20240718 FEELING OVERWHELMED BY THE BURDENS OF LIFE
18 July 2024, Thursday, 15th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Isaiah 26:7-9,12,16-19 |
'Awake and exult, all you who lie in the dust'
The path of the upright man is straight,
you smooth the way of the upright.
Following the path of your judgements,
we hoped in you, O Lord,
your name, your memory are all my soul desires.
At night my soul longs for you
and my spirit in me seeks for you;
when your judgements appear on earth
the inhabitants of the world learn the meaning of integrity.
O Lord, you are giving us peace,
since you treat us
as our deeds deserve.
Distressed, we search for you, O Lord;
the misery of oppression was your punishment for us.
As a woman with child near her time
writhes and cries out in her pangs,
so are we, O Lord, in your presence:
we have conceived, we writhe
as if we were giving birth;
we have not given the spirit of salvation to the earth,
no more inhabitants of the world are born.
Your dead will come to life,
their corpses will rise;
awake, exult,
all you who lie in the dust,
for your dew is a radiant dew
and the land of ghosts will give birth.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 101(102):13-21 |
The Lord looked down from heaven to the earth.
You, O Lord, will endure for ever
and your name from age to age.
You will arise and have mercy on Zion:
for this is the time to have mercy,
for your servants love her very stones,
are moved with pity even for her dust.
The Lord looked down from heaven to the earth.
The nations shall fear the name of the Lord
and all the earth’s kings your glory,
when the Lord shall build up Zion again
and appear in all his glory.
Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless;
he will not despise their prayers.
The Lord looked down from heaven to the earth.
Let this be written for ages to come
that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord;
for the Lord leaned down from his sanctuary on high.
He looked down from heaven to the earth
that he might hear the groans of the prisoners
and free those condemned to die.
The Lord looked down from heaven to the earth.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Ps129:5 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
My soul is waiting for the Lord,
I count on his word.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt11:28 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 11:28-30 |
My yoke is easy and my burden light
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.’
FEELING OVERWHELMED BY THE BURDENS OF LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISA 26:7-9,12,16-19; MT 11:28-30]
We all have our responsibilities in life. This is something we cannot escape from, so long as we are part of a family or society. We are responsible to someone, whether to our loved ones or to our superiors at work. Even when we assume voluntary service in any organization, we have commitments to fulfil. Today, most of us live very active lives. We have to make ourselves available to our immediate and extended family, friends, colleagues, community to which we belong, and of course our work. With so many demands on us, some of us feel so overwhelmed.
But what really burdens us in life is not just our responsibilities but our conscience. Very often, we are conflicted as to what is the right thing to do. Quite often, our hands are tied because of the situation we are in. Sometimes, we are caught between the elephants fighting among themselves. We are not in a position to do the right thing because of a higher authority that is impeding the right policy to be implemented – often to protect their self-interests. Then again, those in power, although empowered to do the right thing, fear opposition from fellow leaders. Such are the burdens that we carry as leaders, seeking to do the right thing, following our conscience and yet unable to execute the ideals.
Indeed, for those who sin against God deliberately, greater is their burden. They might seem to be happy enjoying themselves and allowing themselves to be consumed by the sin of the flesh and that of the world. They go against the laws of God, disobeying the call to integrity of life. Deep in their hearts, such people know that they are not acting according to their conscience or the law of God. They try to rationalize their actions, but they know that they are cheating themselves. Deep in their hearts, their conscience is crying out to them to do the right thing.
In such a situation, the Lord invites us, “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.” These words of Jesus are truly very consoling. We must come to Jesus to unload our burdens so that we can find rest. Jesus is the One who can help us to ease our burden. This is what the first reading from the Prophet Isaiah is reminding us. We must depend on the Lord and not on ourselves. He asked the people to appeal to the Lord for assistance. How is this to be done?
Firstly, we must carry our yoke with the Lord. We should never carry the yoke by ourselves. To carry the yoke with the Lord is to see our challenges and the burden we carry through the eyes of our Lord. We must carry with the same spirit of our Lord. How does the Lord carry our burdens if not in love? All burdens when carried with unselfish love will make the burden light. It is when there is a lack of love for the people that we serve that makes the work we do become merely a responsibility, a reluctant duty, and a chore. We do not see beyond the task we perform, namely, at how our work can bring joy, hope and happiness to our recipients. When we see beyond our tasks, and see the purpose of our service, how we are bringing live to others, we will be able to serve with joy even when the work is hard, because we know we are not labouring in vain.
Secondly, we must see the laws of God in a new way. Jesus carried the yoke of the law differently from the scribes and Pharisees. For them, they made the laws burdensome. They were preoccupied with the execution of the laws to the letter and even laid down laws in every aspect of life, going down to the minute details. But for Jesus, the laws of God are important but these must be carried out in the right spirit. As prophet Isaiah reminded us, the way to walk the laws is to walk righteously. God does not demand us to do things that hurt us or take away our joy in life. He asks us to live in such a way that we live in accordance to how we were created for. A crooked life will cause us to hurt ourselves. It is a life filled with snares and traps. Indeed, the prophet said, “The path of the upright man is straight, you smooth the way of the upright.”
Thirdly, in humility of heart as the Lord urges us, we will find rest for our souls. Even if we do not fully comprehend the wisdom of God in His divine laws, we must continue to wait for the Lord in humility and trust. The righteous accept the ways of God with humility. If we are willing to wait for the Lord, He will deliver us as He did Israel, who waited on the Lord. On one hand, we must be like a woman giving birth, waiting patiently for the Lord. Like the people of Israel, we pray, “Lord, you are giving us peace, since you treat us as our deeds deserve. Distressed, we search for you, Lord; the misery of oppression was your punishment for us. As a woman with child near her time writhes and cries out in her pangs, so are we, O Lord, in your presence: we have conceived, we writhe as if we were giving birth; we have not given the spirit of salvation to the earth, no more inhabitants of the world are born.” Indeed, when the time comes, the Lord will manifest His judgment on His people. He will discipline them and they would be helpless under His punishment. Like a woman with a false pregnancy who goes into labour but has nothing to deliver, so they, too, will struggle and struggle, but be unable to deliver. Truly, unless we come to recognize the futility of our efforts alone and the purifying punishment of God, we will not be able to find peace in our lives.
Fourthly, we must turn to the Lord in prayer. The psalmist assures us. “The nations shall fear the name of the Lord and all the earth’s kings your glory, when the Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory. Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless; he will not despise their prayers. Let this be written for ages to come that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord; for the Lord leaned down from his sanctuary on high. He looked down from heaven to the earth that he might hear the groans of the prisoners and free those condemned to die.” Truly, a believing community would have confidence that the Lord will work His divine providence towards them and towards the wicked. God will act in His own time. Prophet Isaiah spoke of the intensity of his own restlessness until he rests in God. Like him and his people, we must continually seek the Lord, His judgment and His deliverance. “Lord, your name, your memory are all my soul desires. At night my soul longs for you and my spirit in me seeks for you; when your judgements appear on earth the inhabitants of the world learn the meaning of integrity.”
It is only when we turn to the Lord that we will experience a spiritual resurrection as the people of Judah did. The prophet assured us, “Your dead will come to life, their corpses will rise; awake, exult, all you who lie in the dust, for your dew is a radiant dew and the land of ghosts will give birth.” Indeed, when we turn to the Lord, and carry the yoke with Him, putting on His Spirit and perspective, we will be able to make light the burden we carry. When we learn to entrust everything to the Lord, doing what we possibly can without any ambition on our part but simply doing His will, we will find peace and joy. Not because we are successful but because we have been faithful to Him and His holy will. Our souls can be at rest once we have surrendered everything to the Lord and the results of our labour. When all pride is overcome, when we no longer are driven by the need to sustain our ego, we will find peace regardless of the outcome because we know God is in charge of our lives. “You, O Lord, will endure for ever and your name from age to age. You will arise and have mercy on Zion: for this is the time to have mercy, for your servants love her very stones, are moved with pity even for her dust.”
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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