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Wednesday of the SecondWeek of Advent
Isaiah 40:25-31
Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 8 & 10
MT 11:28-30
Summary
In the Gospel reading for today Jesus invites the crowds to find their rest in him.
Also He invites them to take the yoke of his teachings, his call to a life of disci-
pleship, upon themselves.
Reflection
Every Wednesday night nearly fifty middle school youth meet together in the Eden
Center for fellowship, learning and formation. Because this ministry means so
much to me I wanted to write the reflection for today with input from the youth
and other adult leaders. After reading this statement of Jesus, one of the youth
asked, “What’s a yoke?” A yoke is a wooden beam that is normally used with ox-
en so that they can accomplish a task by working in a pair. Because they are
connected one ox cannot move without the other. The second question was,
“What’s a burden?” We decided that a burden was something that you did not
necessarily want to do but that you had to get done anyway (like homework!); it
could also something in your life that is stressing you out and keeps you from
being happy. With these answers in mind I invited the youth to write their reflec-
tions on what this passage meant to them. Here are some of what they had to
say:
“I think that when you let Jesus join you, your heart and spirit will be lifted. Jesus
wants you to be happy and he is willing to carry some of your troubles…”
“This passage makes me feel like I am not alone…Jesus will be with me. He helps
me carry my burdens…”
“To me this passage means that God will always
be there for me.”
“…it’s very nice to have someone who wants
toshare your burden. Having someone that has