Homily
for July 9, 2017
Have
you tried searching for happiness in vain? Faced with a lot of trials? Is your
heart burdened? Are you experiencing pain or loss at this moment? Are you
facing some very turbulent times at work, at home or among your colleagues and
you feel like giving up completely?
Today’s
message is for you.
Hear
what Jesus says: “Come. Come to me.” He is giving you a special invitation because
he knows what you are going through. He feels your frustration and all he wants
is for you to come to him. Yes, Jesus alone is capable of giving you rest for
your soul.
Indeed,
as St. Augustine would say: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O
Lord.” Nowhere else can we find happiness other than in Jesus. So come to
Jesus, offload your burdens unto him, empty out your worries before Jesus in
prayer.
Take
his yoke upon you and carry the burden of Jesus. What is this yoke? St. Paul in
today’s second reading says: “You must put to death the deeds of the body and
you will live.” The yoke and the burden of Jesus is the practice of bodily
purity, holiness of life and the keeping of the commandments of God.
Again
Jesus is asking us to learn from him to be humble and gentle of heart. In our
quest for happiness, we often wrongly assume that we can be happy by lording it
over others but this is never the case. The way to be happy is to make others
happy.
Placing ourselves high or
lording it over others will not help us find inner peace. Just as Jesus brought
himself down and received humiliation in other to save the world, we too ought
to bring ourselves down in relating with others.
To be humble and gentle of
heart is to be able to forgive others and love them just as Jesus himself would
do. Yes, troubles will come, Jesus himself
said: “In the world, you will find tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world.” John 16:33.
Stop
worrying over your problems. Leave them for God. His eyes are not too blind
that he cannot see. His ears are not too deaf that he cannot hear. His hands
are not too short that they cannot reach out to you. Worrying does not solve
any problem, it only magnifies the problem in our eyes. Relax, let go and Let
God.
Let
us pray: Lord Jesus, I drop my burdens before you, help me find rest in my soul.
Amen.
*Happy Sunday. Be Happy. Live
Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Fourteenth Sunday
in Ordinary Time. Year A. Bible Study: Zechariah 9:9-10, Romans 8:9-13 and Matthew 11:25-30).*
Fr. Abu.
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