The somewhat famous plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty reads: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
These words make up the conclusion of a longer poem, but they are reminiscent of Jesus’ words in Matthew 11, 25-30: “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.”
Jesus is offering rest … to all of us “who labor and are burdened,” if we will accept His “easy yoke and light burden.” By declaring that His “yoke is light,” He means that whatever God sends us is made to fit our needs and our abilities exactly. He does not mean that the burden is easy to carry, but that it is laid on us in love, that it is meant to be carried in love, and that love makes even the heaviest burden bearable.
Something worth pondering as we prepare to come to Mass this weekend: Whether we are in church, alone in our quiet spot where we come before God each day, in our homes, in the homes of our friends and neighbors, at work, or at play, we always find that prayer and fellowship bring us the rest and refreshment that we all need so much. There is nothing quite like “coming to the Lord,” wherever we may be, and setting aside our burdens for a while – nothing quite like having our batteries recharged, our radiators cooled down, and our spirits lifted up. “See you in church!”
