With Only the Burden of Love on My Shoulders

“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.” Mtt 11:25-30 When we think of someone under the burden of a yoke, the image of a slave most likely comes to mind. But in this text, Jesus uses the image of a yoke with its heavy burden as a metaphor for something else. The burden Jesus is talking about is the burden of the Jewish law as interpreted by the Scribes and Pharisees. "They tie up heavy burdens [hard to carry] and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them". Mtt 23:4 The problem Jesus has with the Scribes and Pharisees is clearly laid out in chapter 7 of Mark's gospel. Now when the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace, they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles [and beds].)  To their attacks Jesus responds. “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.’ You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition, ... You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things.” As the new communities of faith begin to take shape as the Christian era begins, the question of the practice of Jewish laws and traditions became an issue, especially when non-Jewish people embraced the Faith. The question becomes a problem as we read in Acts 15:1, Some who had come down from Judea were instructing the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice, you cannot be saved.” In what is called the Council of Jerusalem, the first council of the Church, the issue is addressed.  ... Some who had come down from Judea were instructing the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice, you cannot be saved.” ...  Because there arose no little dissension and debate by Paul and Barnabas with them, it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and presbyters about this question. ... But some from the party of the Pharisees who had become believers stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and direct them to observe the Mosaic law.” ... Peter got up and said to them, Why then, are you now putting God to the test by placing on the shoulders of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? ... Then the apostles and presbyters, in agreement with the whole church, decided to choose representatives and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, leaders among the brothers. This is the letter delivered by them: “The apostles and the presbyters, your brothers, to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia of Gentile origin: greetings. Since we have heard that some of our number [who went out] without any mandate from us have upset you with their teachings and disturbed your peace of mind, … ‘It is the decision of the holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities, namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage. If you keep free of these, you will be doing what is right. Farewell.’” People need order to live constructively and in peace with one another, so laws are fashioned as a means to this end; and so it is among communities of believers. But it is God who gives our lives their ultimate meaning and purpose. We must understand that God’s commandment is given out of love, out of God’s desire that we come to understand our true purpose and finally embrace it. The best response to love is to love in return. This removes all sense of burden to anything love asks of us. Today we have a very divisive debate going on in society in general that is also effecting the Church as well. I am referring to the issue of vaccinations and the Covid-19 pandemic. Various jurisdictions are now mandating that people be vaccinated if they wish to participate in public gatherings. The Church has already been affected by restrictions on public assembly and had to impose limits from no church gatherings to limited gathering, social distancing, and mask wearing. Will the Church be requiring vaccine passports when they become available?  Those who are oppose to mandated vaccination see it as an attack on their civil liberties - rooted in a whole variety of reasons from scientific to religious. Is government behaving like the Pharisees of old - taking away our freedom? What would / does Jesus say about this? Would the Lord not say, "do the loving thing". This virus and its mutations are highly contagious and deadly. When discovered science went quickly to work and has come up with vaccines, that while far from perfect do offer much protection. Health care workers have entered whole heartedly into personal danger to help the victims of this deadly enemy. Many hygienic practices have been found helpful and are being practiced by people. Are these not examples of the loving things to do? In the example above from the First Council of the Church, lifting the Pharisaical burdens from the shoulders of the people was their goal, but some things that would have scandalized potential converts where left imposed - out of love - for the greater good of evangelisation, God's loving plan for all generations to come. Jesus came to lift burdens save one, love. When Jesus was asked about the commandments and which of them was of highest importance he replied;  One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mk 12:28-31 Because of love put the burden of your neighbour's wellbeing on your shoulders, be vaccinated .

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Fifth Meditation - John 6

This Sunday's gospel completes the five consecutive Sundays devoted to the text of chapter 6 in John's gospel. This occurs every three years. The verses for this Sunday are 6:53, 60-69. We have been keying off of verse 66, (... many of His disciples turned back and no longer went about with Him.) In these Sundays we have explored what led up to their parting with Jesus. Now the final question, "Do you also wish to go away?" We know that there are many Catholics today who have forsaken the practice of their faith. May I suggest that you revisit each of these five reflections so that you can say with Peter, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life." Here are a couple of additions to help your reflection. The challenges that the seed of faith must face today are extremely daunting as Jesus' parable of the sower characterizes. How would you interpret "the path" - "the rocky ground" - "the choking thorns" in today's world?   St. Ignatius in his Spiritual Exercises lays out three degrees, three qualities of commitment to Jesus that people have. Where do you come in? 3 “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” 9 And he said, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” Mark 4:1  St. Ignatius 1st: In the first kind of humility, we express our love for God by doing our duty and following God’s law. We avoid grave sin, for we don’t want to do anything that would separate us from God.  2nd: In the second (and “more perfect”) kind of humility, as in the first, we love God by honoring God’s law and avoiding sin. But we also strive for indifference. (we still have other attachments) We cultivate an attitude of interior freedom, finding a balance in our desires and attachments so that we will follow what God wants for us. We are zealous but our response, though sincere, is not yet wholehearted. 3rd: In the third (and “most perfect”) kind of humility, we move beyond following God’s law and making reasoned judgments—both good things—and we experience a heartfelt desire to imitate Christ more closely. We do not hold back. We simply want to be where Jesus is, no matter the cost. . With which group do I most identify?

Fourth Meditation - John 6

TWENTIETH SUNDAY (replaced by the Assumption in 2021) 51 Jesus said to the people I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. 52 The people then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Clearly this is a repugnant image to the people and they just cannot image how this could ever happen. If someone in the crowd was suggesting that Jesus did not mean this literally Jesus in the next five verses makes it very clear he means literally.  Here are two thoughts to consider. 1. There is a saying, "you are what you eat". When we ingest food it literally becomes part of our bodies with all of its healthy nutrients. 2. For the people of that time, to gather to share a meal together meant more than just food, it meant togetherness, family, what is mine is yours.   Jesus is talking about "union", a com-union by which we become what he is - that we become no longer mere human beings but now, like Jesus, we become divine human beings. (You become what you eat.) Like Jesus, we become true family members in the divine family. We are sitting at the table of the heavenly family calling God our Father. Only God's children can sit at the Father's table. To give us a sign to point to this "transforming union", Jesus takes the fellowship of the breaking of bread (see here the Last Supper) and makes the bread into himself. This leaves us with the question how can he give us his flesh to eat? To answer this question, how does Jesus change bread into himself, since its appearance remains unchanged, the theologians  of the Church have stepped up to tackle the question. While it still remains a mystery to contemplate, the Church recognizes St. Thomas Aquinas' thesis of Transubstantiation as a creditable explanation? (See the official Catholic Catechism for its teaching on the Eucharist) ***LINK *** CONSIDER: While theology can support our faith, the first reason for our belief in Jesus' real presence in the eucharistic bread and cup is because Jesus said it is so. When you come to the table Jesus sets before you expect that it is you who will be changed; that you will be taken up into a union that is real yet requires faith to see and understand. CONSIDER: In the structure of the Mass before we come to the Table of the Bread & Cup we first sit at the table of the Word. There Jesus by his instruction prepares us to enter a mystery that will require the eyes of faith with which to see. CONSIDER: To the question - How can he give his flesh to eat - we discover there are two types of response people have: 1. Show me the proof and I will believe. 2. I believe Lord, deepen my faith to understand. With which of these two do you identify with more?

Third Meditation - John 6

Here we continue with the third of our meditations on John chapter 6, keying off verse 66. Our quest in these meditations is to understand why so many of Jesus’ followers abandoned him, that in understanding why we may have greater insight into why so many today are of the same mind.  Odd as it may seem, there are some today who put forward the speculation as to whether Jesus actual is a historical figure. In today's text, verses 41 to 51, the people know well who he is as well as who his family relations are, even the work he does, he is a carpenter. (Mark 6:3)  All this we can accept as well. But Jesus is making claims that go way beyond carpentry. Jesus is making the claim that he is directly connected to God, that he is God's son sent by God from heaven into this world. When Jesus multiplied the loaves the people saw something special in him, like a prophet, an identity they understood well. Prophets were mere humans but who had been given special powers over nature by God. They also knew how essential bread is for life. Zeroing in on these well know facts, Jesus is now going to take this understanding to a whole new level. Even bread cannot prevent the inevitable - physical death. But as for "real" life there is a bread that prevents the death of this real life. And here is the shocker, Jesus says he is that bread. CONSIDER: How the sciences of our age have penetrated into the complexity of our physical life. Bread is life yes, but there is so much more to this life. Does all this knowledge help or hinder religious faith? When you hear science explain how the world works do you find yourself questioning how faith fits into all this? CONSIDER: This life or eternal life - is one more important than the other? Are they in competition with each other? (He is so heavenly minded he is no earthly good.)           CONSIDER: Today you frequently hear people say of someone who is not particularly religious, "... yes but he is such a good person". Is that not enough for eternal life? CONSIDER: When the people realized that Jesus was not going to be the answer to their worldly needs they stop following him. (Jesus answered them, “Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. vs. 44) (Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. vs. 45) Having difficulty believing Jesus? Time to move from head to heart. Living, dynamic faith is a gift from the Father - it comes from outside this world. Evangelization is information about Jesus you hear announced in this world . . . . . . . . . . . but the world can neither prove it true or false.  Ask, seek, knock and then it is up to the Father as to what comes next.

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