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THIS WEEK’S GOSPEL IS MATTHEW 11:25-30
Be honest…do your Sundays really look like a day of rest? We have a legitimate need for rest and most of us ignore it. But today’s Gospel reflection will change that–watch now to discover the top reasons why rest matters and how making time for rest will transform your life!
We take seriously the words of Jesus in Luke’s Gospel when he warns against “carousing and drunkenness.” But he also warns against “the anxieties of daily life.” It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the many tasks of this season of preparation. Cleaning, cooking, shopping, wrapping packages, cleaning some more, baking, doing dishes, going on one more shopping excursion. As so often happens during busy times, we find ourselves going to bed late, getting up early, grabbing fast food on the go, skipping a workout at the gym because we don’t have time, and generally not taking good care of ourselves. Then we go to parties where we eat too much rich, sweet food, and drink one too many alcoholic beverages and the downward spiral continues. Sit quietly for five or ten minutes today. Pay attention to your breathing. Hear Jesus say, “You are busy and anxious about many things.” You know what those anxieties are. As you breathe in calm reassurance, breathe out those anxieties and turn them over to the Lord.
Ask your body and your spirit what they need at this time. It might be rest. Then again it might be more exercise. Our needs change throughout our lives and we don’t always pay attention to that. Take a walk. Take a nap. Do both. Cancel an engagement and stay home for the evening. Or resist the pull of the recliner and Netflix and go to dinner with a good friend. The main thing is to take time to ask yourself in any given moment if what you’re doing is really what you need or if another choice would be better. Then make the better choice, choose the better part.
— from the book Simple Gifts: Daily Reflections for Advent
by Diane M. Houdek
We don’t know how to rest and relax anymore. Picture an overtired toddler fighting a much-needed nap. This is a good image for many of us as we push ourselves through days filled with too much activity and too much stress. Part of the problem is that too often the work we do takes place mostly in our brains and on our computers. We are mentally but not physically tired. People who work in physically demanding jobs perhaps have a better awareness of the body’s need for rest. I think my parents and grandparents were much better than I am at balancing work and rest. But this isn’t solely a twenty-first-century phenomenon. As far back as the beginning of the Hebrew Scriptures, God had to command one day of rest for the Chosen People. Left to ourselves, like toddlers we will keep going until we drop in our tracks. One of my favorite quotes from Isaiah talks about how quiet trust and rest will lead to salvation. It wasn’t until I found the quote in its full context that I understood how much we resist the very thing we most need: For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. But you refused and said, “No! We will flee upon horses”— therefore you shall flee!—Isaiah 30:15–16 We rely a great deal—probably too much—on our own efforts. We become convinced that we’re indispensable and irreplaceable. We don’t realize that it’s OK to ask for help—or at least allow ourselves to take a day off and return to the task with renewed energy.
— from the book Simple Gifts: Daily Reflections for Advent
by Diane M. Houdek
“In this life no one can fulfill his longing, nor can any creature satisfy man’s desire. Only God satisfies, he infinitely exceeds all other pleasures. That is why man can rest in nothing but God.”
— St. Thomas Aquinas
//Catholic Company//
DAY 22 | Matthew 6:25-34
“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” —Matthew 6:34
My 15-year-old grandson took a high school psychology class and began diagnosing each family member with a mental disorder. When I asked him about mine, he said, “Anxiety.” I laughed because I’m generally a glass-half-full kind of person. I trust God for the future.
Yet I admit that I do secretly worry about what will happen when my three-year cancer treatment plan ends. I worry about my children who have already lost their father to cancer. I worry about my husband having another heart attack. I worry about my dad’s grief and loneliness after losing my mom and then my stepmom.
What secret worries linger in the back of your mind?
We can imagine Jesus lovingly shaking his head at all of our what-ifs, and asking the rhetorical question “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” Jesus teaches us not to waste time with such concerns but instead to “seek first the kingdom” of God. We can focus on living out the gospel, sharing it with others, and maximizing the time we are given.
Jesus challenges us to have faith and to trust that the Father knows exactly what we need. Rather than fret, we are invited to surrender our stress to Jesus. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,” he says, “and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Lord, we worry when we should just pray. Help us to bring the concerns of each day to you in faith, and empower us to trust in your providential care to sustain us and our loved ones. Amen.
//Reframe Ministries//
“You have rejected us. You have broken us … You have made Your people experience hardship … God has spoken in His holiness … Through God we shall do valiantly, and it is He who will tread down our adversaries.” – Psalm 60:1, 3, 6, 12 NASB
As happened often, David had to work through the crises he faced. He had to figure out what they meant and what to do.
In this psalm, he began by expressing his honest thoughts toward God – His sense that God had rejected them and even made them “experience hardship.” He reminded God that Israel was His “beloved” (v. 5); he prayed for His help.
David might have thought of God as being distant and separate, but He reminded David that they were completely connected. God saw everything from the perspective of His ownership – they were His people, and He knew everything about their situation. And He reminded David that He was holy and sovereign.
In the end, David declared His confidence in God. He was certain that through Him, they would “do valiantly.” God Himself would defeat their adversaries.
This perspective still is true. God still is holy. He cannot change. He always does what is right. As we pray, we can be reminded of His love for us and the fact that we are His people. We also must remember that God is sovereign. He has a plan for the world, for each nation, and for each of us.
As you think about the challenges you face, remember that God is sovereign and holy. And He loves you. Rest in His love. Think about His faithfulness. Remember, you can depend on Him and trust Him unconditionally.
Prayer: Father, thank You for knowing the situations I face. Thank You for Your help. I trust in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Extended Reading: Psalm 60
//Inspiration Ministeries//