December 13, 2017
Today’s Gospel: Matthew 11: 28-30“Jesus said to the crowds: "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."‘
Such a short Gospel reading for today, but these two sentences pack a punch. While this moment in Scripture happened a very long time ago, the call and invitation does not expire with time. These words are not just words, they are not meant to be merely a historical event that was amazing for those who heard. Sacred Scripture is alive and the words we read from the mouth of Jesus are meant for us too. He is speaking to the crowd and to every crowd that will ever come to Him. And while He calls to all of us, He also calls each one of us personally, by name. He is speaking to everyone in every moment from that time until the end of time, while at the same time intensely and personally loving every individual.His call is for all and His call is for each of us. For those of us who are married, Jesus has a call for the two of you together. He says to both of you, “Come to me.” He is inviting the two of you to seek Him together - to turn to Him, to learn from Him, to depend on Him, to trust in Him, to love Him, and to abide in Him. In this invitation He provides the way and real rest!Even with so many technical advancements that help us do things faster than years ago, we still find ourselves lacking enough rest. In reality we’ve become busier and more overcommitted than ever before. In this Advent season, God reminds us that He can be our rest, individually and as a married couple. When we come to Him, He lightens our load and we become more like Him just by spending time with Him. As we reflect him better, we become more able love one another the way He loves us. Only in going to Him and allowing Him to mold our hearts will we find true rest. Then the work we do in His name through His grace and strength will make the yoke easy and light.
Ponder Together: Do you feel like your wheels are spinning and you’re going nowhere? Do you feel like you’re over-loaded and overwhelmed? Do you feel overcommitted and spread too thin? Do you feel like when you go on a vacation you come home saying, “I need a vacation from my vacation”? Then now is the time to go to Him. Let this Advent be the time when you find yourself going to Him more often, learning from Him and entering into His rest.
Pray Together: O Lord our God, help us to hear you call us by name. Help us to hear you calling us together as a married couple to respond to your invitation to come to you. Help us to learn from you. Help us to know your plan for us and our life together. Give us the grace we need to do all that you have called us to do and help us to find the rest that our bodies and our souls long for. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.
Plan Together: Remember to Keep the Sabbath Holy! In addition to going to Church on Sunday, make a commitment to enter into the day of rest by focusing on faith and family. Starting this upcoming Sunday and every Sunday after, put aside all unnecessary work, chores, things on the “to-do” list, or anything else that would split the two of you and the family up. Enjoy the day together, pray a little more together, play longer, turn off all notifications and all updates, and, without any distractions, “waste time” together.
