Mrs. Calvin Coolidge is supposed to have said: “It is good to work hard because it feels so good to rest.” Judy was as happy as I was to get back to volunteering on a Habitat for Humanity job site. No, not just to get me out of the house, but for the fellowship and the hard work for a good cause that has done wonders for my ability to enjoy well-earned “rest” after working hard all day.
The author of Hebrews is continuing his interpretation of Psalms
95, saying that the promise of entering God’s “rest”, denied to the wilderness generation
of Israel, remains open to those whom he is addressing. Interpreting the psalm
to tell us about a well-earned rest. For God’s chosen people, the place of rest
was the promised land, described as a share in God’s
eternal sabbath rest from the work of creation. For us, this place of rest means
heaven.
Today’s Gospel features four hardworking friends of a
paralyzed man. They had to do roof demolition, heavy lifting and lowering, to
get their friend in front of Jesus. Their hard work paid off. “When Jesus saw their faith,” (Mk 2:5) he reacted. This Gospel does not
mention the paralytic’s faith. In fact, it seems he needed more than just a
physical cure: but the forgiveness of his sins.
The four friends’ concern brought about a total cure (body and soul) for their companion. The faith of the
hardworking friends was all Jesus needed to see.
Now, I’m sure there are a whole lot of people here and in
other churches, mosques, and temples working really hard to get themselves into
heaven to enjoy God’s rest. Yet, entering into
God’s rest may not depend so much on what we do for ourselves but rather on
what we do for others and what they do for us when we are open to hear or see.
St. Mother Teresa has said: “At the moment
of death we will not be judged according to the number of good deeds we have
done or the diplomas we have received in our lifetime. We will be judged according
to the love we have put into our work.”
The strength of the Christian community can supply for our weakness—and vice versa. Maybe, we should be concentrating, not so much on getting ourselves to heaven, as, helping others to get there by our prayer, our example of faith, by our charity, and our willingness to let others lean on us for support. This kind of hard work can lead us to an eternal, satisfying rest.[1]
[1] Weekday HomilyHelps, Exegesis by Terrance
Callan, PhD; Homily Suggestion by Rev Paul J. Schmidt.
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