20141210
CHRIST OUR HOPE MAKES LIGHT OUR
BURDENS
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Isaiah 40:25-31 ©
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‘To whom could you
liken me
and who could be my
equal?’ says the Holy One.
Lift your eyes and
look.
Who made these stars
if not he who drills
them like an army,
calling each one by
name?
So mighty is his
power, so great his strength,
that not one fails to
answer.
How can you say,
Jacob,
how can you insist,
Israel,
‘My destiny is hidden
from the Lord,
my rights are ignored
by my God’?
Did you not know?
Had you not heard?
The Lord is an
everlasting God,
he created the
boundaries of the earth.
He does not grow
tired or weary,
his understanding is
beyond fathoming.
He gives strength to
the wearied,
he strengthens the
powerless.
Young men may grow
tired and weary,
youths may stumble,
but those who hope in
the Lord renew their strength,
they put out wings
like eagles.
They run and do not
grow weary,
walk and never tire.
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Psalm
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Psalm
102:1-4,8,10 ©
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My soul, give
thanks to the Lord.
My soul, give thanks
to the Lord
all my
being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks
to the Lord
and never
forget all his blessings.
My soul, give
thanks to the Lord.
It is he who forgives
all your guilt,
who heals
every one of your ills,
who redeems your life
from the grave,
who
crowns you with love and compassion.
My soul, give
thanks to the Lord.
The Lord is
compassion and love,
slow to
anger and rich in mercy.
He does not treat us
according to our sins
nor repay
us according to our faults.
My soul, give
thanks to the Lord.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Behold, our Lord will
come with power
and will enlighten
the eyes of his servants.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Look, the Lord will come
to save his people.
Blessed those who are
ready to meet him.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 11:28-30
©
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Jesus
exclaimed, ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will
give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble
in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my
burden light.’
CHRIST
OUR HOPE MAKES LIGHT OUR BURDENS
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: ISA 40:25-31; MT 11:28-30
What
would you do and how would you feel if you were to find yourself burdened
with so many problems and responsibilities in life, especially if you have
to contend with failures, disappointments and setbacks, such as difficult
changes in health, relationships or jobs? In such moments we cannot
but feel that even God has abandoned us. This was how the Israelites
felt. They were in exile in Babylon. They were losing heart, for it
seemed that they would never be able to return to their homeland. They
had lost their houses, land and even their loved ones. They seemed to
have no future and everything was gone, including their faith in God. One
can therefore understand their sentiments when they said, “My destiny is hidden
from the Lord, my rights are ignored by my God.” How could they not
feel that God had abandoned them? Anyone in such straits would be discouraged
and wonder whether God cares at all.
To the
Israelites in exile and to us who are also living in the doldrums, the Lord
has dispatched the Prophet Isaiah to reassure us that He is faithful to us.
He might not be seen to be acting but He does care. God summoned the
prophet to comfort the forlorn Israelites. Indeed, the prophet said, “The
Lord is an everlasting God. He created the boundaries of the earth. He does not
grow tired or weary, ‘his understanding is beyond fathoming. He gives strength
to the wearied, he strengthens the powerless.” Instead of looking at our
problems and navel gazing, the Prophet invites us to look beyond our sufferings
to God who is the powerful, incomparable and faithful One. The Lord
challenges us saying, “To whom could you liken me and who could be my equal?’
says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look. Who made these stars if not he who
drills them like an army, calling each one by name? So mighty is his power, so
great his strength, that not one fails to answer.” If only we know that
the Lord we worship is greater than the heavens and the stars, then we would
not turn away from Him and worship anything less than the true God, the one who
created us and redeemed us. It is a great mistake to turn to false gods, to the
world and to things for consolation. Yes, the prophet is asking us, “Did
you not know? Had you not heard?”
Jesus is the fulfillment
of the prophecy of Isaiah.
Conscious of His role as the Messiah and the Compassion of God, Jesus extended
the same invitation to His people. He said, “Come to me, all you who
labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke
and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest
for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.” In
His coming, Jesus wants to liberate us from every burden in life. That
does not mean that we do not have any more suffering or responsibilities in
life! It means that the burden will become light and the yoke that is
laid upon our shoulders will be made easy.
In the context of this
message, those “who labour and are overburdened” refer to those Jews who
were weighed down by the obligation to observe the many meticulous laws
prescribed by their tradition. This is the yoke that Jesus is referring
to in the gospel. The image of a yoke expresses the necessity of complete
submission to God. Hence, the Jews spoke of the yoke of the law, the yoke
of the commandments, the yoke of the kingdom and the yoke of God. Some of
us too could be weighed down by the need to observe the laws of our religion or
live in guilt burdened by the sins that we carry in our bodies.
The implication therefore
is that for the Jews and for many of us, religion is a burdensome thing.
Religion is simply a mere observance of laws and rituals. If that were
the case, then we can understand why the practice of religion is so
tiring. Instead of bringing rest, not so much physical rest but the rest
of the soul; it brings anxiety, fear and repression. This is because no
matter how much they tried, they failed miserably. It is just like those
Catholics who always live in fear that they would go to hell because they have
committed some mortal sins. Like the Israelites, they fear that God would
not forgive them because they are not “perfect” or “worthy” enough to go to
heaven.
If we are feeling this way,
it is because we have misunderstood the whole message of Jesus. Hence, it
is important to understand why Jesus calls us to shoulder His yoke and learn
from Him, for as He assures us, “my yoke is easy and my burden light.”
How can His yoke be easy and burden light? The Greek word for “easy” can
also mean “well-fitting”. Yokes were tailor-made to fit the oxen
well. Hence, we are exhorted to put on the “yoke of Jesus”. To shoulder
the yoke of Jesus is therefore an invitation to put on the mind and heart of
Christ in the way we live our Christian life. By looking at life and our
spiritual growth through the mind and heart of Christ, we will find that the
yoke of life and faith is not so difficult after all. Most of all, it can
give us rest.
What then is the kind of
yoke that we are called to carry? It is the yoke of love.
If carrying the yoke of Jesus is easy, it is because the attitude of Jesus
towards faith and religion is not obligation but love. It is love that
makes sacrifices joyful and easy. In everything we do, when it is a work
of love, it involves sacrifices and therefore pain. But when we perform
good works out of love, then such kind of work is liberating and empowering.
Without love, everything is burdensome. It is just like having to study
subjects that we do not like; or lukewarm Catholics having to come to Mass on
Sundays. Indeed, there is the story of a young girl who carried her
crippled brother on her back. When someone remarked to her saying,
“That’s a heavy load you are carrying there.” Her reply was sincere and
swift, “He ain’t heavy; he’s my brother!” Truly, a burden isn’t heavy when it
is taken up and carried with love.
Perhaps we are lacking
love and find ourselves unable to carry our burdens in the way Jesus
carried the cross. The Good News is that God knows our limits and our
incapacity to carry our crosses in life. He is very much aware of how
weak we are. Truly, God has heard us so well. For this reason, He
has sent us Jesus to reveal and strengthen us to share in His love. We
are called to come to Jesus. As the first reading assures us that not on
our own strength can we do good or love others the way Jesus loved. Only
God can do that. When we come to Him with confidence that He would supply
us the strength and grace to overcome our weaknesses, our lack of love and
compassion, we can be assured that He will help us, for without His grace, we
cannot do anything. Only the love of God in Jesus can lift us from
the yoke of sin and selfishness.
What then is preventing
us from coming to Jesus? It is our lack of humility!
Pride prevents us from recognizing our sinfulness and our need of His
grace. This explains why Jesus said, “Learn from me, for I am meek and
humble of heart.” To be meek is to be docile, open and compliant.
Being meek is therefore the way of humility. Unless we are humble, we
cannot be meek. Humility enables us to learn and to become more aware of
our own inadequacy so that we can surrender ourselves to Jesus more
completely. When we are able to submit ourselves to Jesus, including all
the trials and difficulties in our lives, we will then see His providence at
work in us. When we see His plan for us, then we will be able to carry
our crosses with meaning and conviction because we know that such crosses are
meant to strengthen us in love and faith.
So if we are still in our
rut, unable to get out of our situation, whether of sin, failures in life or
the straits we are in, then we should turn to the Lord and wait on Him.
Isaiah assures us, “He does not grow tired or weary, his understanding is
beyond fathoming. He gives strength to the wearied. He strengthens the
powerless.” The words of Jesus must resound in our hearts, “Come to
me!” Will we come to Jesus so that we can be renewed in our faith and the
capacity to love and find the strength to carry the cross?
The key is whether we
are willing to hope in the Lord. The prophet remarked, “Young men may grow tired and weary,
youths may stumble, but those who hope in the Lord renew their strength, they
put out wings like eagles. They run and do not grow weary, walk and never
tire.” Alas sometimes we place our hope too much on worldly success and
our ambitions! How often have we stumbled because we placed our hopes on
chariots and horses like the Israelites? The prophet Hosea said, “Assyria
cannot save us; we will not mount war-horses. We will never again say ‘Our
gods’ to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find
compassion.” (Hos 14:3) Yes, let us not place our hopes on things and
achievements. Such hopes only divide us and bring us further from the
peace and joy that comes from love and friendship. Our hopes must be
founded on the Lord. By hoping in the Lord, we will find strength and
courage. So long as we have hope in God, we will be able to endure all
pain in life. God is for us. He is not against us, as what the
religious leaders at the time of Jesus seemed to imply in the way they observed
the laws. Like Jesus, who was meek and humble, always ready to surrender
His life and plans to the Father, we too should not waste too much energy on
having things our way. Rather, we are called to trust in His wisdom and
love. As much as we hope in Him, it is because in the first place, He
places great hope in us.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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