Let’s take a look at the final paragraph of today’s gospel reading: “As evening drew on…he expelled the spirits by a simple command and cured all who were afflicted.” We see here the concrete manifestation of Jesus’ invitation from Matthew 11 : “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Do you and I believe that Jesus does in fact take on our burdens? Can we trust that Jesus really does “cure all who are afflicted”—even me?
What exactly are the burdens and “afflictions” I carry these last days of June 2016? What daily “labor” weighs me down and saps my spirit? Perhaps a frayed relationship. Maybe a family situation that I can’t seem to “fix.” Or even a financial or work or community reality over which I have little control? ….and so I pray and wait.
This last weekend of June, what if I hand over these family and community and personal burdens to Jesus? Can I trust that in the Lord’s own good time some response will come to these knotty challenges…perhaps a response I least expect?
—The Jesuit Prayer Team