I don’t know of a more inviting invitation: “Come to me and I will give you rest.” Jesus speaks to the woman who cannot sleep, to the child who is anxious, and to the man is bone-tired. Come ... rest. The invitation is gentle, not forceful. He speaks from a level place, a humble place. His invitation includes all: “all you,” or as they say in the South, “y’all.” There’s not a single person excluded. Everybody come, come and rest.

What intrigues me is why so many people turn him down. Have you ever noticed that?

As a kid, I learned from my father how to put in a long day’s work. At his desk by eight every morning, home for supper by six, then he would change his clothes and go outside for a few more hours of labor. Dad came from a family of farmers. They didn’t sit very much, unless Gran…