HomilyMatthew 11: 25-30
14th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
July 6, 2008
A few minutes ago my family and I were in our living room at home getting ready for Mass and my son Sean reminded my that today was my 2nd homily.
I stated to Sean, "why is that so important?" He stated, "Don't you remember Dad, what you said in your first homily? You stated that all the people are going to be watching you to see if your first homily was just beginners luck."
Thanks a lot Sean, what a vote of confidence.......We just heard the words of Jesus claiming that “His yoke is easy, and his burden is light.” For years I had difficulty understanding this passage.
“His yoke is easy, and his burden is light.” However, after a few years, the concept became somewhat clearer, Christ has invited all of us who labor and are burdened to come to him.
Who among us doesn’t carry any burden? How many of us carry sorrow in our hearts for things we have done in the past? How many of us posses some degree of hatred or Anger that we cannot entirely let go? What about Fear: Fear of abandonment, Fear of violence, Fear of responsibility? What about those who carry the weight of repeated failure? Even Saint Paul stated in his letter to the Romans, “I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate.”
Meaning, Why do I keep doing the things in my life that I know I should not do, and can’t always do the things in life that I know I should do. How many of us can relate to such a quote.
There are also burdens that some of us carry that are related to a death of a loved one, broken relationships, addictions, illnesses, problems at home or work. Each of us are quite unique and posses our own personal burdens. So what does Jesus say to us:
“Come to me,” he says. “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus is asking us to bring our distress to him, he has no intention of leaving us alone to carry our own burdens. “Come to me,” he says, and then he adds: “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. Ok, Here is that yoke word again.
What is a yoke?
A yoke is a plowing instrument where two oxen are joined together – yoked together by a simple piece of wood – in order to share the workload and pull a plow behind them. There is a legend that in his carpenter’s workshop, the young Jesus of Nazareth specialized in making these yokes. It was a tricky business, because the wood had to be crafted just right. If the Yoke was too tight, it would dig into the animals, choking them. The legend has it that the yokes Jesus made were always perfect; they were made to fit easily, making the burden seem light. Legend or not, Jesus invites each of us to receive the yoke that he himself has made, the very means of carrying our burdens not by ourselves, but with his help. Having someone to share the load, the responsibility, and the worry can make all the difference. Haven’t you felt the comfort, the peace, and the support, when sharing a burden with a close friend or a loved one. Who better could you imagine to share such a personal and intimate thing than with Jesus himself.
There is another unique aspect of being yoked to Jesus. Being yoked to Jesus also means submitting to Jesus. When I attach myself to Jesus, I am not walking alone but am walking alongside Him. And when I am yoked, I cannot walk in my own separate way. In a sense, I am being steered and guided by Jesus himself. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.
Jesus wants us to come to Him and join our burdens to Him. And when we do that, when we surrender ourselves to Christ, we begin to learn from him. We become more meek, and more humble of heart. We become more like Jesus. That’s the positive side of the burdens that we carry. God is able to use even our sufferings and our struggles to make us more like Christ.
And even more than that, when we join our burdens to Christ, when we take his yoke upon us, we actually participate in His work of redeeming the world. He allows us to participate in His Suffering, to share in the cross that he endured, and to also share in his mission of redemption.
Many of you are aware of an incident that occurred in 1981 during the month of May. An attempt was made to assassinate Pope John Paul II. His recovery was slow and painful and for many months he was forced to carry a huge and difficult burden, but one that he nonetheless shared with Christ; he was truly yoked to Christ in his suffering and all throughout his recovery.
Almost two years after the incident, Pope John Paul II released one of his most personal documents, called “On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering (Salvifici Dolores). In this document he explores the idea of Christian Redemptive suffering, that even our own suffering, our own burdens, can be joined to Christ and offered up for the salvation of others.
He says:
“In the cross of Christ not only is the redemption accomplishment through suffering (in other words, not only are we redeemed as persons) but also human suffering itself has been redeemed. Our suffering, our burdens, painful as they may be, are not meaningless. Christ is able to give meaning to our lives and even to our crosses, when we unite them to his Cross, and take his yoke upon us. I have met so many people over the years that attest that through their burdens and trials, they have discovered a deepening of their faith, developed a closer relationship with God, and obtained a clearer vision of who they were created to be. For so many of these individuals, they reported that their journey through suffering, and self-evaluation was not free of discomfort, but always produced Spiritual growth, development of character, and a showering of grace that enabled virtue to grow within them.
Many of us are hit with unexpected trials and burdens, and some of us create them all on our own. However, it is within these situations, when we clearly experience a lack of control, and are unable to find resolution, that we clearly see our human frailty and limitations. Left to our own abilities, we often cannot accomplish and sustain much in our lives, but united with Christ, we can endure, persevere, and find a sense of peace even during the strongest of trials.
So whatever burdens we carry today, and in the days ahead, we thank God that he has not left us to carry them alone. As Catholics, we are yoked to Jesus, who helps us to carry our burdens, and even allows us to participate in his work of redeeming our fallen world. Being Yoked to Jesus, might we find rest for ourselves, because as he tells us in today’s gospel, his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. Lets think about how we are currently living out our lives,
Are we Truly “Yoked” to Jesus?And if not, what in your life is keeping you away from Him?
“His yoke is easy, and his burden is light.” However, after a few years, the concept became somewhat clearer, Christ has invited all of us who labor and are burdened to come to him.
Who among us doesn’t carry any burden? How many of us carry sorrow in our hearts for things we have done in the past? How many of us posses some degree of hatred or Anger that we cannot entirely let go? What about Fear: Fear of abandonment, Fear of violence, Fear of responsibility? What about those who carry the weight of repeated failure? Even Saint Paul stated in his letter to the Romans, “I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate.”
Meaning, Why do I keep doing the things in my life that I know I should not do, and can’t always do the things in life that I know I should do. How many of us can relate to such a quote.
There are also burdens that some of us carry that are related to a death of a loved one, broken relationships, addictions, illnesses, problems at home or work. Each of us are quite unique and posses our own personal burdens. So what does Jesus say to us:
“Come to me,” he says. “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus is asking us to bring our distress to him, he has no intention of leaving us alone to carry our own burdens. “Come to me,” he says, and then he adds: “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. Ok, Here is that yoke word again.
What is a yoke?
A yoke is a plowing instrument where two oxen are joined together – yoked together by a simple piece of wood – in order to share the workload and pull a plow behind them. There is a legend that in his carpenter’s workshop, the young Jesus of Nazareth specialized in making these yokes. It was a tricky business, because the wood had to be crafted just right. If the Yoke was too tight, it would dig into the animals, choking them. The legend has it that the yokes Jesus made were always perfect; they were made to fit easily, making the burden seem light. Legend or not, Jesus invites each of us to receive the yoke that he himself has made, the very means of carrying our burdens not by ourselves, but with his help. Having someone to share the load, the responsibility, and the worry can make all the difference. Haven’t you felt the comfort, the peace, and the support, when sharing a burden with a close friend or a loved one. Who better could you imagine to share such a personal and intimate thing than with Jesus himself.
There is another unique aspect of being yoked to Jesus. Being yoked to Jesus also means submitting to Jesus. When I attach myself to Jesus, I am not walking alone but am walking alongside Him. And when I am yoked, I cannot walk in my own separate way. In a sense, I am being steered and guided by Jesus himself. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.
Jesus wants us to come to Him and join our burdens to Him. And when we do that, when we surrender ourselves to Christ, we begin to learn from him. We become more meek, and more humble of heart. We become more like Jesus. That’s the positive side of the burdens that we carry. God is able to use even our sufferings and our struggles to make us more like Christ.
And even more than that, when we join our burdens to Christ, when we take his yoke upon us, we actually participate in His work of redeeming the world. He allows us to participate in His Suffering, to share in the cross that he endured, and to also share in his mission of redemption.
Many of you are aware of an incident that occurred in 1981 during the month of May. An attempt was made to assassinate Pope John Paul II. His recovery was slow and painful and for many months he was forced to carry a huge and difficult burden, but one that he nonetheless shared with Christ; he was truly yoked to Christ in his suffering and all throughout his recovery.
Almost two years after the incident, Pope John Paul II released one of his most personal documents, called “On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering (Salvifici Dolores). In this document he explores the idea of Christian Redemptive suffering, that even our own suffering, our own burdens, can be joined to Christ and offered up for the salvation of others.
He says:
“In the cross of Christ not only is the redemption accomplishment through suffering (in other words, not only are we redeemed as persons) but also human suffering itself has been redeemed. Our suffering, our burdens, painful as they may be, are not meaningless. Christ is able to give meaning to our lives and even to our crosses, when we unite them to his Cross, and take his yoke upon us. I have met so many people over the years that attest that through their burdens and trials, they have discovered a deepening of their faith, developed a closer relationship with God, and obtained a clearer vision of who they were created to be. For so many of these individuals, they reported that their journey through suffering, and self-evaluation was not free of discomfort, but always produced Spiritual growth, development of character, and a showering of grace that enabled virtue to grow within them.
Many of us are hit with unexpected trials and burdens, and some of us create them all on our own. However, it is within these situations, when we clearly experience a lack of control, and are unable to find resolution, that we clearly see our human frailty and limitations. Left to our own abilities, we often cannot accomplish and sustain much in our lives, but united with Christ, we can endure, persevere, and find a sense of peace even during the strongest of trials.
So whatever burdens we carry today, and in the days ahead, we thank God that he has not left us to carry them alone. As Catholics, we are yoked to Jesus, who helps us to carry our burdens, and even allows us to participate in his work of redeeming our fallen world. Being Yoked to Jesus, might we find rest for ourselves, because as he tells us in today’s gospel, his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. Lets think about how we are currently living out our lives,
Are we Truly “Yoked” to Jesus?And if not, what in your life is keeping you away from Him?
1 comment:
Pat,
I was so grateful to see this homily posted with video on your website! I was going to contact you to ask if I could obtain a written copy of it after I heard it at Mass. I am planning on sharing it with a loved one who I believe can benefit a lot from hearing and reading it.
Thank you so much!
Terri
(webmaster for OLM)
Post a Comment