My reflection today on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus comes in the midst of a world that’s in the throes of change, desperately seeking to remain alive. The power of Covid-19 continues to ravage the populations of nations, the forces of hatred and division deeply embedded in histories of privilege and oppression are being explosively revealed and challenged, and the power of fear creates social and economic chaos in community after community. Many of us are wondering how we can find strength for another day, much less another hour.
Jesus cares about how much we have to do, and He knows how difficult it is for us. He doesn't want to see us discouraged and overburdened and sapped of energy. So He gives us a special invitation: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)
It's not a false respite, from a bottle or a pill or a pillow. It's God's kind of rest, straight from the heart of Jesus Christ, our Lord, and our Savior. He alone can give us this kind of rest. It's a good rest, a real rest, God's rest. And He wants us to have it.
So, how do we get the kind of rest that Jesus wants to give us? First, He tells us to come to Him; simply, humbly, like a little child. Then, we just have to tell Jesus that we want to take Him up on His promise; we want to take on His yoke, His way of working, and learn His way to move on with the tasks in our life.
His way provides His kind of rest. Even though we’re still working, now we’re working under His yoke, and that makes all the difference in the world. We’ll still be working, but it will be different with Jesus in charge. By taking His yoke and learning from Him, "we will find rest" for ourselves.
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