20200705 CARRYING OUR YOKE WITH FAITH AND LOVE
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading
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Zechariah 9:9-10 ©
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See now, your king comes humbly to you
The Lord says this:
Rejoice heart and soul, daughter of Zion!
Shout with gladness, daughter of Jerusalem!
See now, your king comes to you;
he is victorious, he is triumphant,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
He will banish chariots from Ephraim
and horses from Jerusalem;
the bow of war will be banished.
He will proclaim peace for the nations.
His empire shall stretch from sea to sea,
from the River to the ends of the earth.
Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 144(145):1-2,8-11,13b-14 ©
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I will bless your name for ever, O God my King.
or
Alleluia!
I will give you glory, O God my king,
I will bless your name for ever.
I will bless you day after day
and praise your name for ever.
I will bless your name for ever, O God my King.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
How good is the Lord to all,
compassionate to all his creatures.
I will bless your name for ever, O God my King.
or
Alleluia!
All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,
and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign
and declare your might, O God.
I will bless your name for ever, O God my King.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and loving in all his deeds.
The Lord supports all who fall
and raises all who are bowed down.
I will bless your name for ever, O God my King.
or
Alleluia!
Second reading
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Romans 8:9,11-13 ©
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If by the Spirit you put an end to the misdeeds of the body, you will live
Your interests are not in the unspiritual, but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you possessed the Spirit of Christ you would not belong to him, and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.
So then, my brothers, there is no necessity for us to obey our unspiritual selves or to live unspiritual lives. If you do live in that way, you are doomed to die; but if by the Spirit you put an end to the misdeeds of the body you will live.
Gospel Acclamation
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Mt11:25
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
Gospel
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Matthew 11:25-30 ©
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You have hidden these things from the wise and revealed them to little children
Jesus exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
‘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.’
CARRYING OUR YOKE WITH FAITH AND LOVE
05 July, 2020, Sunday, 14th Week, Ordinary Time
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ZEC 9:9-10; ROM 8:9,11-13; MATT 11:25-30 ]
We are all weary and tired in this world. Whether we are old or young, rich or poor, an ordinary worker or a professional, we find this life a great burden. We have so many responsibilities in life. We are looking for rest in our body and in our soul. Indeed, the bible consoles us that God wants to give us rest. “Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest.” God knows how tired and burdened we are.
But to find rest, we must first ask what is burdening us? There are all sorts of burdens we carry. No one is exempted. It can be physical, moral, psychological or spiritual. Physical burdens could be due to the manual work we do, but it could also be due to sickness and infirmities. This can weigh us down and make us lose the joy of living because of the pain we carry each day, not knowing whether our sickness can be healed. The second is the psychological burden of office and responsibilities. Some of us are tired because we are responsible for so many people in our lives at home, in the office and in the community. We are always anxious about the health of our loved ones. We are worried about their security, whether we have enough savings to pay for their daily expenses and unforeseen needs.
Thirdly, we also carry a heavy moral burden that comes from our sins. We live a life of regrets, wishing that we did not make those stupid mistakes that have landed us in jail, or a broken family. We live in guilt and are unable to forgive ourselves. Others regret having compromised the laws of God in order to save their jobs, status or reputation. Of course, we have God-fearing Catholics like the Jews who were paralyzed by the fear of breaking the laws. Some of us are over- scrupulous, always worrying that we will be punished in hell. We do not know the love of God and so fear God and His punishment.
Most of all, we carry spiritual burdens. It is the restlessness in our hearts. We might be doing well in life. We might be rich and successful but we find our life empty and devoid of meaning and purpose. We are seeking something deeper and satisfying, which is God. As St Augustine says, “Our heart is restless until it rests in God.” This is the burden of a spiritual vacuum and a heart that yearns for the love and presence of God. Without God, life is a vacuum. It has no meaning and finality. This is what many that have no faith in God feel. They pretend that life is great but they cannot deny the spiritual aspect of the human person. We can try to pretend that we do not need God, but when we face death or sickness, we will begin to ask the ultimate questions of life. St Paul wrote, “Your interests are not in the unspiritual, but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you possessed the Spirit of Christ you would not belong to him.”
If we feel that life is such a great burden, then today’s scripture readings are meant to uplift us. The prophet Zechariah who came back from exile from Babylon with his people gave hope them hope when they were discouraged upon seeing their city and the Temple in ruins, saying, “See now, your king comes to you; he is victorious, he is triumphant, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. He will banish chariots from Ephraim and horses from Jerusalem; the bow of war will be banished. He will proclaim peace for the nations.”
Jesus is that King of peace that God sent to liberate us from our fears, slavery to our sins and the burdens of life. He has come to teach us how to carry our yoke rightly. “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.” How can the yoke be made lighter? Jesus never said that He would take our yoke away. On the contrary, He said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Mt 16:24) So the problem is not the burden we are carrying but how we see them that will determine the way we carry it, as a duty and an obligation, or a privilege to be carried with love and joy.
Jesus was not exempted from carrying the burden of His ministry. He was not exempted from the cross as well. But He was consoled because He knew His Father’s love for Him. “Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Jesus knew His identity, His origin and His Father. When we know who we are and what we are called to be and that there is someone who is always supporting us, we will never lose hope even when we have to suffer. Jesus knew His Father’s love since His baptism and at the Transfiguration. He is the beloved Son of the Father. If we know how much our Father loves us, we too will be able to carry our crosses courageously and cheerfully.
We know that we do not carry it alone. The yoke that our Lord made for us is a double yoke, which means that the Lord is carrying the yoke of life with us. We do not carry our sufferings alone but always with the Lord. When we carry with Him, it will always be light. A man once had a dream. He was recounting all the events in his life. He felt alone and was burdened and fearful of the future. He asked why the Lord abandoned Him when he needed Him most. The Lord drew his attention to the two set of footprints in the sand, one pair was his and the other was Jesus. But in those times when he faced the most difficulties, there was only one set of footprints. Those were not his but that of our Lord. Jesus said to him. “My child, I love you and I would never leave you. During the most difficult moments of your life, when you see only one set of footprints, those were the times I carried you.”
Secondly, Jesus carried it for the love of His Father. When we do things out of love, we do not mind the burden we carry. Parents carry the joyful burden of caring for their children. If the burden is extra heavy, it means we are carrying it reluctantly or as a duty and without love. Some children do not really love their parents. They take care of them as a duty owed to them, not because they feel much for them. Well in a certain sense, they have done their duty but as a chore and a burden without joy and love. When we love, the work can be tiring and exhausting but it is light. A man once saw a little boy carrying his younger brother on his back. His brother was lame and unable to walk. He remarked, “That is a heavy load.” The boy replied, “He ain’t heavy. He is my brother.” Indeed, when we do everything with love and for love like Jesus who carried our crosses for us, we will also find our yoke easy and our burden light. It is love that gives us rest, not freedom from labour. Only with love in labour, does our life become meaningful and always fulfilling.
Finally, we do not carry it alone with Jesus. He had sent others to carry this work of love together with us. By virtue of our baptism, we are all sons and daughters of God with the Spirit of Jesus in us, as St Paul wrote. All the more, we must carry the burdens of each other. If we truly believe that God is our Father, and Jesus is our brother, then we must love our brothers and sisters not just in words but in fact. Having a personal relationship with God as our Father and Jesus as our brother is the key to helping each other to carry the burden of love.
So what is the secret to penetrating this truth? Jesus exclaimed, “I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children.” Those who are learned and knowledgeable think that they know everything and become overly confident of themselves. They are presumptuous about their knowledge. They lack the humility to learn from others or to acquire the Wisdom of God and His truth. Those who are rich and self-sufficient do not rely on God but trust in their riches and wealth for their security. One day when they fall sick or when their family breaks apart, then they will come to realize that wealth and power cannot give them real security in life.
In contrast, those who are humble know their limitations and therefore are able to feel with others. We do not judge and we can forgive easily because we know that we are not perfect either. We are receptive to His grace and willing to acknowledge our mistakes and learn from others. When we do not take ourselves too seriously, life will be much happier and freer. So what we need is humility. Jesus is asking us to assume the humility of a child; receptive, trusting, and open to the greater things of life. When we are humble, then we will be ready to surrender our life and our plans to our heavenly Father, just as a child trusts in his father. When we know our heavenly Father as Jesus knew Him, we can commend our entire life to Him, our joys and sorrow, our success and failures because we know that in His divine wisdom, He permits all these for our good and happiness.
Only with this humility can we shoulder His yoke and learn from Him. We are called to carry the yoke, the burdens of life, and the crosses of life with the same mind and heart of our Lord. Like Him, we must carry it with faith and trust that the yoke that God gives us is the most fitting one for us. We should not desire any other yoke because Jesus being the carpenter knows how to make a yoke that can fit our necks! To choose another cross or another position in life would cause more harm. We might find ourselves underworked or overwhelmed and fall into despair. Let me conclude with a story about an old man who walked around all day with a heavy bag on his back. At his deathbed, he handed over his bag to his disciple. When the disciple opened the bag, it was completely empty. So, he asked the old man why it weighed so much. And the old man said, “It is the weight of everything in my life that I did not need to carry”.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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