“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”

Jesus summons us, the weary and the burdened, to come to him.

he is gentle and humble of heart. His assurance – that we shall find rest.

Jesus' yoke is easy and his burden light

because God is also the one who enables us to carry the yoke and burden that come our way.

 

St. Damasus I, pope

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Isaiah 40:25-31

To whom, then,

Will you liken me or make me equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and see: who has created all this?

He has ordered them as a starry host and called them each by name.

 

So mighty is his power, so great his strength, that not one of them is missing.

How can you say, O Jacob, how can you complain, O Israel, that your destiny is hidden from me,

that your rights are ignored by Yahweh? Have you not known, have you not heard that Yahweh is an everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth? He does not grow tired or weary, his knowledge is without limit.

 

He gives strength to the enfeebled, he gives vigor to the wearied.

Youth may grow tired and faint, young men will stumble and fall, but those who hope in Yahweh will renew their strength.

They will soar as with eagle's wings; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and never tire.

 

Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8 & 10 O bless the Lord, my soul!

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Matthew 11:28-30

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart;

and you will find rest. For my yoke is easy; and my burden is light."

 

Gospel Reflection ：

Reflection:

"I will give you rest."

In our time, war continues to escalate. It is sad. In many places,

violence even enters the cultural realms. Hate-culture seems to dominate social media.

In our everyday life, we tend to pick out and react violently when things do not go our way.

Could we not just be a bit kinder even when facing problems and difficulties?

 

We may reflect on the challenge of how we are going to face the daily struggles to the best of our ability and with grace.

When encountering difficult trials in life, one of the first things which we may lose is our capacity to be "gentle" (praüs),

unable to exercise kindness. In today's Gospel pericope, Jesus summons us to learn from him for he is gentle and humble of heart.

 

He further challenges us to take his yoke, for his yoke is "easy" (chréstos) and his burden is light.

The Greek adjective chréstos, which may also mean "kind," is used here.

This implies that Jesus' yoke is kind. He invites us to learn from him how to face our everyday struggles with grace

and without losing our capacity to show kindness to others. The season of Advent is a time to exercise kindness.