May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.
In our reading from the gospel last Sunday, the Lord Jesus sent his apostles out two by two. Today in the gospel, the apostles return from their mission and report all that they had taught and all that they had done. Then the Lord Jesus invites them to rest. “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while,” the Lord Jesus says to his apostles. Today, the Lord Jesus invites us to rest as well.
We do not know how long the first apostolic journey of those twelve apostles lasted. We know that they were told to take a walking stick and sandals, and that wherever the apostles went that they were to preach repentance, cast out demons, heal the sick, and bring the gift of peace. We also know from the actions of the Lord Jesus, that at the end of the mission the disciples were tired. The apostles were weary from the work of the Kingdom of God.
For many of us, it has been one week since we were sent forth from the Altar of God. One week has passed since we last heard the words of the Lord addressed to us in the midst of the Sacred Liturgy. One week has passed since we received the precious body and blood of the Lord in Holy Communion. We have spent this week being attentive to the duties of our particular vocations. Each of us in our own way was called and has responded to the call of the Lord to encourage repentance, to bring healing, to fight against evil and to bring the gift of the peace of the Lord. And each of us is tired. Each of us is weary from the carrying out the work of the Kingdom of God. And today, the Lord Jesus invites each of us to rest, with him.
The one who has called us here today, the one who has invited us to enter into his rest, is Christ the Good Shepherd. Our reading from the book of the prophet Jeremiah announces for us the characteristics of the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd is one who gathers the flock and cares for them. The Good Shepherd feeds the flock so that the flock may grow and be fruitful. The Good Shepherd protects the flock and leads them in the way of justice. Most importantly however, my brothers and sisters, we learn from the Lord Jesus in the gospel, about the heart of the shepherd. The heart of the Good Shepherd is filled with compassion for the flock. The heart of Christ burns with love for his people. The heart of Christ invites us to our true rest in him.
And today, and each day, the Lord Jesus opens his heart to us in the celebration of the Eucharist. He invites us to offer to him, as the gifts of bread and wine are presented at the altar, all of our joys and all of our difficulties. The Lord Jesus desires to hear from us, as he desired to hear from those first apostles, all that we have taught and all that we have done. And the Lord Jesus, with a heart filled with compassion, invites us to enter into his rest.
He invites us to serve him, simply by being with him. That is what the Lord Jesus calls us to today. He does not ask us to go anywhere, to say anything or to take anything with us. The Lord Jesus invites us to make a gift of our time and a gift of our presence so that we can experience the gift of his time and the gift of his presence. Because dear brothers and sisters when we respond to the invitation of the Lord to rest near his heart, then he will transform our hearts. The Lord Jesus will renew us. He will heal us. He will assist us on the road of conversion and he will cast evil from our hearts. And then, nourished by the Eucharist and strengthened by his blessing, the Lord Jesus will send us out again to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom.
