Many of you might be anticipating what the homily from your new priest will be like. You might be used to very different styles, you might like it when a priest preaches from in front of the Altar because you might feel more engaged that way. Or perhaps you don’t care where he preaches from, just as long as it is relatable and beneficial. Before I begin my reflection on the readings, I wanted to let you know of my preaching style and why. After praying and trying to discern God’s promptings, I write out my homilies for every Sunday and so I preach from the Ambo - and there are several reasons for that. One reason is that you might know, or I’m sure will eventually find out, is that I stutter. I have stuttered since childhood, and although I have learned to control it fairly well over the years; it helps me if I write out my homily. That way I can say what I really want to say and my brain can just focus on delivering the message fluently. Also though, it helps me be able to not ramble on and on without any direction or flow to what I’m saying. So hopefully you will at least appreciate that. And now for my homily.

Jesus says in our Gospel: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest”. Such comforting words aren’t they? But the question is, do you, do I, know them to be true? Do we know what it feels like to rest in God and be completely at peace even in the midst of heavy labor and feeling burdened? These words sound so simple, just come to Jesus, and he will make all our problems go away. Just come to Him and He will ease our burdens. But this makes it sound like God is a big soft and cushy lazy-boy chair, so after a hard and tiring day, one can just and sink yourself into and rest. And maybe if your muscles are sore just push a button and it will massage you too. Don’t you wish life was that easy, so automatic, just go to Jesus and he will ease all your burdens and you won’t have anything to worry about?

Perhaps you are like the many people who suffer greatly and are heavily burdened; all they want to have some relief, all they want is a little help to get them back on their feet, they try to find peace somewhere, anywhere, but they find none. Have you ever felt that way? Maybe you feel that way now. Or maybe you know someone who called upon God when they were in need, but it seemed like God wasn’t there. And whenever a Christian, trying to comfort them, would say, “Go to Jesus when you feel burdened and He will give you rest”. Only to then have that person say or at least, think to themselves, ‘I tried going to “your” God, but He did not answer, nothing has changed in my life, those are just words without meaning.

So why not? Why aren’t the words “Come to me, all you who are labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” as easy as they sound? Let us look closely at the rest of the Gospel. Jesus begins by exclaiming: “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”. But why is the secret hidden from the wise and learned but revealed to little ones? What is Jesus trying to teach us? In a word, Jesus is teaching humility. Humility is recognizing that we need help, and that we can’t find rest for ourselves. Humility is acknowledging with St. Augustine- that “our hearts are restless until they rest in God”. Humility is knowing that no matter how much we try to slow down or ease our own burdens, no matter what we do, we cannot guarantee that our lives will be easier. And even though by slowing ourselves down we might feel some temporary relief, we might be able find just a little rest for ourselves, it is then easy to think that is enough to push through on our own, and that is as good as life is going to get. But my brothers and sisters, God wants to give us more than just a glimmer of hope, just temporary relief here and there. God wants to give us complete rest, God wants us to have total peace, in Him, throughout the difficulties of life. And so whenever it seems like God doesn’t care about our overburdened hearts, sometimes what God is trying to teach us is to stop searching for relief ourselves, and surrender. Humility is about surrendering our efforts to find rest for ourselves, surrendering our worries and burdens, surrendering our entire lives to Him. You see, humility is about growing in dependence on God, it is learning to be in right relationship with God. So what does that right relationship with God look like?

Jesus also says in our Gospel, “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”. Jesus teaches us what it looks like to be in right relationship with God. Think about how many times the Gospels tell us that Jesus went off by himself to pray. Jesus was in constant communication, and constant communion with the Father. Whenever the disciples was asking who was the greatest or did not really understand what he was saying, or whenever the Pharisees’ hearts remained closed, do you think it grieved or burdened Jesus? When Jesus went out to the Mount of Olives and knew that he was about to be handed over, when he was falsely put on trial, when Jesus was greatly labored by being scourged and carrying his cross, do you think Jesus was heavily burdened? Yes, of course He was. But do you think he was trying to find rest for himself, or was he at complete peace through it all? Jesus was at complete peace through all the labor and burdens that he endured because he was constantly surrendering whatever he was going through to the Father. Jesus was constantly relating his burdens and sufferings to the Father, not complaining but trusting. Jesus was in constant communication and constant communion with the Father. Knowing he was doing the Father’s will, even though it meant he was to endure such tremendous suffering, gave Jesus such complete peace.

So you see my brothers and sisters, it is only when we humble ourselves and surrender all that we are going through in life, when we are constantly relating our trials to the Father, and when we are in constant communication with the Father in prayer, then we will be in right relationship with God, and then and only then will our hearts be at rest and in complete peace with whatever labors or burdens we might have to go through in life. So let us come to Him, surrender ourselves, and then we will find rest.

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