Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent
“Jesus said to the crowds:
“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.””
“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.””
Today’s passages remind me that we are soon approaching the end of a semester and the end of a year.
At times I find myself overwhelmed from the business of work and life. There are multiple pending deadlines, endless meetings, and badgering that always seems to occur between one of my three sisters and me. However, I have also been overwhelmed by all of the conflict occurring in our community, across the country, and around the world. I feel overwhelmed by the pain my fellow community members are feeling about the deaths of men of color in Ferguson, Staten Island, NY, and across our nation. There is a burden of recognizing the existence of these injustices that say ‘one’s life is less valued than another’ because you cannot un-see it; and therefore I’m compelled to take responsibility. I have a responsibility to educate the campus community about the realities of racial injustice and institutional oppression.
Though at times I find this burden wearisome and have grown tired by this taxing responsibility. I am also reminded by this passage that I am not alone in this burden-I can rely on others for faith and strength.
At SLU, the mission speaks to serving humanity for the greater glory of God by working to alleviate the injustices which exist in our society. I believe this means that we have to actively take on a burden of responsibility in healing our local, regional, and national community. Through this burden of responsibility I challenge you to critically reflect upon the social issues within our society and to ask yourself “what is my responsibility”? “How can I support and be supported by others?” What are you willing to do to take responsibility for the community in which we live and learn?
Patrice French is Program Director of Retention and Student Success.
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