My Thursday Daily Blessings
Be still, quiet your heart and mind, the Lord is here loving you,
talking to you.................
Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Roman Rite Calendar)
*First Reading: Is 26:7-9, 12, 16-19
Yes, for your way and your judgments, O LORD, we look to you;
Your name and your title are the desire of our souls.
My soul yearns for you in the night, yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you;
When your judgment dawns upon the earth, the world's inhabitants learn justice.
O LORD, you mete out peace to us, for it is you who have accomplished all we have done.
O LORD, oppressed by your punishment, we cried out in anguish under your chastising.
As a woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pains, so were we in your presence, O LORD.
We conceived and writhed in pain, giving birth to wind;
Salvation we have not achieved for the earth, the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth.
But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise; awake and sing, you who lie in the dust.
For your dew is a dew of light, and the land of shades gives birth.
*Responsorial Psalm: Ps 102:13-14ab and 15, 16-18, 19-21
"From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth."
*Gospel Reading: Mt 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."
"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."
**Reflection:
What does the yoke of Jesus refer to in the gospel? The Jews used the image of a yoke to express submission to God. They spoke of the yoke of the law, the yoke of the commandments, the yoke of the kingdom, the yoke of God. Jesus says his yoke is "easy". The Greek word for "easy" can also mean "well-fitting". Yokes were tailor-made to fit the oxen well. Oxen were yoked two by two. Jesus invites us to be yoked with him, to unite our life with his life, our will with his will, and our heart with his heart. To be yoked with Jesus is to be united with him in a relationship of love, trust, and obedience.
Jesus also says his "burden is light". There's a story of a man who once met a boy carrying a smaller crippled lad on his back. "That's a heavy load you are carrying there," exclaimed the man. "He ain't heavy; he's my brother!" responded the boy. No burden is too heavy when it's given in love and carried in love. When we yoke our lives with Jesus, he also carries our burdens with us and gives us his strength to follow in his way of love. Do you know the joy of resting in Jesus' presence and walking daily with him along the path he has for you?
Jesus offers us a new kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy. In his kingdom sins are not only forgiven but removed, and eternal life is poured out for all its citizens. This is not a political kingdom, but a spiritual one. The yoke of Christ's kingdom, his kingly rule and way of life, liberates us from the burden of guilt and from the oppression of sinful habits and hurtful desires. Only Jesus can lift the burden of sin and the weight of hopelessness from us. Jesus used the analogy of a yoke to explain how we can exchange the burden of sin and despair for a weight of glory and victory with him. The yoke which Jesus invites us to embrace is his way of love, grace, and freedom from the power of sin. Do you trust in God's love and submit to his will and plan for your life?
**Prayer:
Amen.
Sources:
*Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
**Don Schwager
Author and Writer
Sword of the Spirit and
The Word Among Us
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