Today’s gospel follows on from the brief prayer by Jesus in which he shows his desire to reveal the truth to the childlike. We then move into this invitation addressed to God’s poor.

         We remember that Matthew’s Gospel was written both for observant Jewish Christians and for Gentiles. The Jewish believers brought with them from the Book of Genesis the sense of the “Sabbath rest,” which their Gentile companions found consoling and helpful. Rest and relief for the poor and oppressed was everyone’s concern and still should be for us today because it’s the Lord’s concern.

         Some types of labor are attractive and happily pursued by those lucky enough to get that kind of work. These fortunate ones tend to be well paid and provided with many benefits, but other kinds of work are more like drudgery because they may well be repetitive, boring, and even dangerous. This kind of labor produces few rewards, financial or otherwise. Jesus invites all who work to come to him and find rest.

         Of course, the notion of “rest” that Jesus is talking about goes far beyond merely stopping one’s work. Humans need rest every bit as much as much as they need work. Hence, we have the Sabbath, a God-given opportunity to pause and consider how to live in right relation with God and all of God’s creation, especially family members and neighbors near and far. The gentle yoke of the Lord makes life easier, clearer, and truly productive. Evelyn Underhill, the Anglo-Catholic writer, said that we spend our lives conjugating three verbs: to have, to want, and to do. But the essential verb is to be. Being restful means living in the present moment, not regretting the past or feeling anxious about the future. 

         I’ve sometimes had a problem with wanting to be ‘meek.’ I must keep reminding myself that Christian meekness has nothing to do with being a passive pushover or wishy-washy in any way. We never think of Moses as being particularly meek and yet the Book of Numbers calls him the “meekest man on the face of the earth.” [Num. 12:3] He was still able to confront Pharaoh as he brought his people out of Egypt. Jesus, too, is strongly self-confident but invites people to follow him rather than simply imposing his will.

         Let’s pray that we grow gentler and humbler. Let’s for the grace to be more like Jesus in all our relationships, both in those that are easy and those that challenge us.