St James Catholic Church

As we celebrate the Eucharist, the burdens of life may weigh heavy on our minds, our hearts, and our bodies.  We may be tired from working six days a week.  We may be anxious about the health of a family member or our own.  We may be mourning the loss of a loved one.  We may be just plain weary, physically or emotionally.  In today’s Gospel, Jesus encourages the crowds, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”  We turn to the Lord for comfort, for his yoke is easy and his burden light.

In our society, we tend to regard meekness as weakness.  Those who are meek never assert themselves, never get their way and seem to always end up in last place.  But clearly this is not what Zechariah means when he writes that our king would be meek yet would rule to the ends of the earth.  Nor is it what Jesus means when he says, “I am meek and humble of heart.”  The dictionary defines meek as enduring difficulties with patience and without resentment.  Jesus would endure crucifixion and death with patience and without resentment.  The spirit to face our own trials with more patience and with less resentment.  Jesus assures us that his yoke is easy and his burden light.  Because he endured the cross and grave, we know that he carries our own burdens, no matter how difficult we may find them.  We have in Jesus someone who can and will carry any difficulty we have.  May our love of God and love of neighbor give us the strength to assist in carrying the burdens of our brothers and sisters in need.  How, because like oxen working in tandem, it’s us and Jesus.

Love, Peace, Joy

Fr. Bob