In Johns Hopkins Hospital, in Baltimore, Maryland, a sectarian institute and the hospital ranked #1 in the nation for 5 years running, you will find a giant statue of Christ, with a quote from today’s Gospel appended to it: “Come to me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome...and you will find rest for your souls.” People of all faiths come here, and take comfort in these words, for whether or not one is a Christian, the words speak to the human soul of a spiritual healing, a deeper comfort than penicillin can bring. They remind us that All Wisdom and All Health are holy gifts from A Greater Source. I, personally, have seen Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Jews go there and sit for a moment to re-find their "center," or to gain strength...strength from the promise--NOT to "fix" everything immediately or at all--but to give REST, rest from worry, and care and heartache and loss.
You know, I’ll bet that if we were to do an international poll of every living, breathing human being, asking them what they want most, “rest” would probably end up being the number 1 longing of all. It might not be YOUR #1 longing, as you sit here, this morning, but we don’t live like most of the world.
Over 60% of the world’s population can neither read nor write, most do not have running water, one-third of us are in a struggle for survival, going to bed hungry every single night, and half of THAT number are starving. Of those who live in areas where there are more amenities, many find themselves in war zones...there’s running water in Iraq and in Darfur, but getting to it, and getting back alive is a crap shoot!
Most of the earth’s population toil long hours, and then sleep poorly, fearing rats or snakes, due to the flimsy construction of their dwellings, so they sleep lightly, and wake often. They often wake without being "rested." Most of the earth doesn’t have 10 hospitals in a 3 mile radius, like we do, or doctors’ and dentists’ offices within either walking distance or, at least, a short drive. And while we’re speaking of driving, most of the world walks or rides bicycles or rickshaws, or run for diesel burning busses that leave them filthy when they arrive where they’re going. I visited our Trinitarian theologate in Bangalore, India, about 10 years ago. We have an ashram about 4 miles from center-city, in a relatively un-developed area, and the guys have to ride a bus to school for their theology studies as they explore the vast compendium of our 2,000 year old tradition of scholarship, and make their way to ordination. I was teaching theology at Xavier University and Loyola University–both New Orleans institutions, at the time, and I was curious about how theology was taught in India, so I rode with them. I came out to the bus stop, dressed well enough to impress the faculty–black shirt and white clerical collar, and I saw the guys in shorts and T-shirts, so I said, “My, classes must be informal here.” They just smiled, not realizing what I was getting at. Well, the bus came...and it was a small thing, low to the ground, and holding about 6 people, so I was given a seat, and I chose a window seat to see the area for the first time. The others clamored on, and those who didn’t fit, held on to the sides...and off we took. Well, we’d be behind or along the side of huge trucks carrying produce, trucks not as low to the ground as we were; in fact...we were about level with the exhaust pipe of every other conveyance in India! When we arrived at the school, all our arms and faces were sooty, our clothes were filthy, and it was then that I saw what they were up to. They went to the john, washed, and took a fresh habit (a white habit, at that) out of their bags, and went to class looking ever so smart, and I, who had wanted to impress the local faculty, looked like I’d been making deliveries! But walking, hanging onto conveyances, getting filthy is the lot of much of the world.
Now, where was I? Oh, yes, I was saying that medical facilities were not within walking distance of most people, and so, they suffer, often for long periods, in silence, awake with pain much of the night, hoping whatever they have will respond to local folk ideas of treatment, and if it doesn’t, then they make the long trek to the clinic. These people don’t sleep at night; they don’t really rest during the day, either.
Most of our world is populated with weary people. And I want to suggest to you that we are also a weary nation, but weary in other ways. We are weary because we want to succeed at everything: we want the house, the car, the dog, the drapes and the basement full of rifles! We want the kids in bicycles and braces, and so we hold down jobs we often don’t like, working for people we don’t particularly care for, often commuting long stretches that get more expensive as the gas goes up. And we want all this, and at the same time we want to be the kind of Mom or Dad that Bill Cosby is, and the taxes go up, and the services go down, and we, too, don’t go for treatments when we’re sick, not because there are no doctors nearby, but because we’re afraid to miss work. We Americans work more hours than most first-world countries, and we seem not as happy or fulfilled as many others.
And it’s to this craziness that the message of today goes forth: Come to me, you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will give you rest; take my yoke upon your shoulders, 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 is light.
Do you remember the first account of creation in Genesis, chapter 1? In that account of creation (and there are two different accounts, side by side, each placed there for a good reason, which you’ll have to come to my Bible class to learn about, if you want to know why!) But in that first account of creation, God creates by word: “Let there BE light, and light there was! Let there BE a dome in the heavens to separate sky from earth, and a dome appeared, and “Let us create humanity in our own image, and in the image of god humanity was made, male and female they were created....” (Notice, I took the “male-centered” translation out, and made it more universal, but that’s OK, for that’s what the Hebrew says....”Adam,” is the Hebrew word for “human being.”) BUT, at that point in the account, the creation of humanity, we are only at day 6, and it’s a “seven day event,” remember? So....the climax is yet to appear! The crown of all creation has yet to be created...and, THEN, it comes: SABBATH, created in God’s resting, for even in His resting, God is creative–that’s the nature of God. And Sabbath, a day of REST is the crown of everything. All that is created is yearning, leaning, striving toward REST....the holy time in which God and humanity meet, and form a relationship. For those of you who remember the story, in Genesis 1:1, when it all began, we were in chaos: the earth was “tohu vbohu” the Hebrew says: chaotic and void, and darkness covered the abyss. Just like so many of our lives.........chaotic and dark, tossed and turned on life’s sea of trouble. And, then, in 7 easy steps....we come to Sabbath order and peace...the day of Rest.
You and I are here, today, keeping our understanding of Sabbath. And it is this relationship with God that will bring a sense of “order” to our busy lives. Oh, it doesn't come immediately. When people first begin the “spiritual path,” they see it as one more thing to add to their schedule. Daily Mass or Morning Meditation are on the same list as the groceries and the oil change for the car. But as time passes, Grace begins to have its way....and a bit of order begins to come...and we find ourselves “angry” less of the time, “swearing” less often, “embarrassed” when we sense that we are holding a grudge, “forgiving others” more easily. The changes are subtle, but they are real. And our life begins to CENTER itself....and our priorities just sort of emerge, and we are, eventually, more interested in hearing what our kids think about something than we are about grilling them on whether or not they've made the application to UCLA or Pepperdine. What our spouse is feeling is as important as any other item in our briefcase. We find ourselves more whole....what the Bible might call “holy.”
So...it’s my prayer for each of us, today, that we either begin, or that we feel strengthened to continue on the spiritual path. For some of you, it may not be time, yet. I don't think I could have started a day before I did! I knew what it meant to be religious–and I had done all sorts of priestly things....but, I hadn't yet begun the inner journey...the spiritual path. I remember it well. It was around December 15, in 1990 or 91. I was teaching full time at Xavier and part time at Loyola, and I had all my finals graded, all the term papers read and marked, all the grades in, and I had NOTHING AT ALL that I HAD to do until after Christmas. Even my gifts were bought and wrapped. So........fishing around for something to do, I looked at my bookcase, and there was Dante’s “Divine Comedy,” something I hadn't read since I was an undergraduate, and I pulled it from the shelf, and opened to the very first page, and this is what it said: “I awakened in the middle of my life in a deep, dark wood, and there was no path.” And, right there, at age 44 or 45, I said to myself, “My God, that’s MY STORY!” And, then, I was ready. The “penny had dropped!” For I, too, was "in the middle of my life," in darkness...with no path in sight... (ah, midlife crisis hits us all! Priests, too!) And, so, I began...
If you're not ready for the spiritual path, this sermon will clue you in to watching for the moment when you are. If you've begun, and found it difficult......... (Dante had to go through hell first, remember?) I urge you to keep at it. For very soon, you'll see how simple it is....the yoke IS easy! You don't have to “give up” all the stuff that makes you YOU. God will “take” what He wants you to let go of, and the rest, He'll leave with you, and smile at you as you grow. And the peace...the promised "REST"...WILL COME. Some of you will need a guide: and the Blessed Mother has aided many along this path, some may want to find a spiritual director, and they are numerous, we even have several in the parish, some of you will need “encouragement,” and the stories of our saints can provide that. Some of you just need the reassurance we get from scripture, or some from merely being at Church, surrounded by the “tribe” of those who strive for peace.
And so, again, my prayer is that we undertake or continue on the inner path, the path that is the true “point” of all religion. I pray that because there is a spiritual truth we all should know, and it is this: “THERE IS NO PATH TO PEACE.............PEACE IS THE PATH. And as we move along its terrain, our lives bring peace to our world. So, let us gather at the Table of the Prince of Peace, and allow ourselves to be touched by His body and washed in His blood, and let us sense the Healing Peaceful Presence wash over us, and thus may our lives become benedictions of peace and rest in a world that needs peace and rest so desperately. May He give you His peace, today: his Holy, Sabbath peace. And may God bless you all. +
-Father Bill Axe, O.SS.T.
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