So often we hear this particular passage from this Sunday’s Gospel at funerals or at wake services for those we love who have journeyed home to God. As often as we hear this passage, we immediately presume that Jesus is speaking to those who have died. We just assume that the “rest” He refers to is the rest of the blessed who die in Christ.
Yet, this passage is directed to us. Jesus offers us an invitation and then He attaches to the invitation a promise. The invitation is simple ~ “Come to Me.” Who is this invitation directed towards? Well, He tells us: “all you who labor and are burdened.” That is, those who labor hard each and every day; those who labor in sorrow at the death of a loved one or the loss of a job; those who are burdened with fears, anxieties, worries, sickness, and doubts; those who are burdened with addiction or mental illness; in short to those of us who labor and are burdened, Jesus is calling!
With the invitation is attached the promise: “I will give you rest.” When we go to Jesus, He gives us comfort, peace, and yes – rest. If you have been laboring and have been burdened, lay down your load at the feet of Christ. Go to Him and find that which you seek and deserve.
Faithfully Yours in Christ,
Fr. Wayne