Come unto Him, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and He will give you rest. Take His yoke upon you, and learn of Him; for He is meek and lowly of heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. His yoke is easy, His burden is light. (Matthew 11: 28-30)

In the eleventh chapter of Matthew it is hard not to hear Jesus being resentful.

Many - most - have rejected his message. Especially the more cultivated and intelligent people have refused to listen or learn.

Jesus predicts destruction and great woe for all those communities in which he had labored for so long but have remained as they were.

Jesus is tired. His ministry is not being well-received. John the Baptist - his teacher and ally - is imprisoned. He has given his disciples great authority, which they have squandered.

He is reminding himself - as much any one else - that in such times we are to reach out for God.

In God we can experience rest - anapauo - a quiet, calm, stillness. Even in the midst of failure and danger God's rest is available to us.

You can listen to the final aria and chorus of the Messiah Part I as performed by the Peabody Institute Symphony and Chorus.