20170720
EELING WITH GOD AS THE KEY TO OVERCOMING OUR
PAINS
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Exodus 3:13-20 ©
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Moses, hearing the voice of God coming from the middle of the
bush, said to him, ‘I am to go, then, to the sons of Israel and say to them,
“The God of your fathers has sent me to you.” But if they ask me what his name
is, what am I to tell them?’ And God said to Moses, ‘I Am who I Am. This’ he
added ‘is what you must say to the sons of Israel: “I Am has sent me to you.”’
And God also said to Moses, ‘You are to say to the sons of Israel: “The Lord,
the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob, has sent me to you.” This is my name for all time; by this name I shall
be invoked for all generations to come.
‘Go and
gather the elders of Israel together and tell them, “The Lord, the God of your
fathers, has appeared to me, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob; and he
has said to me: I have visited you and seen all that the Egyptians are doing to
you. And so I have resolved to bring you up out of Egypt where you are
oppressed, into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the
Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land where milk and honey
flow.” They will listen to your words, and with the elders of Israel you are to
go to the king of Egypt and say to him, “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has come
to meet us. Give us leave, then, to make a three days’ journey into the
wilderness to offer sacrifice to the Lord our God.” For myself, knowing that
the king of Egypt will not let you go unless he is forced by a mighty hand, I
shall show my power and strike Egypt with all the wonders I am going to work
there. After this he will let you go.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 104(105):1,5,8-9,24-27 ©
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The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or
Alleluia!
Give thanks to the Lord, tell his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, the judgements he spoke.
The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or
Alleluia!
He remembers his covenant for ever,
his promise for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.
The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or
Alleluia!
He gave his people increase;
he made them stronger than their foes,
whose hearts he turned to hate his people
and to deal deceitfully with his servants.
The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or
Alleluia!
Then he sent Moses his servant
and Aaron the man he had chosen.
Through them he showed his marvels
and his wonders in the country of Ham.
The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Ps129:5
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Alleluia, alleluia!
My soul is waiting for the Lord,
I count on his word.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Mt11:28
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 11:28-30 ©
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Jesus 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.’
EELING WITH GOD AS THE KEY TO OVERCOMING OUR PAINS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Ex 3:13-20; Ps 105:1,5,8-9,24-27; Mt 11:28-30 ]
When we are
going through difficult times, we can get rather discouraged. We feel alone,
lacking support and understanding. We tend to focus on our pains.
We become depressed and resentful. We feel like giving up because it is
not worth the sacrifices and pains. We begin to doubt whether what we are
doing is benefiting anyone. We look for scapegoats and become angry
with God and society.
If we are
feeling burdened and discouraged, the Lord invites us to find rest in
Him. He said, “Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and
I will give you rest.” How can we deal with our pains? The key to
overcoming our pains is to feel with God in His suffering and pains. That
is why Jesus invites us to come to Him to find rest by shouldering His yoke and
learning from Him. He said, “Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am
gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” He
invites us to share in His pain and love for the People of God. This is
what it means to shoulder His yoke and to learn from Him. Only by entering into
the mind and heart of the Father as Jesus did, can we become gentle and humble
in heart and find rest for our souls. Unless we carry the heart of God,
we will not be able to look at others’ sufferings with gentle compassion and be
able to surrender our responsibilities to God with humility, asking Him for
divine assistance.
What is the
yoke of God? His yoke is to see us in our misery. It is natural that when you
love and care for someone, you identify with his pains and sufferings. In
fact, often, those who see their loved ones suffer, suffer more emotionally and
psychologically. To see our loved ones in pain because of an illness
or emotional distress causes us much anxiety and grief. When we
feel for our loved ones, we would do anything to help them. If we are not
moved by the sufferings of others, it is because we have no relationship with
them and we do not feel with them enough to want to help. We close our
hearts to their sufferings. But not for God. His heart is open to all and
that is why He suffers most because whenever He sees us suffering, He suffers
as much with us.
Indeed, God,
who is love and created us in love, feels much with and for us. He told Moses, “I have
visited you and seen all that the Egyptians are doing to you.” God could
not bear to see His chosen people suffer. Their anguish was also His
anguish. He is close to His people and feels for them. So He told
Moses, “Go and gather the elders of Israel together and tell them, “The Lord,
the God of your fathers, has appeared to me, – the God of Abraham, of Isaac,
and of Jacob.” So love is the reason for one to act and to be
moved. God is moved by love and by our suffering.
God wanted
Moses to let the people know that He has always been with them and is faithful
to the covenant that He established with their forefathers. “He remembers
his covenant for ever, his promise for a thousand generations, the covenant he
made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. He gave his people
increase; he made them stronger than their foes, whose hearts he turned to hate
his people and to deal deceitfully with his servants.” This has always
been the testimony of the people of Israel. God is faithful to the
promises He made with the Fathers of Israel.
Most of all,
God calls Himself “I Am who I Am.” In other words, He is not so much a noun,
something that is static. He is dynamic and always in process. He
is a verb and therefore always present to His people in every new
situation. Hence, His reply to Moses was, “This is what you must
say to the sons of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.” Furthermore,
He reiterated, “This is my name for all time; by this name I shall be invoked
for all generations to come.”
But God does
not only feel with us, He will act in love. Many of us feel sorry for
those who are suffering but are unable to act or not able to help. This is
understandable because we feel inadequate. Of course, sometimes it is because
we are selfish and do not wish to trouble or inconvenience ourselves. We
only pay lip service to those who ask us for our assistance or who need our
intervention. But God does not stand by to watch us in our
helplessness. He steps in to help us to get out of the situation.
“And so I have resolved to bring you up out of Egypt where you are oppressed,
into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites.
the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land where milk and honey flow.” He
acted by sending His special messenger to save His people. God also said
to Moses, “You are to say to the sons of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your
fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent
me to you.”
Not only does
He send His messengers but He empowers them as well. The Lord assured
Moses. “They listen to your words, and with the elders of Israel you are
to go to the King of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, of God of the Hebrews,
has come to meet us. Give us leave, then, to make a three days’ journey
into the wilderness to offer sacrifice to the Lord our God.'” The
reponsorial psalm says, “Then he sent Moses his servant and Aaron the man he
had chosen. Through them he showed his marvels and his wonders in the country
of Ham.” He will help us to do His work. Moses did not find himself
worthy to be the leader of Israel but God qualified Him. He was the one
who would ensure success, not by the strength and wisdom of Moses. He
assured Moses that through His mighty hand, the Egyptians would let them
go. “For myself, knowing that the king of Egypt will not let you go
unless he is forced by a mighty hand, I shall show my power and strike Egypt
with all the wonders I am going to work there. After this he will let you
go.” We too will find rest for our souls if we have the humility of heart
to entrust all our projects to God and wait for Him to act. If God is for
us, there is nothing to fear. He will ensure our success.
Truly, every
burden is heavy when we carry it alone without the grace of God and His divine
assistance; and when we carry it without the love and compassion of God in our
hearts. Thus, the key that Jesus is offering to us all if we are feeling
tired and weary because of our responsibilities, anxieties and fears for our
work, family and church, is to see them and our challenges as means to share
His love with them. At the same time, we must not think we can accomplish
all these by ourselves. Rather, we must identify with Jesus for He
accomplished His mission by being one with the Father in doing His will.
Finally, to
find strength to continue believing in Him, we must, like the psalmist, “give
thanks to the Lord, tell his name, make known his deeds among the peoples.
Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, the judgements he spoke.”
By recalling all the great things He has done for us in the past, we will find
hope and inspiration to carry on. We are not always successful in everything we
do but He comes to bless us in different ways in accordance to His plan.
If it is His divine will, He will bring forth fruits from the work of our
hands. So by giving thanks to what we have received and been blessed by
Him, we will find greater courage to continue to hope in His mercy and love.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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