Come to Me

Homily for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 5, 2020

An imaginative story I recently read…

I was sitting at the breakfast table, thinking, “I’ve certainly had lots of problems lately. Troubles at work, troubles at home, I really ought to take time to pray about them. All of a sudden I sensed that someone had walked into the room behind me. I spun around and asked, “Lord Jesus! What are you doing here?”

The Lord was standing in the doorway. I rubbed my eyes—was it really he? Yes, everything checked out, from the tip of the white seamless robe to the faint glimmering around his head. This unexpected visit unsettled me. I wondered if I had done something wrong. He smiled and the light of his eyes brightened. “Would you like to take a walk with me?” Jesus inquired. “Uhmm…why…ah…sure!” I replied.

And so the two of us walked down a little country lane. Slowly the truth began to dawn on me and I thought, “What an incredible opportunity! He has all the answers to my problems…my relationships…my work…my worries about the future…All I need is to ask him.”

We walked quietly for several minutes, then I turned toward him and said, “Excuse me, Lord, I need some advice on a very difficult problem.” Before I could finish, he said, “Shh…do you not hear it?” At first I didn’t hear a thing. But then I heard the faint sound of water tumbling over the rocks from a nearby stream. The Lord sighed, “Isn’t it beautiful?” “Ah, yes, I suppose….”

I was thoroughly distracted in my surge of thoughts, and I finally said, “Lord, I’ve been worried about my prayer life. Things have been awfully empty…” He put his arm around my shoulder. “Hush, do you hear it?” he asked. Children were playing in the nearby meadow. And again, he smiled, “Isn’t it wonderful?” he exclaimed. “Sure…now that you mention it.”

We walked on. Again, I thought about this wonderful opportunity. Here was the answer to all my troubles right in front of me. I wanted to talk to him about religion. After all, this was his line of work. “Lord, I was wondering what you thought about the conflict in modern biblical scholarship…” He interrupted me once more, stopped silently and picked up some roadside pebbles. “I’ll bet you can’t hit the top of that telephone pole,” he challenged. I was bewildered. Why, of all things! And from the Lord himself! He casually tossed a pebble toward the pole…and he missed. Then, I half-heartedly took a pebble and aimed it toward the pole. Whack! I hit the pole. The Lord proudly looked at me and chuckled, “Hey, you’re good,” he said.

We strolled a bit further and at last our walk ended. Beneath his flowing beard, the Lord had a gentle smile. As he began to leave, he said, “Just stop trying so hard.”

You know, our world can feel pretty overwhelming. There are a lot of serious, frightening problems that can make life feel very heavy. But we have access to Jesus by entering into conscious communion with God. Prayer opens the door through which we can enter into a sanctuary of strength and safety, protection and renewal. It will differ for each of us. The story I shared with you may sound a bit silly, but in it we can find a message that we deeply need to hear. I needed Jesus to tell me to stop worrying about everything going on in our country, and to quit trying so hard to solve all the world’s problems! Rather, I should do what I can by helping people who are lonely, frightened, or in need right here in our own community.

Why don’t you try it? Try bringing today’s gospel to prayer with you this week. Imagine Jesus speaking these words—not in some general way—but to you, to your heart: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

You might also like

Father's Homilies

Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent December 7, 2025

By Charlene Currie • December 17, 2025
Is It Right?

Homily for the First Sunday of Advent November 30, 2025

By Charlene Currie • December 4, 2025
How Far Do You Want to Go?

Homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe November 23, 2025

By Charlene Currie • November 28, 2025
Prairie Chickens and Eagles Homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe November 23, 2025 An American Indian tells about a brave who found an eagle’s egg and put it into the nest of a prairie chicken. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All its life the changeling eagle, thinking it was a prairie chicken, did what the other prairie chickens did. It scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects to eat. It clucked and cackled. And it flew in a brief thrashing of wings and flurry of feathers no more than a few feet off the ground. After all, that’s how prairie chickens were supposed to fly. Years passed, and the changeling grew very old. One day it saw a magnificent bird soaring far above in the cloudless sky. Hanging with graceful majesty on the powerful wind currents, it soared with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings. “What a beautiful bird!” said the changeling eagle to its neighbor. “What is it?” “That’s an eagle—the chief of the birds,” the neighbor clucked. “But don’t give it a second thought. You could never be like him.” So, the changeling eagle never gave it another thought. And it died thinking it was a prairie chicken. Today, we are celebrating the fact that Jesus Christ is the King of all God’s creation. And yet, it is strange that the gospel passage chosen for this feast is the scene of Jesus’ crucifixion. Notice how weak he is. Consider how he is laughed at and made fun of. “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God….If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself.” So, the problem is one of expectations. The bystanders were looking for an eagle, and all they saw before them was a prairie chicken! And yet, at the end of the gospel, this prairie chicken seems to have some power that prairie chickens don’t normally have. When Jesus is asked by the thief being crucified with him, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom,” Jesus replies, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Hardly a promise that could be made by a prairie chicken! What’s going on here? I’d like to refer us to a passage we find in the writings of St. Paul, a section of his letter to the Philippians that is the second reading on Palm Sunday, when we reflect on the crucifixion of Jesus. Here it is: “Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Jesus taught the way of humility and service. He came to raise others up, especially those who were bowed down by poverty or prejudice. He taught that there was no greater love than to lay down one’s life for the love of others. Greatness is found not in building oneself up at the expense of others, but in building up others, especially those who need it the most. So, Jesus emptied himself, to the point of looking like a prairie chicken, and in doing so he showed us the way to the eternal kingdom by means of humble service, that we might become who we truly are, eagles destined to soar beyond the clouds.