Lectionary: 392"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."
Today's gospel follows immediately after yesterday's revelation of two unexpected, almost unimaginable mysteries:
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
And,
No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
The Galilean's intimate familiarity with God is beyond human comprehension. We believe it because he has told us so; and we have seen his gracious sacrifice on the cross; and we have witnessed his resurrection. The Father whom he trusted even as he died in a hopeless agony, raised him up. His entire life among us was a conversation which concluded with a heavenly Amen. The world now hears: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1: 11)
Because we believe the Lord we can hear today's reassurance, ""Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest."
Humans are anxious creatures who need and appreciate reassurance. Family, companions, and civilized society should provide that for us; but even when they do we feel something missing in our lives. We're not satisfied and perhaps we are not satisfying God's expectations of us. As C.S. Lewis said, "God is easy to please but hard to satisfy."
Saint Therese of Lisieux described the continual love and affection she received from her parents, sisters, relatives, and friends before she entered the convent; and yet she wanted more and suffered acutely that need. She found it only when she realized how pleased the Lord was with her little flower, one of the least noticed in the Lord's garden.
And so we obey the Lord again as he insists, "Take my yoke upon you." He must carry the cross of a singular life, an unexpected, unique revelation without precedent. And his disciples also discover by following him their own utter uniqueness. No one like me has ever appeared in the entire universe; nor will there be another precisely like me. No one else will know me as I must know myself.
Each one of us stands before the Lord alone; we echo the words of Abraham, Samuel, Isaiah, and innumerable others: "Here I am." And in that moment we take his yoke upon ourselves, and discover the companionship of the faithful Church.
Meek and humble of heart like him, the saints discover and demonstrate to the entire world, that his yoke is easy, and his burden is light.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.