We live today in a very tired world. Everybody works hard. There’s less and less time to rest and recreate. So many people are just plain exhausted. Everyone needs a break. Because of our exhaustion, quite naturally then, some of the hottest products available today have to do with giving us more energy.

We look for an antidote for our exhaustion. We have coffees and teas. We have drugs and medicines. We have energy bars. We have energy drinks. We eat high-energy food. We wear shoes that give us more energy. And every time they advertise these products, and every time I hear about how much energy somebody gets because they drink this certain kind of drink, or eat this certain kind of food, all I can think of, is one thing: VITAMEATAVEGAMIN! In the classic TV show “I Love Lucy”, Lucille Ball made us all laugh as she tried to peddle this wonder drink that was supposed to “pep” you up. Of course, the more Lucy drank the wonder, energy drink, the more intoxicated she became. Thanks to re-runs, Lucy will be making people laugh about Vitameatavegamin for years to come. And sometimes a good laugh is one of the most energizing things of all.

In St. Matthew’s Gospel today, as we come to the middle of chapter 11, everybody’s a little tired in the Gospel also. All is not well. John the Baptist is in prison. John’s followers are a little uncertain about things. Jesus’ followers are pretty clueless and keep misinterpreting what Jesus is saying. And there, in the middle of the chapter, Jesus Himself sounds a little tired, a little discouraged, and maybe even a little frustrated. Things are looking more than a little dark. And this is the setting for this beautiful text where Jesus turns to His Father in Heaven in praise and thanksgiving. Jesus opens Himself up to His Father and thanks the Father for revealing His will. Jesus tells us that God opens His heart to children, to infants. He’s not trying to be insulting the learned and the wise. Here Jesus reminds us that our search for answers as human beings, our quest for certainty, can ONLY be found in child-like trust in God. Jesus invites us to a trusting relationship with Himself where we find the only real answer to the haunting questions of life’s meaning: which is to be freed from them. Jesus invitation to His new life re-orders and re-defines everything. The old world is passing away. Jesus calls us to come and live in the new world now! It is a better way to live. And peace is the hallmark of this new life.

And man, this Gospel is for ALL of us! Aren’t we asking the same questions that John’s followers were? So many of us are exhausted from searching, without finding. And all the while we get frustrated with God for not answering our questions. We search for answers from the dark cells of our doubt, wanting to believe that if we only had the “right” answers, we could find peace. Isn’t it both surprising and amazingly satisfying, that Jesus gives us Himself rather than answers. He invites us to give Him our burdens in exchange for His peace. He offers us a true freedom in His new way of life rather than the fear and doubt of OUR old demanding life. He invites us to simply come to Him with all of our soul’s exhaustion, and, in His presence, find our rest.

My brothers and sisters, today burdens and exhaustion come in many, many forms. You know it and I know it. Our crosses are many and are varied. But no matter what confusion you have in your life, Jesus wants to carry your burdens. What would it take for you to let Him? What would it take for you to really turn EVERYTHING over to Him? You know, we’ve tried it the old way. It doesn’t work. Why not try it His way for a change? We need that peace deep within our souls. It will only come from Him.

Guys, Jesus is the antidote for our exhaustion. You can drink all the double-expressos you want. You can try Red Bull and all the other new energy drinks. You can try booze or drugs. Vitameatavegamin worked real well for Lucy, didn’t it? Nothing is going to refresh your soul like Jesus. This summer, go for the Real Thing that refreshes. It’s not made by Coke.

Once you experience His kind of love and peace, there is no substitute. You let Jesus into your heart and you will both hear and experience a love that will never let you go. And it will be a love and peace that you won’t want to ever lose. That’s why the martyrs died, you know. It was because they couldn’t live without Jesus’ love and peace. If you can live without Jesus love and peace, then you don’t really know it. And if you don’t know it, isn’t it time that you did?

May God bless us and grant us His peace, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… AMEN !!!

St. Maria Goretti … Pray for us !!!