For the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of
Jesus
Here
in his Gospel today, Christ offers a goal of “rest” for those “who labor and
are burdened.”
Come to me
… and I will give you rest.
In
leading up to these words today, Christ marked the road to the goal of rest.
First,
he told of his doing mighty works among us, expecting us to turn and come to
him with faith, open minds and willingness to change [11:20-24].
He
bemoaned those who saw his mighty works, but did not repent.
Then,
he spoke a prayer of thanks to his Father that some indeed had turned and
opened up to what the Father wants to give through Christ.
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.
Yes,
Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things
have been handed over to me by my Father.
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.
You
and I see and believe his mighty works, especially in his sacraments, most
especially in his Eucharist.
He
calls for us to turn and come to him with faith, open minds and willingness to
change.
If
we do, we shall learn from him to be meek and humble of heart, and he will reveal the Father to us.
We
will come to know the Father, and the Father will give us all things.
That
the Father would give us all things in Christ was the last thing the Lord said
in leading up to today’s Gospel.
All things
have been handed over to me by my Father.
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.
Come to
me, all you who labor and are burdened....
and learn
from me....
We
are about to come to him in his Eucharistic Flesh and Blood.
However,
the Eucharist is not merely a goal at which to rest.
Come to
me…. Take my YOKE upon you and LEARN from me.
The
Eucharist is a beginning of bearing the YOKE of Christ upon the road of LEARNING from him.
After
all, the Eucharist is one of the three sacraments of Christian INITIATION.
INITIATION, not the finish!
Baptism,
Confirmation and the Eucharist— the first two are never repeated.
However,
the Eucharist must be repeated throughout our lives as the sacrament of ONGOING Christian initiation.
At
this moment, here at this altar, we are NOT about to “arrive” at the Eucharist.
No,
we are about to start all over again.
We
are about to initiate our CONVERSIONS again, to repent again, and we must do so
throughout the rest of our days.
To
start again to bear the yoke of Christ!
To
start again to learn from him with open minds and willingness to change!
That
is the only road at whose end we can find rest in seeing and receiving from
Christ all things that his Father has delivered to him.
Turn.
Love. Repeat.
