Our yoke is too heavy only when we try to carry our yoke alone.

Fourteenth Sunday in OT  A 2020

Fourth of July Weekend

On this Fourth of July weekend, we are thankful for the blessings we have as Americans.  Despite the struggles of wrestling in the midst of our pandemic crisis, we are thankful for what we have.  We call the Fourth of July our Independence Day – our Declaration of Independence.

As written in our Declaration of Independence:  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.“

However, at times we lose track of the founding values of our nation’s beginnings.  Our sense of independence sometimes gets translated into I can do what I want.  When we are not acting out of our better angels, sometimes  we live as if we are even independent of God.  Rather than being free, we get caught up in the shackles of our own pride and selfishness.

The message of the Gospel says something else.  When we are dependent on God, then we find ourselves most independent.  It may seem strange but depending on God is where we find ourselves most independent.  It’s not necessarily the freedom to do what I want, but it is the true freedom to do what I ought.  It is the freedom to do what we’ve been shown by Jesus, the freedom to love others freely and without reservation.

We read in today’s Gospel:  “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.  For my yoke is easy and my burden light.”

Jesus says:  Come to me.  To come to someone is to be willing to be united with that person.  It is to be open to Him, to let His will make a difference to what you yourself will and do.

Jesus says:  “Come to me and I will give you rest.”  The Lord is inviting us to rest in Him.  Is it like the Fourth of July which we had a cookout and fireworks?  Is it like taking a vacation in which we get a chance to relax and travel?  Is it like retirement when we can withdraw from a hectic schedule and enjoy leisure time?  Is it just taking a nap when we are feeling especially pressured and or exhausted?

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”  To rest in Jesus is to rest purposely and actively in Him.  It is to drink deeply of the Spirit of Jesus.  It is not just an invitation to enjoy a restful time, but to rest in the presence of love.    St Augustine wrote of our need to rest in Jesus: “Our hearts are restless, Lord, until they come to rest in you.”

The rest that the Lord offers is not just taking a nap; the rest the Lord offers is to live in the presence of the God who is a God of love.  Jesus has asked us to make your home in me as I make mine in you.  The rest that the Lord offers us is that He Himself will sustain us and enliven our spirit by our making our home in Christ Jesus.

In our rest, we need to listen to the voice of Jesus summoning us to a deeper wisdom. 

Just as a tree cannot survive unless its roots are firmly planted in soil, we cannot grow in the spiritual life unless we take the time to rest in Christ Jesus.  This is prayer.   To pray is to take notice of the wonder and mystery of life.  Prayer is all we can offer in return for the mystery by which we live.  Prayer doesn’t light up the sky in a fireworks display, but it does open us up to the wisdom of God that is within us.

Prayer is our relationship, our encounter with the Lord.  In prayer, sometimes we use words, and sometimes words are not necessary.  Just as in the deep human relationships of our lives, words are beautiful and needed at times, but at other times it is simply enough to be in the presence of the one you love.  So, it is in the ways we encounter the Lord.

Jesus says:  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.  Is the yoke that the Lord is asking of us a heavy burden?  Do we feel overwhelmed by the crosses of our life?  Is the Lord asking too much of us?

The yoke the Lord is asking of us is the yoke of mission.  We are to share in the mission of Jesus.  The yoke the Lord is witnessing and living out is the law of love.  The yoke we are given is the mission of love, the great commandments. 

Our yoke is too heavy a burden only when we try to carry our yoke alone, when we try to be a lone ranger in the spiritual life.  This is such an important truth.  Our yoke is too heavy only when we try to carry our yoke alone.

It is so important for us to know and deeply believe that we are never alone.  Jesus is with us and Jesus carries our burden along with us.  The yoke we embrace is a vision that we are better together.  We do what we do only in Christ Jesus who strengthens us.   We’re met to be yoked with Jesus.  Then Jesus will give you His wise and understanding Father.

Jesus doesn’t do things for you; He does things with you.

The yoke the Lord calls us to is a vision of the Church that is rooted in Christ Jesus, in which we rest and are enlivened by the love of Jesus that is within us, and that we belong to a community of faith that is better together.  Often enough, it takes a trusting childlike trust to experience the merciful ways of God in our lives.  What has been hidden from the wise and the learned has been revealed to the little ones.

Would you believe that the deep secrets of life are hidden from the wise and the learned and are instead revealed to the childlike!  Why?  Children don’t have the luxury of self-sufficiency.  They need the help and love of their parents.

Despite our intelligence, as we are capable of being childlike, what a great comfort we find in the promises of Jesus to be with us; there is a place to go when death or loss or suffering descends upon us.

Everything depends upon how close you will let Jesus come to you.

Have a blessed day.