Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Aren’t you tired? We seem to be always on the run, constantly running from here to there, always on the go, always on the move – no time for rest, no time for a break, no time to sit still. We never seem to catch our breath or even have the time to slow down for a little while. We seem to be always after something, always trying to do more at the same time. We seem to be always searching for riches, wanting fame, accumulating stuff, gathering gadgets, pursuing success, chasing dreams, living in a fantasy world or looking for the easy way out. We are constantly busy occupying every moment, filling up all of our time. We talk while we walk, we phone while we eat, we text while we drive and worry all the while. We even try to work while we sleep. Seriously, aren’t you tired from being busy all the time? Do you ever long for a real break that truly will refresh you, rest you, recreate you? Don’t you ever want to give your ears a rest from all the noise pollution, to give your eyes a break from the virtual world, to give your mind an anxiety free moment or to shut off all the electronics, power down the body and rest the soul? Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Rest is such an important gift from God. It is good for our life and necessary for our relationship with God for even God rested after creating us. Rest is a retreat from the busyness of life, a welcomed departure from the world, a loving invitation from our Savior. The problem is that we don’t know it or we ignore it. We don’t want it or we keep putting it off. We are so busy, we don’t have time for rest or make time for it. We believe we don’t have the resources to obtain it or the time to travel to enter into it or a place to go to receive it. Jesus simply invites us to be still and pray. To put ourselves in a quiet setting away from distractions and noise and share ourselves with him. He encourages us to find a place where God can find us or a moment we can be with him. Jesus commanded us for the sake of our peace to go to the inner room of our hearts, close the door and simply be still and rest in the God who loves us.
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time