Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among the nations his deeds. Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought, his portents, and the judgments he has uttered. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 11:28-30, today's readings).

Jesus said: "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 invites everyone who labors and is burdened to come to him. The labor and the burden of each of us is unique and known only to the Lord. Yet, to each person, Jesus invites us to take his yoke upon us and learn from him. In his meekness and humility, he adds no weight of sin and suffering but instead relieves us of it. What might it mean that a yoke is easy? As an actual yoke that pairs two animals, a yoke that is easy conforms to the shape of the neck and shoulders and allows freedom of movement while carrying the burden. The yoke that Jesus invites us to take upon us does the same: it is shaped uniquely to each person so that we choose freely to walk with Christ as we labor to become more like him.

God, help me understand that to labor and be burdened is a reality of this life and that, realistically, there is no escape from it. When I face the difficulties of the day and the certainty of its burdens, help me remember the first words of Jesus in today's Gospel as a way to take to heart what follows: "Come to me." Twice, Jesus makes clear what his purpose is in inviting me to come to him. He says, "I will give you rest." Stay with me, Lord. Give me the grace to find rest for myself as you make your presence known.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.