I Will Give You Rest

Gospel Reflection for Wednesday, December 13, 2023. Memorial of St. Lucy

Photo Courtesy of GoodCatholic.com

Today’s Gospel is short, only three verses long, but in it, Our Lord promises the outcome of our Faith:

Jesus said to the crowds:
"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.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." Matthew 11:28-30.

The allusion that Our Lord uses is familiar to his listeners. It is the yoke of a beast of burden that is used for plowing the field or hauling a cart. Traditionally, the yoke is a symbol of hardship and thus represents hardship for His followers. Immediately, the yoke ought to invoke in us the picture of the cross, carried on the shoulders of Our Lord, of which He tells us a few chapters later:

“Then Jesus told His disciples, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24

The beauty of this analogy though, is that the yoke is not meant to be carried by ourselves. Our Lord tells us to take His yoke upon us, not because He is shedding it, but because He remains under it and walks with us. It is through this sharing of His yoke that we can learn from Him and carry the crosses that we have been given in life.

Each cross that has been given to us, though certainly not easy for us alone, is made possible to carry with His assistance. Perhaps this is the biggest thing that we miss in our own lives. We think our crosses are ours alone to carry. We collapse under the weight of what seems to be an impossibly heavy load, but it was never intended to be carried alone. We must allow Christ to share the weight and help us to Golgotha. For it is only in going to our Good Friday, that we can experience Easter Sunday.

Our Lord’s words invoke the Wisdom Literature from the Old Testament:

“Draw near to me, you who are untaught, and lodge in my school. Why do you say you are lacking in these things, and why are your souls very thirsty? I opened my mouth and said, Get these things for yourselves without money. Put your neck under the yoke, and let your souls receive instruction; it is to be found close by. See with your eyes that I have labored little and found for myself much rest.” Sir 51:23–27.

Our Lord, Incarnate Wisdom, calls us to Himself to find rest. In this time of Advent, let us take rest in Wisdom who has made Himself a home in our humanity; for His yoke is easy and His burden is light.