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“Come unto Me, ye weary, And I will give you rest.” O blessed voice of Jesus, Which comes to hearts oppressed! It tells of benediction, Of pardon, grace, and peace, Of joy that hath no ending, Of love that cannot cease.”
All around us voices compete for our attention. Some voices we hear, and others we see in texts or other forms of social media. Many voices are welcome, and we enjoy the kind comments of friends and family. Other voices are angry, quarreling, accusing, or tempting. There is one voice that we would very much like to hear: the blessed voice that called out to the first disciples at the Sea of Galilee: “Follow Me!”
The disciples were privileged to hear the voice of Jesus when He called them to be His followers. They heard that blessed voice as the Savior taught the people on hillsides, in towns, and in desolate regions. When Jesus commanded the wind and waves to be still, the sea and storm obeyed the voice of their Creator. The same mighty voice promised a paralyzed man, “Your sins are forgiven you,” and then invited the man to stand and walk (see Luke 5:17-26). In the dark hours of Good Friday, the watching crowd near the cross heard the voice of Jesus call out, “It is finished” (John 19:30b). The Savior’s suffering was done, and that dying voice held the promise “of benediction, of pardon, grace, and peace.” On a road leading away from an empty tomb, two women once again heard the voice they loved, a voice they thought was gone forever. The blessed voice of the crucified and risen Savior sent them on a mission: “Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me” (Matthew 28:10b).
Today we hear that same voice. In the water and word of Baptism, the voice of Jesus called to each of us, “Follow Me!” United to our Lord, with hearts created anew by the Holy Spirit, we were raised from death to new life. Day after day, we hear Jesus speak to us in Holy Scripture. We hear the voice of the Lord in the psalms and prayers, in the story of our salvation, and in the blessed assurance of the forgiveness of our sins. Just as He sent the women from the empty tomb, the voice of Jesus sends us on a mission to share the Good News of salvation. When other voices in the world trouble or confuse us, one voice rises above the world’s distracting noise: “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). O blessed voice of Jesus!
WE PRAY: Jesus, I love to hear Your voice of pardon, grace, and peace in the Holy Scripture. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. It is based on the hymn, “Come unto Me, Ye Weary,” which is number 684 in the Lutheran Service Book.
Reflection Questions:
- What do you imagine it would have been like for Jesus to have been born and raised in a world full of cell phones and social media?
- What does Jesus give us in the midst of the world’s noise and confusion?
- Where do you go to find peace and quiet in this world? Somewhere in nature? A place of meditation? An electronic device? Something else?
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