Today’s Gospel is not just about physical healing; it brings the message of hope. Life can be burdensome at times, but it surely would be worse without the hope we have. The burden is not the end of, nor the whole of life. We cannot run from the burdens that come upon us at times, and it surely is a blessing (of the type Jesus mentions in the Beatitudes) to know and believe in a God who is present with us.

The heart of Jesus yearned to relieve people of the burdens they carried, all kinds of burdens. The relief Jesus offers us may not be the disappearance of the burden. It may be more the fact that we have a friend who understands, for he, too, carried great burdens.

Reflections for Sundays
God is With Us
Michael Morwood MSC