Strength of the Weary

Wednesday December 9

Wednesday of 2^nd Week of Advent

Strength of the Weary       

The mighty God is near to the weak. This is the message of today. To the exiles, who felt abandoned by God and who saw the power of Babylon and the supposed might of her gods, God tells through the prophet: “I am the mighty God. Rely on me and I will make you strong.”

Jesus assumes these powers to himself, and he says: “Come to me, you little, humble people who are burdened bylaws in the name of religion, and I, who have become little and humble with you, will strengthen you and teach you to love; then your burdens will be light.”

Opening Prayer

Everlasting, mighty God,
at times, we do not know
where you are or where we are going.
When our burdens are heavy to bear,
help us to keep searching for you
and teach us to become humble again,
that we may be open to the strength
which you give us through him,
who became weary with the weary,
Jesus Christ, our Lord for ever.

Reading 1: IS 40:25-31

To whom can you liken me as an equal?
says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high
and see who has created these things:
He leads out their army and numbers them,
calling them all by name.
By his great might and the strength of his power
not one of them is missing!
Why, O Jacob, do you say,
and declare, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?

Do you not know
or have you not heard?
The LORD is the eternal God,
creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint nor grow weary,
and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny.
He gives strength to the fainting;
for the weak he makes vigor abound.
Though young men faint and grow weary,
and youths stagger and fall,
They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength,
they will soar as with eagles’ wings;
They will run and not grow weary,
walk and not grow faint.

Responsorial Psalm PS 103:1-2, 3-4, 8 AND 10

O bless the Lord, my soul!
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!

Alleluia 

Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold, the Lord comes to save his people;
blessed are those prepared to meet him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 Gospel: MT 11:28-30

Jesus said to the crowds:
“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.”

Commentary

Jesus offers his partnering shoulder to carry the yoke
When tragedies strike, we have seen people questioning God: “Why does God allow this to happen? Why doesn’t he answer my prayers?” But, today’s First Reading and the Gospel remind us that our God is never far away, especially in times of trouble. "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Jesus reaffirms what Isaiah says, that we have a caring and tireless God who looks after his own.
But make no mistake: The Gospel is not exactly talking about the pains of sicknesses, tragedies, natural calamities. Jesus is bringing a message of comfort to those people who were burdened with the Mosaic Law laid on people, especially as interpreted by some of the Scribes and Pharisees. Under them, it was next to impossible not to put a foot wrong somewhere. And, as they saw it, perfection in the eyes of God was the scrupulous observation of the tiniest obligation. Jesus liberates us from all that. Therefore, we have his assurance: "I am gentle and lowly of heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
It does not mean that we do what we like. Jesus sets before us simply one commandment, the commandment to love God and all our brothers and sisters unconditionally. That is not always easy but we will find that keeping the commandment of love will make us kind and compassionate.
Jesus does not say that if we go to him that we will have no more troubles, no more pain, no more disappointments… There will be "yokes" to carry but he will carry them with us.
Someone has suggested that the ‘yoke’ that Jesus is referring to is a double yoke used for two oxen to pull together. Jesus offers his shoulder to be the partner who carries the yoke together with us.
Jesus never promises to take away pain. What he does is to help us go through the pain. A life without any pain, without any failure or disappointment, a life without difficulty or challenge is no life. When children are so protected by doting parents that their every whim is answered and every negative feeling anticipated, they end up as Spoiled brats. Don’t expect God to spoil us in that way. The challenges of life are necessary for us to grow and mature. But they are easier to bear when he carries them with us, when we know that we are never alone in our difficulties and sorrows.

Intercessions

–   That the Lord may take away from our hearts all pride and harshness, and make us gentle and humble, we pray:

–   That we encourage the weak and support them to become courageous in the Lord, we pray:

–   That we may help others, friend and foe, by helping them to carry their burdens, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord, mighty God,
often we look far away
for you and your strength
and forget that you are near
in your Son and in people.
Strengthen us with the bread of life
of Jesus, your Son among us.
Make us face life with courage,
for you have made it worth to be lived
through the good people around us
and on account of Jesus Christ,
who lives with you and with us for ever. 

Prayer after Communion

God of comfort and strength,
you have spoken to us your refreshing word
and renewed our courage
with the body and blood of your Son.
We thank you with all our hearts.
Help us in turn to be
near to our neighbour in need
and a haven of rest for the weary.
Make us gladly accept your yoke,
which love makes it easy to bear,
and lighten one another’s burden
on account of your Son among us,
Jesus Christ, our Lord for ever. 

Blessing

Weak as we are at times, we learn to carry our burdens when we are aware that the Lord is close to us and that we can always rely on him. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.