July 16, 2015

July 16

July 16, 2015:  Thursday, 15th week, Ordinary Time





    • Red in shirt, 'tree' pin:  Moses at burning bush (1st reading)
    • White in shirt, 'honey' tie:  I'll lead you to the land of milk and honey (1st reading)
    • '?' tie pin:  Moses asked the Lord a question (1st reading)
    • 'Hand' tie pin:  "I'll stretch out my hand"  (1st reading)

    • 'Girl with heart' pin:  The Lord changed the hearts of the Israelites' foes  (psalm); "I'm meek and humble of heart" (gospel)
    Listen

    For the gospel
      • Come unto me (another, with recitativ and duet) (cue after He shall feed his flock), from Messiah/ Handel

    For the psalm
      My yoke is easy...
      (animate)
    • Ex 3:13-20  Moses / Lord in burning bush:  “When I tell the Israelites, ‘God sent me to you’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say?” / “I am who am.  Tell them, I AM sent me.  The Lord, God of your fathers, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, sent me to you.  Tell the elders, The Lord, God of your fathers, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, said, I am concerned about you and how you're being treated, so I'll lead you out of your misery into a land flowing with milk and honey.  Thus they'll heed you.  Then you and the elders shall tell the king of Egypt:  The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent us word.  Let us go a three-days’ journey in the desert and offer sacrifice.  Yet the king of Egypt won't let you go unless he's forced, so I'll stretch out my hand and smite Egypt.  Then he'll send you away.”
    • Ps 105:1, 5, 8-9, 24-27  "The Lord remembers his covenant for ever."  Give thanks to the Lord; make his deeds known.  He increased and strengthened his people; he sent Moses and Aaron to do his signs and wonders.
    • Mt 11:28-30  “Come to me, you who labor and are burdened, and I'll give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you'll find rest.  My yoke is easy, my burden light.”
    Reflect
    • Creighton:  Stop to take a deep breaths, release your tension and anxiety, and relax.  What works best for you?  “The little yellow flowers nobody notices on the edge of that road are saints looking up into God's face.”  (Merton)  “Everything in nature fits into us.  The sun shines in us.  Rivers flow through us.  Trees wave and flowers bloom in our bodies and souls, and songs in nature are our own, singing our love.” (Muir, Mountain Thoughts, 2, paraphrased)  “The bread and the wine have been blessed.  The body receives the gift; they're something else from what they were.  I want to see Jesus, maybe in the clouds, on the shore, or walking....  On hard days I ask whether I ever will, but at times my body whispers that I have.”  (Oliver, paraphrased)  “All creatures are moving forward, with and through us, towards a common point, God.” (Pope Francis, Laudato Sí)  May I accept Jesus’ call to come to him and rest....
      Our Lady of Mount Carmel
    • One Bread One Body:  "The 'rest' of the story":  Jesus calls us to rest in him, but that takes effort.  We must "strive to enter into that rest."  We often rest better when we're diligent.  We can't strive too hard, but let God's rest be done to us, yielding to grace.  As Jesus had no place to rest his head, we embrace our cross of fatigue and weariness, and the fountain of life and rest that never runs dry by pushing through the cross and discovering the garden.  "Our hearts are restless, Lord, until they rest in Thee"  (Augustine, Confessions, 1.1.1.1).
    • Passionist:  Matthew portrays Jesus as the Wisdom of God.  Rabbis spoke of the “yoke of the Torah” and said “my yoke is my song.”  The yoke of Jesus is to submit to God's will; it's the surest way to know the Father.  Only the humble understood Jesus and his message.  Jesus promises to refresh us and make his burden light, not to remove it.  Holocaust survivor Victor Frankel:  "To live we must choose life; to love we must encounter life; to grow we must suffer."   Henri Nouwen:  we've been disciplines to help us with our burdens:  the Book (Bible, source of understanding God's Will), the Sacraments (to support us in our challenges), and the Heart (spiritual directors to accompany us).  Jesus, source of our peace and rest, makes our yokes easy and burdens light.
    • DailyScripture.net:  To the Jews a yoke was a sign of submission to God; they spoke of the yoke of the law, of the commandments, of the kingdom, and of God.  Jesus says his yoke is 'easy' ('well-fitting').  Yokes were tailor made to fit.  Oxen were yoked two by two.  Jesus invites us to be yoked with him, to unite our life will, and heart with his.  To be yoked with Jesus is to be united with him in love, trust, and obedience.  The yoke of Christ's kingdom liberates us from the burden of guilt and the oppression of sin.  Jesus says his "burden is light";  no burden is too heavy when given and carried in love.  When we yoke with Jesus, he carries our burdens and gives us strength to follow him.
      • Helier, hermit

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