"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." (Mt. 11:28)

I have to confess that this is one of the most used lines in my meetings with people who are going through much stress in their lives.  The truth is this:  we are not the Savior…and we were never meant to take on everything that we have taken on in life.  We can’t handle it.  It reminds me of a poster I have seen all over.  It goes like this:  Good morning, this is God.  I will be handling all your problems today.  I will not need your help so have a good day.  It is a great reality to remember in life.  Do we really remember that God’s got this?  Do we really believe that God is with us?  Sometimes we only remember this during Advent and Christmas when we sing Emmanuel, ‘God with us.’

Each and every day God is calling us to remember that He is with us and wants to offer a great gift: REST.  Are we humble enough to accept this gift from Jesus?  Summertime offers great opportunities for leisure and rest.  Find a hammock.  Sit by the beach.  Go kayaking.  Just last month, I found a zero gravity chair on sale at Menard’s, and I’d say it’s been the best purchase I’ve made in a long time.  When times are tough and when stress is high, I go to the zero gravity chair and lay flat for 5 minutes and try to remember that God is God and I am not.

This Sunday and every Sunday, let’s honor the Sabbath and rest.  Each and every one of us can make the best decision we can make and accept what Jesus is offering us, an invitation to be with Him and receive the rest, hope, peace and love that only God can give.

Come to Him and rest,

Fr. Jeremy