“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt 11:29).
This is exactly what the Lord is telling us in this passage. “Our heart is restless until it rests in You,” St. Augustine tells us. Our soul seeks God even when we may not be aware of it. It is not satisfied by earthly things, for these are not meant to fulfill it, but are rather a gift from our loving Father to accompany us.
Our soul longs for more, for it is created for God and will find no true peace unless it encounters Him.
The Lord shows us how to find this peace and offers Himself to us. And indeed, when we accept Jesus’ invitation, our inner state is transformed. His yoke is easy, as He says elsewhere in Scripture. When we enter into obedience to God, the path of consciously following the Lord opens up. Our soul is guided and willingly submits to the words of its Master. In this way, it learns humility.
The Master meets it with kindness and understanding, though not without admonishing it to abandon harmful and useless ways. He is a Master who gave Himself first before inviting us to follow Him. Now, full of kindness, He shapes the soul, and His humility bends down toward us! Jesus left the glory of heaven for a time to lead the soul home to the Heavenly Father.
Blessed is the one who has recognized the Son of God and accepted Him as Lord and Master. That peace will already begin to enter his soul—a peace that will be perfected in eternity!
Here is the video featuring the words of Jesus that we meditated on today: