20190718 HUMILITY
IS THE KEY TO LETTING GO
18 JULY, 2019,
Thursday, 15th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Exodus 3:13-20 ©
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God reveals his name to Moses
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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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My yoke is easy and my burden light
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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.’
HUMILITY IS THE
KEY TO LETTING GO
We are all stressed and
burdened in life.
Like the Hebrews during the time of Moses, we are burdened with so many demands
and challenges. We are miserable and unhappy, even for those of us who
live in comfort, because of the responsibilities, guilt, fears and anxieties we
carry on our shoulders.
Indeed, we are burdened
by our past. We
cannot forgive ourselves for the mistakes that we had made. We are laden
by our sins; not only ours, but also that of our loved ones, friends and
colleagues. We keep going back to those unpleasant, shameful and hurtful
events. Such negative thoughts weigh us down and lead us into guilt and
depression. Indeed, most of us live in our past and hence cannot move on
in life. Often, the past causes us to react negatively towards new
situations and new people that we meet. We allow our painful past to
cause us to be skeptical and prejudiced in the way we look at the present.
If we are not encumbered
by our past, we are fearful and anxious about the future. We are afraid that the crimes or the sins
we have committed might one day be exposed. We live in fear that the law
will catch up with us one day. If not, we fear that we might die one day
in our sins and not be reconciled with God. We are not too sure whether
God will forgive us for committing such grievous sins. If not anxious for
our past sins, we are worried about our future, our children’s academic
performance in school, their careers and relationships. We worry that
they might mix with the wrong company and fall into vice, like taking drugs,
promiscuity, drinking and gambling. Otherwise, we are worried about our
health, our job, our promotion and our financial stability. We worry
about our elders and how we can take care of them.
In the meantime, we put
on a brave front in dealing with the challenges and trials of everyday life, whether in looking after our children,
dealing with a difficult spouse, nasty in-laws or even our parents and
siblings. We have to deal with so many demands placed on us by our
family, workplace and our community. Indeed, we feel so stretched
and so tired trying to attend to the needs of everyone. We feel so
drained. Often, we lack sleep and do not get enough rest. Our body
is showing signs of strain and reacting to the stressful life but we continue to
ignore the signs of dis-ease in our body. Many do not take care of
their health, as we claim we have no time for exercise. But our body is
not a machine and soon it will break down. Medical fees are
exorbitant. We might even lose our job and mobility because of ill
health.
If we are feeling
over-burdened, the good news is that God understands our misery. He knows our burdens. That was
what He said to the Hebrew slaves in Egypt. “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.” God wants to set us free from such
an oppressive life. He wants to give a life that is lived in true freedom
and joy.
Indeed, He assures us
that He is with us. We
are not alone. When Moses thought that he had to save his people by his
own strength, he felt totally inadequate. But the Lord assured him that
He would be with him. “I Am who I Am. This is what you must
say to the sons of Israel: I Am has sent me to you. I shall show my power and
strike Egypt with all the wonders I am going to work there.” So, the Lord
does not expect us to carry the burdens of life by ourselves and with our own
strength. He carries them with us and for us. He is with us.
But we need to come to
Him in humility.
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.” The first step in finding rest for our
souls is to come to Jesus. This of course requires humility.
Indeed, many of us are too proud to come to Jesus. We want to rely on our
own strength and ingenuity. We think we can solve all our problems and
challenges in life using our energy and knowledge. When St Augustine was
asked what the most essential thing in faith was, his reply was, “First
humility, second humility and third humility.” (Letter 118) Indeed,
humility is the foundation of everything, whether of faith, hope or
love. Jesus shows us His humility in His total dependence on His
Father for everything. He did not carry out the mission using His own
strength and power but He would always turn to His Father in prayer and
intimacy for help and wisdom.
Only humility will give
us the courage to carry the yoke with Him. This yoke that Jesus asks us to carry is not a
yoke with a single neck but one with a double-neck resting on two
animals. In other words, Jesus does not want us to carry our load all by
ourselves but to carry with Him. But it is not just about carrying the
yoke with Jesus. It is cooperating with Jesus and helping the Lord to
carry the burdens of life. We are called to shoulder His yoke and learn
from Him. That is to say, it is not enough to carry our sufferings
in life but we must learn from Jesus the right attitude to carry our burdens so
that the demands of daily living will not overwhelm us. We must learn
from Jesus how to carry our crosses in such a way that we are not destroyed in
the process. The burdens of life must be carried with light-heartedness.
How can do we do this?
Firstly, the yoke refers
to the yoke of the commandments and the laws. We must not carry the yoke
of the laws in such a way that they become burdensome when they are meant to show us the
way to live a happy life in freedom and love. Jesus Himself did not
simply observe the laws but always sought to bring out the true intention of
the laws. Keeping Sabbath is more than just an obligation but for us to
rest our body, strengthen our spirit by acknowledging God as the creator of
life; build up our family and relationships with friends and not just confine
ourselves to a life of work, making money and fulfilling our ambitions.
So, too, with divorce. It is not so much about just keeping the couple
together but to give the framework for a relationship that is stable and strong
enough to withstand all the challenges in building a strong marital
relationship. To carry the yoke with Jesus is to understand all laws from
the perspective of its intents and purposes so that we know the laws are made
for us and not man for the Sabbath. This yoke is carried in love and with
love, not reluctantly.
Secondly, to carry the
yoke of Jesus means submission to the will of God. Instead of setting our priorities
and our own vision of life, we must take direction from the Lord. We must
allow Him to lead the way instead of following our own. When we insist on
doing things our way and obeying our will, we end up causing more harm to
ourselves. This is because we are ignorant, foolish, and often mistake
what is truly good for us. The truth is that the yoke that is made for us
is what truly fits us. When we insist on carrying our own yoke and not
the yoke given to us, we will find that yoke a misfit. That is why it
causes pain to us, and not just our neck! Giving up our will is what
brings us true peace and joy.
In other words, to carry
the yoke of Jesus and learn from Him is to learn how to let go and let God take
over. We must give up our ambition except to do good and follow His
will. When
we have no selfish ambition except to do God’s will, we can do everything
joyfully and freely. It does not mean that we do less or become
complacent. It means that we will do our best according to what the Lord
has given to us. But it also means that we are not ambitious and seek to
win and achieve by hook or by crook. We leave success to the Lord.
Our task is to cooperate with Him, carry our yoke with Him, allowing Him to
lead the way and we follow in obedience. When we learn to dance
with the Lord, keeping in step, we will find that life is like a beautiful
dance that brings joy and freedom.
Indeed, when we
surrender our plans and life to the Lord, we can relax and celebrate. When things are well and good, we can
rejoice. Even when things are not doing well, we can adapt and be
detached, laugh over it and see the good that comes out of an unpleasant
situation. Knowing that the Lord is in control will give us strength and
calmness. If we think that we must be in control, then we are taking over
the responsibility of God. So let us live one day at time, liberating
ourselves from the shackles of our past and the fears of the future. Let
us live fully as well as we can each day and each moment, knowing and believing
that God is in charge and He will give us the strength each day to bear each
trial that comes our way. He is the “I Am.” He is faithful to
us as the psalmist says, “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. He remembers his covenant forever, his
promise for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath
he swore to Isaac.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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