Shepherds brave difficult and stressful conditions in order to protect and provide for the sheep. The Lord does this for us, and as we conform our hearts to Christ we are strengthened to do the same for one another.
The Gospel of Matthew helps us understand how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament by highlighting three crucial themes from the prophet Isaiah. In doing so, the Lord gives us an example to follow today.
Jesus tells the Pharisees that “the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.” Once we recognize that Christ is the Son of God, we have the opportunity with a simple question to determine if we are keeping our focus where it properly belongs.
The Lord invites us to come to him and find rest…the type of rest where there are no boundaries, no walls, only a trusting faith that draws us closer in our relationship with God. It is a beautiful image! May the rest we find in Jesus renew our hearts and spill out into our connections with one another.
Jesus offers a word of praise to his Heavenly Father for the goodness he has poured out on creation. This grace is not because of our own perfection; rather, the Lord meets us in our weakness and blesses us with his merciful love. It begs a simple question: Are we open to receive it?
Jesus speaks about the cities that heard his message and rejected it. Their punishment is the result of the natural consequence of not repenting. The point for us is sobering; we have been given so much…does it inspire us to draw near to the Lord?
God calls us, empowers us and sends us into the world to offer our lives and become living conduits for the Lord’s grace. Each of us has to make a simple choice: Will we respond to the call and follow Jesus?
Fear is a common human experience, yet the Lord invites us to reject it. We find the power to do this when we call upon Jesus Christ, who gives us the grace we need to face our fear as we follow in faith.
The Lord makes it clear that a life of faith will often be filled with challenges and opposition. Knowing that there will be tough times, we keep our focus on God…who will give us what we need to keep going.
The Lord reminds us in the Gospel, “without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” God’s generosity toward us becomes the model by which we offer our lives for one another.