Fr. Aidan Writes:
Sometimes people read the Gospel set for today incorrectly. When Jesus talks of giving us rest, he does not say I am going to take away everything that burdens us; he says that his yoke is easy and his burden light. We all have our burdens, just as we have (from last week’s Gospel) our Crosses to bear. What Jesus is telling us is that, with faith in him, these encumbrances will not weigh us down completely. Through His Cross and Resurrection, our crosses and burdens are eased. Faith in Jesus helps. All we have to do is be like Thomas, whose feast we celebrated last week, and say, “My Lord and my God”.
But Jesus also says, “I am meek and humble of heart”. He is saying he is the personification of His teaching on the Sermon on the Mount, the beatitudes. These two elements of today’s Gospel challenge us to give up stridency and rivalries, to engage from the basis of clarity of faith and embody Christ’s way of being, as well as what he says. In this way, all our concerns and worries, our fears and doubts subside (though they never fully go away) because their weight is lifted by Christ’s love. Following Jesus should be easier than following human ideologies and thought patterns because they are always going to court opposition. Living a life of faith by embodying Christ, who is love made flesh, is attractive, inviting and hope-filled, challenging too, but in a way that makes us and those we encounter grow, deepen and further His Kingdom of “Light happiness and peace” – that’s his easy yoke and light burden!
May God bless you, your families, and the week ahead,
Fr Aidan Peter