rest for man; a rest the "world" and the "flesh" cannot give.  The Lord invites us to take upon ourselves His own "yoke" and to learn from Him.  This is the "yoke" of the Gospel which requires us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Christ.  For the outsider this seems a far cry from true rest, and absolute absurdity.  But for the one who trusts in the Lord's words and actually draws close to Christ in simplicity and sincerity, he discovers this "rest" hidden from "the wise and learned".  While we will always be burdened with the trials and crosses found in this "Vale of tears", our souls find rest in Christ who strengthens and refreshes us.

So what are the burdens you carry in this life?  What are the sources or causes of those burdens?  Although we can rattle off quick (and sarcastic) answers to these questions, they merit serious personal reflection.  If others have created unjust burdens in our life it's essential we don't aggravate our plight by playing the perpetual "victim" - that path leads to no other end but deep interior sadness and sloth.  More often than not though, we are the ones responsible for weighing ourselves down with unnecessary burdens.  I thought it might be helpful to list some of bigger causes for our grief: greed is always a big culprit; an unrealistic search for the "perfect life" without pain or struggles; an unwillingness to accept reality; striving to achieve or maintain all the standards of this world - fame, wealth, power, success, youth, glorification/idolization of self; the "cares of this world", which Jesus appropriately termed "thorns", as they choke off the life of God in us; and basing our identity and value on what others think of us - e.g. scrambling to live up to the expectations of others.  The list could be continued, but that offers us all at least some food for thought!

May we turn to the Lord with renewed confidence this Sunday and drop at His feet the heavy burdens of the "flesh" and the "world".  And may we find true rest in Christ who came to free us from our sins and grant us life in abundance.  God bless you!

(Photo of the "Sacred Heart of Jesus" courtesy of Dcn. Lawrence Lew, O.P.)