Homily – Wednesday, 2nd Week of Advent “I Will Give You Rest”

Advent has a very gentle honesty about it.
It does not pretend that life is easy.
Instead, it speaks directly to weariness.

Listen again to Isaiah today:
“Young men may grow weary and faint… but those who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength.”
And then to Jesus in the Gospel:
“Come to Me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.”

The Word of God today is addressed not to the strong,
but to the tired.

Isaiah is speaking to a people who are exhausted.
Israel is in exile.
They feel forgotten, small, powerless.
They wonder whether God still sees them at all.

And Isaiah answers with one of the most important truths in Scripture:
God does not grow tired.

“The Lord is the everlasting God… His wisdom is unsearchable.”
Human strength runs out.
God’s does not.

But notice something crucial:
Isaiah does not scold the people for being weary.
He doesn’t say, “Try harder.”
He says, “Hope in the Lord.”

Weariness is not a failure of faith;
it is part of being human.
What matters is where we take our weariness.

Now listen carefully to the Gospel.
Jesus does not say:
“Come to Me and I will give you more rules.”
Or:
“Come to Me and prove yourself.”

He says:
“Come to Me… and I will give you rest.”

This is extraordinary.
Every other system in the world says:
“Carry this. Achieve this. Fix yourself first.”
Jesus says:
“Come as you are — tired, burdened, struggling — and let Me carry you.”

The burden He refers to is not just physical exhaustion.
It is the weight of sin, guilt, anxiety, disappointment,
and especially the pressure of trying to justify ourselves.

Many people today are tired not because they work too hard,
but because they are constantly proving themselves —
trying to be good enough, successful enough, acceptable enough.

Jesus steps into that exhaustion and says:
“Enough. Come to Me.”

Then Jesus says something that seems almost strange:
“Take My yoke upon you.”

A yoke is something placed on working animals.
So why does Jesus, who promises rest, speak of a yoke?

Because not all burdens are the same.

The yoke of the world crushes.
It demands without mercy.
It never says “enough.”

The yoke of Christ is different.
It is shared.

When Jesus gives us His yoke,
He is not putting us to work alone —
He is placing Himself alongside us.

The Christian life is not the absence of effort;
it is the presence of Christ within the effort.

That is why He can say:
“My yoke is easy, and My burden light.”
Not because life becomes effortless,
but because we are no longer carrying it by ourselves.

Jesus adds one final detail:
“Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart.”

This is how rest enters the soul.

We live in a harsh world.
People are quick to judge, quick to criticise, quick to condemn —
including ourselves.

Jesus is not harsh.
He is gentle.

Gentleness does not mean weakness.
It means strength under control.
It means knowing who you are before God.

To learn from Christ is to learn a new pace of life:
less frantic,
less anxious,
less driven by fear.

Advent invites us to slow down enough
to let that gentleness shape us.

The rest Jesus promises is not escape from responsibility.
It is rest rooted in trust.

It is the peace of knowing that salvation does not depend on our perfection,
but on God’s faithfulness.

Isaiah says:
“They shall soar as with eagles’ wings.”
Not because they are strong —
but because they wait on the Lord.

Advent teaches us to wait —
not passively, but trustfully.

To stop insisting that everything depends on us.
To stop carrying burdens we were never meant to carry.
To let God be God.

If you come to Mass today tired,
you are exactly where you should be.

If you come burdened, distracted, worn down,
Jesus’ invitation is for you.

“Come to Me.”
Not tomorrow.
Not when you’ve fixed everything.
Not when Advent is over.

Come now.

Lay down what is heavy.
Take up what is gentle.
And let the Lord renew your strength.

Those who hope in the Lord
will never be disappointed.