Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: Matthew 11: 28-30

Jesus said:
“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.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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In Jesus’ time, farmers paired oxen together using a wooden apparatus called a yoke so that they could plow the fields together.

A stronger, more experienced ox was paired with a younger or weaker ox to help it plow. The yoke pushed the weaker ox forward, who otherwise might’ve given up when his muscles fatigued in the heat of the mid-day sun.

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Jesus likens himself to this stronger, more experienced ox who offers to plow through the fields of life with us. 

This is the good news! Jesus never gives up. He never tires. He’s used to the mid-day heat; he’s knows every field; he’s been through it all before. 

He’s plowed through the fields of suffering; the fields of poverty; the fields of friendship; even the fields of betrayal and death.

He’s plowed through them all and come out victoriously.

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What he offers us today is his wisdom, experience, and strength.

“Come to me, all you who are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden light,” he says.

With Jesus by our side, we can plow through anything, even when the day is long and the heat seems unbearable.

If you’re feeling heavy burdened today, yoke yourself to Jesus. Perhaps the prayer below may help.

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Lord, you alone know all of the burdens that I carry. Often it’s the burden of family, finance, my future, my dreams. Too often I try carrying these burdens alone.

Not today, Lord.

Today I stand next to you, shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand. I am yoked as one with you. In the words of Saint Ignatius of Loyola:

“Take, Lord, receive, my liberty, my memory, my understanding, my entire will, all that I have and call my own. You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. Do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace. That is enough for me.”

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(1) Today’sBibleVerse.com, @ 2012 Christian.org (2) Weak Ox – WordPress.com (3) RedBubble

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Exodus 3: 1-6, 9-12

Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian.
Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb,
the mountain of God.
There an angel of the LORD appeared to him in fire
flaming out of a bush.
As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush,
though on fire, was not consumed.
So Moses decided,
“I must go over to look at this remarkable sight,
and see why the bush is not burned.”

When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely,
God called out to him from the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
He answered, “Here I am.”
God said, “Come no nearer!
Remove the sandals from your feet,
for the place where you stand is holy ground.
I am the God of your father,” he continued,
“the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.
The cry of the children of Israel has reached me,
and I have truly noted that the Egyptians are oppressing them.
Come, now! I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people,
the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

But Moses said to God,
“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh
and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
He answered, “I will be with you;
and this shall be your proof that it is I who have sent you:
when you bring my people out of Egypt,
you will worship God on this very mountain.”

The Word of the Lord.

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I will be with you.”

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We’ve all been in a position in life where it seems like we must do the impossible.

Think of the first time you laid eyes on your newborn child. How can I give this child everything he or she deserves? 

“I will be with you.”

Or the moment you show up for your first day on the job. You’re a teacher – a class full of twenty young children. Can I really teach them all how to read? 

“I will be with you.”

Or that malignant diagnosis, your first day of retirement, the moment you lose a loved one…or, in my case, the day of my priestly ordination. Can I really do this?

“I will be with you.”

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These five words – “I will be with you”– are the words spoken by God to Moses in our first reading. 

Moses faced an impossible task – he was called to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land. 

He was terrified – he questioned – but the Lord spoke to him from the burning bush simply promising, “I will be with you.”

The same God who guided Moses guides us today. Whatever our challenges or trials may be, we can move forward in confidence, because the Lord is with us, whispering in our hearts:

“I will be with you.”

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Image credits: (1) Pinterest (2) God and Moses at the Burning Bush, Earl Mott, Fine Art America (3) Pinterest

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Gospel: Matthew 10:34 – 11:1

Jesus said to his Apostles:
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not peace but the sword.
For I have come to set
a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one’s enemies will be those of his household.

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

“Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet
will receive a prophet’s reward,
and whoever receives a righteous man
because he is righteous 
will receive a righteous man’s reward.
And whoever gives only a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones to drink
because he is a disciple–
amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”

When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples,
he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“I have come to bring not peace, but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother.”

This does not sound like the jovial Jesus so many of us adore. So, what does Jesus mean by such harsh, divisive words?  

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Practicing Jews would’ve understood. The Old Testament is filled with prophesies about the coming of the Lord. 

Two of them reference bringing, “not peace, but the sword,” and, “setting a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother.” When these things happen, the kingdom of God is at hand.

God’s presence on earth would bring a period of judgment and division, splitting families. Not because God seeks to divide, but because people respond to faith differently.

That’s a tension every family experiences.

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Often in ministry, I encounter grandparents concerned about the baptism – not of their children, but their grandchildren. The faith which they tried handing on from one generation to the next has been weakened over time for one reason or another. That causes division!

Or couples who marry. I’ve spoken with many spouses concerned about faith. One feels God is moving deeper into their heart, while the other is increasingly distant from God. That threatens the intimacy of the couple.

Or young people who want to do something beautiful for God. In my case, being ordained a priest. My vocation wasn’t accepted by all.

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“I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother.”

While these seem to be difficult words from our Lord, Jesus is not seeking to divide families. But he is pointing out the sad truth that people respond to faith differently. Some with joy and surrender, others with indifference, even rejection.

Perhaps today we can pray for all families experiencing this tension of belief. May the Lord, who alone grants the gift of faith, transform doubt into faith. Doing so will bring not the sword, but unity, peace, and above all, salvation.

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Image credits: (1) Regnum Christi (2) ConnectUs (3) A Knight’s Blog, Sword: Word of God