Our Holy Father Andrew the Jerusalemite, Archbishop of Crete (740); Venerable Martha, Mother of the Holy Simeon of the Mountain of Wonders
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Romans 11:13-24; Matthew 11:27-30
If you look at an icon of Christ, he is often holding a book. Sometimes this book is closed, symbolizing the Book of Life, with all the names of the baptized written in it. But often this book is open, appearing as a gospel book, and often the verses are taken from today’s gospel: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
These verses are often chosen for icons because they are a remarkable summary of the good news of Jesus Christ. He gives us rest from the weariness of our sins, from the burden of our self-centeredness. But paradoxically, that rest comes by taking up a burden – carrying our cross with him as he carries his cross, and even sharing in his cross (think of Colossians 1:24, “in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body…”). But then he presents us with another paradox, another shift in our thinking: this yoke is easy and light. Jesus invites us to leave the burden of our sins, our addictions, not to weigh us down with misery and with gloom, but to give us his yoke of love that grows lighter the longer we carry it, so that we may experience the lightest yoke, his freedom.
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