Reflection on the Gospel of the Wednesday In The Second Week Of Advent |
Matthew 11: 28-30 |
“Come to me”. Imagine you standing on the opposite side of the road with 3 backpacks and a big suitcase. Our Lord is standing on the opposite side of the road with just a red mantle on his shoulder calls to you. “Come to me (your name) and exchange all your burdens for my mantle which will protect and warm you”. Your reply is, “Lord I want to give you this suitcase of my past but I cant imagine a day without a dose of guilt and regrets.’ You continue pointing at the bag on your right and say, “Lord how can I give you all the hurts I received from people? If I do, I will lose count on their betrayal and deceit, must not I repay them when the due time arrives.’ Pointing to one on the left you say, “I cant even think of putting this bag of failures down as its weight reminds me how miserable and cursed I am, after all should not I must know my place in life/who I am. Oh and this heavy one on my back is full of my jealousy, hatred for others, covetous intentions, lies to protect me, and greed for money”.
Dear brothers and sisters if not all then atleast a couple of bags from the above list is in our load of burdens. What is human burden? Relationships, responsibilities, illness, poverty or the fear of impending death? Is the purpose of this life to get married or be a good son or friend? Or is it being a responsible father, husband, employee or citizen? Or is it to be richer and richer every year so that I am never poor? Jesus looks at us today, with all our burdens and HE tells us to make a firm decision to come to Him and live life to its fullest and to be concerned and busy with things that really matter and will lead you to you final destination, our heavenly home.
Jesus calls us to exchange our burdens with His yoke. A burden can be carried by one person but a yoke is carried by two oxen. Jesus is not just calling us to Himself in our time of need, when we are weary and heavy burdened. But He is carrying it with us, guiding our every turn and making our actions productive and successful. Its time to stop existing with all our baggage’s and burdens and start living free and confident lives with Jesus, sharing His yoke of plowing the parched and hardened hearts of ourselves and others and turning it into fertile land, ready to be partners in Gods Kingdom.
Lord help us with the power of your Holy Spirit to exchange our burden for your Yoke and friendship. Amen
