Finding an Oasis in the Heart of Jesus

 

Deacon Dave · Finding an Oasis in the Heart of Jesus

Homily for the 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time, July 9, 2023. Gospel of St Matthew 11:25-30. Theme: Finding An Oasis in the Heart of Jesus 

Today's Gospel about finding rest and refreshment in Jesus made me think about an oasis in the desert. Perhaps this image came to mind because over half of Israel (its southern region) is one huge dry and long desert. So, the people listening to Christ speaking words of refreshment knew well what it meant to be hot, weary and dusty as they went about their travels and labors. For them, an oasis in the desert was a totally lifesaving and welcome retreat. While we don't live in a desert land as they did, we can often experience a similar kind of need for relief as we journey through life. We have our own versions of weariness, of what it means to be fatigued and exhausted as we live life under the burning heat of our daily demands. But like them we can also seek out an oasis to refresh us, lift us up and keep us going. 

Jesus’ words today invite us to find this oasis in his Heart, a place of peace and refreshment where we can be reinvigorated and find a wellspring of supernatural living water to refresh our sometimes-drooping spirits. One way to discover this spiritual oasis in our daily lives comes from a 16th century bishop who was a popular spiritual director and author, St. Francis de Sales. He was a man of great balance who knew the importance of taking time from the busyness of life for spiritual and emotional refreshment. In one of his writings he makes that point in this way. There was once a group of travelers who were eager to get to where they were going but one of them suggested that they pause a little from their rushing to take a little food and rest a bit before continuing on their way. Even though they thought that they would lose time by doing this, they found that they actually made greater progress and arrived in better spirits because they had paused to rest and relax along the way. 

St. Francis applied that story to understanding about prayer as an oasis. He wrote that at the beginning of one’s spiritual journey, many people mistakenly think that more is better. And so they multiply prayers and devotions which soon begin to take up more and more of their time. Francis admires their enthusiasm but cautions that by acting in this manner they will soon burn themselves out and may even develop a distaste for prayer. He wisely advises not aiming at more prayers, but rather at finding a better and simpler way of praying. He then tells us how to do so. 

We begin by consciously placing ourselves in the presence of the Risen Lord and realize that by faith – that is, by trust in his Word – Jesus is with us as He said He would be. We put away anything that will disturb or distract us from our time with Him. In this intimate interpersonal exchange we share the various thoughts and experiences of our lives, the good and the bad, asking Christ to help us piece it together and make sense of it all. This is what makes our prayer very personal. St. Francis reminds us that prayer is not a one-size fits all reality because each of our lives are very different and so each of us can have our own unique experience of finding an oasis in the Heart of Jesus. 

But St. Francis went even further in telling people how to find an oasis. He taught them how to take it with them in their own hearts as they go back to their busy lives. He even designed a kind of visual aid for this endeavor which consisted of a heart upon which he inscribed two words: “Live Jesus!” Each part of this visual aid is meant to teach us how to draw spiritual water from the oasis of the Heart of Jesus. The heart symbol reminds us our prayer time with Jesus is all about building a relationship of love. And the words, “Live Jesus!” remind us that the fruit of our prayer is to help us become more like Christ.

The blessings of our personal oasis will flow out to others if we strive to “Live Jesus!” in our everyday dealings. We can bring these blessings to others through our words, actions and even just by our presence. And we too will benefit throughout the day from this oasis, for it will send living waters of peace to flow into us, enabling us to find some needed rest during our day in the Refreshing Heart of Christ.

The Israeli Oasis of Ein Gedi