December 10, 2025, Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent
Lectionary #183, Matthew 11: 28-30
Scripture
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.”
Reflection
In this seemingly sermon-like passage, Jesus boldly reveals who He really is. If there was ever a doubt before these words were uttered, there had to be no doubt afterward.
It was common currency for the scribes and the Pharisees to recommend Wisdom and for the Rabbis to refer their own to the splendors of the Law for the proper pursuit of their lives.
Christ made more than a symbolic statement that day. He offered a way of life, an attitude, a philosophy, and a sure path to genuine personal peace. When he declared “Come to me,” he canceled out every other manner of living, every other avenue to comfort and strength. He seemed to be speaking to a specific category of people on that occasion: “all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,” but I would dare say that every one of us qualifies as weary and burdened in some way, even if some are more so than others. Very likely, and more specifically, the burdens alluded to here are the weighty demands of the Law, the many precepts and demands of a legalism that had crept into every area of life.
Perhaps the Lord’s boldest statement is, “and I will give you rest.” He did not say I will give you the means, the strategies of peace and contentment, but that he, Jesus, would provide them with the rest. We recall his declaration in the gospel of John, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life (14: 6). Christ comes to earth and becomes the good news, the joy of salvation that has to be a counterweight to the strict demands of the Law.
No one was doing away with moral law and the demands of living together in harmony, but Christ was bringing hope and a vision of the future where He himself would be the long-awaited bliss.
The common understanding of the Messiah at the time of Jesus was of an all-conquering hero who would free Israel from its captivity. Gentleness and meekness were not as prized as the vision of a macho Messiah. Still, the prophets did not forget his humility:
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you, triumphant and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9: 9).
There are many ways to be strong, and the Son of God chooses to be perceived as gentle and meek.
Christ says that “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” The burdens and the yokes of each follower are measured according to the capacity of the bearer. In the days of Christ, yokes were fitted to the neck and contours of each animal. Thus, the yoke was made easy, appropriate, and adapted to each one. These are words worth remembering, especially in times of turmoil and sadness, when the heart is flooded with pain and no human hand can relieve the weight of anguish. This reading proclaims the Christ-centered life.
At La Salette, the Lady appeared and spoke especially of her Son. She pronounces the word Son five times. On her breast, the crucified Christ is in bright and shimmering evidence. This is a suffering Christ, who, in some way, still bears the burden of the cross. The mother herself says clearly, “How long have I suffered for you!”
The mother and the Son, though in heaven, are still, in some mysterious but real way, burdened with suffering. Yet, the reason for her visit to La Salette is peace. If there is reconciliation, this same Son will bring with His own presence in the world, a Messianic abundance: “rocks and stones will turn into heaps of wheat, and potatoes will be self-sown in the fields.”
La Salette is filled with the gospel invitation: “Come to me, all you that are weary.”
La Salette Invocation
Our Lady of La Salette, reconciler of sinners,
pray without ceasing for us who have recourse to you
