Sunday July 6, 2014 Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ "Come to Me"

Gospel mt 11:25-30
At that time Jesus exclaimed:
“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to little ones.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

“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.”

 

 

Many years ago as a seminarian I was assigned to hospital ministry, visiting and praying for the sick and dying.  It was a very difficult ministry but one that I was willing to assist with, knowing that I would be an instrument of Christ’s healing for others.  I had a whole “routine” of what to say and how to present myself, even what to pray.  One day (when I didn’t want to go to my ministry, feeling exhausted from my seminary duties and studies) I entered the room of an elderly woman.  I looked at her chart to see what the woman’s name was and said “Good afternoon Ms. Johnson my name is Steven, I’m a volunteer with Chaplain Services.”  She stared blankly at me and did not respond.  I repeated my greeting, only to hear Ms. Johnson moan in response.  Her eyes began to roll to the back of her head and she moaned some more.  I did not know what to do; she was not responsive to my presence.  At that moment my “routine” was gone, I was unsure of how I could help with her pain, I somewhat panicked not ever having experienced a patient that could not respond to my inquiries.  And so in that moment of confusion and doubt in myself; I silenced myself, and said a prayer for Ms. Johnson and myself.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, sometimes we take the weight of the world upon ourselves.  We think that it will be through our own efforts that we will be successful, whether at work or at home.  However, when the burdens of work, family, friends, and all those things that cause us stress and anxiety become overwhelming, we must repeat these words of our Lord: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”  He is our Savior and Redeemer; He is our Hope and Courage.  Brothers and sisters, silence the doubt of your own limitations and weaknesses, come to the Lord!  We have no need to think that we can solve all the problems of the world by ourselves; but we do need to allow Him to guide us to where we need to be, and most importantly we need to be present for others that need our prayers!  “I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God” Blessings. Fr. Steven