ONE of the most wonderful things about dogs in general, and whippets in particular, is their ability to sleep. Despite being both fast and agile, they can, and often do, spend the vast majority of the day and night curled up and snoozing. They know how to rest, and if there isn’t anything better to do, they will do just that. We live in a world which prizes long hours of work and effort, and it can be easy to forget that, like a whippet, we too need to rest. 

Mae Iesu cynnig y gwahoddiad hwn, Jesus offers this invitation:

“Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Mt 11:28-30)

Our Lord offers rest to the weary. If we trust Him, then Christ will give us what we long for. Trust and humility go hand in hand: we recognise that we are not in control, and leave things in God’s hands. The yoke and the burden which Jesus offers is the Cross. He calls us to take His yoke upon ourselves. This is an act of submission, becoming like oxen pulling a plough. This image naturally leads us to think of Jesus carrying His Cross to Calvary. Paradoxically this is our rest, the easy task, this is the Kingdom of God. 

This doesn’t make sense, and it is not supposed to, because it is radically different from anything we are used to. It is the opposite of worldly, selfish ways. Jesus is inaugurating a gentle humble Kingdom, which shows up the ways of the world for what they are: empty and destructive, sinful and selfish, only concerned with power and domination.

In today’s Gospel, Our Lord makes a profound and perhaps surprising statement:

“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will” (Mt 11:25-26)

The key to the Christian Faith is Trust. Our faith is not a logical problem or a cryptic crossword that we need to solve, but first and foremost it is a relationship with the God who loves us, and longs to see us flourish. As a society we struggle to trust. We have become bruised, bitter and cynical. Instead we need to have simple child-like trust in God. Jesus’ teaching begins with gratitude. He gives thanks to the Father, the Lord of Heaven and Earth. The prayer Christ gives us (The Our Father, Ein Tad) starts by recognising both who and what God is, God who is the beginning and end of all things. It is a model for our prayers and our lives as Christians. We need to be grateful people. God has hidden things from the so-called wise and intelligent, those who think that they know it all, and do not pay any attention to Jesus’ words. The Scribes and Pharisees in the Gospel exemplify this. They are religious authorities who are unable and unwilling to recognise both what they are offered and who is offering it to them.

Instead, Jesus has revealed the truth to children, simple, trusting souls who know their need of God. The key then is humility, as shown by the first reading from  the prophet Zephaniah. And for this our primary example is the Word made Flesh, Jesus Christ. God humbled himself to share our humanity, so that we might share His divinity. Through being reliant upon God, and not ourselves we can be rid of the ego, the sense of pride which says, ‘you can do it on your own’. Instead we can put our trust in someone who has been entrusted everything by the Father. In other words, we are in Jesus’ hands, and can rely upon Him alone, safe in the knowledge that all will be well.

Christ bears the burden of our sins, the sins of the world, of the past, the present, and the future, upon Himself on the Cross. The message of the Gospel is to lay down your burden, to rest in the Lord, to bear His yoke and learn from Him. We do so with child-like trust in the God who loves us and saves us. We do so with humility, knowing our need of God, to cast ourselves upon His love and mercy. We cannot win our way to heaven, or gain salvation through our own efforts but rather in and through Christ, through our Baptism, nourished by His Word and His Body and Blood, so that we can have life in Him.

There is something truly refreshing about the simplicity of the message: Our Lord says to each and every one of us, to the whole world: lay down your burdens and find life in all its fullness in Christ. We are offered rest, not simply as a break from work to recuperate, but rest for our souls. We hope to experience this fully in Heaven, where we can rest in God for eternity, but we are given a foretaste of it here and now in the Eucharist.

Jesus gives Himself to us, so that we may we may live in Him, our soul’s true rest, trusting Him and following His example of humility, embracing the Cross, which is our only hope, and turning away from the empty promises of the world, to the source of life and hope. Freed from the burden of our past misdeeds, to live in the freedom of the Kingdom, both now, and forever. 

So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, may we learn to be humble like Jesus. Let us take His yoke, find His rest, and be united with Him forever, so that we all may sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed all, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.