(I am writing a monthly column for my parish bulletin’s Social Justice Ministry, reflection on the Sunday Readings)
I Will Give You Rest
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus says, “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 light.” After living through a global pandemic and record-high inflation, people around the world know what it’s like to carry a heavy burden of uncertainty, fear, sickness, and doubt.
The reality is that in our world, people who are poor and/or oppressed often carry the heaviest burdens. The Catholic phrase “preferential option for the poor” was first used by bishops in Latin America in the late 1960s who taught that throughout biblical texts, there is a demonstrable preference given to powerless individuals who live on the margins of society. In 1991, Pope John Paul II used the term, “option for the poor” when he wrote about the concept in his encyclical Centesimus Annus. Pope Benedict XVI also agreed that the teaching on the option for the poor was a true Catholic obligation. For him, the poor included all those on the peripheries of society, including widows and orphans, people with disabilities, the sick, prisoners, and victims of oppression, among others.
But do we individually seek ways to alleviate the burden of “the poor” in our lives, or do we only expect the institutional church and charities to shoulder that duty. In our every day lives, Jesus helps us carry our burdens so they are not too heavy. But Luke 12:48 reminds us, “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.” Jesus helps and blesses us, so we in turn may bless others.
The 2023 Silicon Valley Pain Index was released last month, and as we acknowledge some of the harsh realities of our lowest-income brothers and sisters living among us and carrying burdensome loads, may we be stirred with compassion and find ways to help them.
- 9,903 Number of houseless people in Santa Clara County on a single night in January, 2023, a 1% drop from the year before; with about two-thirds living in encampments or other places not designed for habitation.
- 1,226 Number of houseless families (i.e., people with children) in Santa Clara County, up from 891 the previous year, with 20% unsheltered.
- 600 Number of families that become homeless each year in Santa Clara County.
- 246 Number of houseless people who died on the streets of Santa Clara County in 2022
- 460,000 Number of clients that Second Harvest of Silicon Valley provides groceries for each month on average, up 10,000 households from last year, and an increase of 80% since pre-pandemic.
Alessandra Harris 