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.”
Reflection: If you have ever seen a ‘yoke’, it becomes obvious that it was intended for two beasts of burden. That allows for two things to happen; the first is that with two pulling a cart, the load becomes lighter for each, and the second is that the animals can travel twice as far before becoming tired and needing rest. We all will need to pull loads in our lives, that’s just how life is for us. We all must work to earn wages to enable us to eat, have clothes to wear and to have shelter over our heads. Wouldn’t it be better to share this burden with another?
Jesus is offering each one of us to share in His yoke. He wants us to learn from Him from all His teachings (Gospels) and be more like Him. And to share what we learn from Him with everyone we encounter on our road of life, so that they too can lighten their load in life. Each and everyone of us could use some extra help once and awhile, I know I do.
How fitting that today we celebrate the memorial of Saint Ambrose. Saint Ambrose is of particular significance to ‘Plan Bee’ as he is the first patron saint of bees, beekeepers, and even candle makers. He is often depicted with bees and beehives- symbols that also indicate wisdom. We all know how important that bees are in nature. Bees are also the epidemy of how teamwork is in nature.
Action of the Day: Look for ways to be more selfless in your everyday life. It is the small gifts, of help, that we do for our brothers and sister, neighbors, co-workers, that have the biggest impact to another’s life. Try to be more aware of your surroundings and those who need help, don’t turn a blind eye to those in need!
Jesus said to his disciples: “What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”
Reflection:
As we continue on our journey toward Christmas this Advent, Jesus tells a parable that to all the shepherds He knew would say was absolutely crazy. Would a self-respecting shepherd really leave ninety-nine sheep at risk to save one that had gone missing? The answer is “of course not!” But, Jesus is making a different point here – one about the boundless love of our Father for each of us.
The shepherd in this parable of Jesus is the Father. And, if any of His children go astray, He will literally chase after us, trying to draw us back, and it is safe to say that He rejoices every time that one of His children is redeemed in that way. One other point, though: I don’t think it is correct at all to say that God somehow abandons His faithful children when He is seeking one who is lost. That’s a human limitation. God is all-knowing, all-loving, and all-present. He never leaves any of us!
This is an example of Jesus using a common literary device of the time: exaggeration. Remember the Gospels record Him saying to cut off our hands if they cause us to sin, or to gouge out our eyes. Jesus is using a kind of exaggeration here, to make a point. The shepherds who heard these words would have understood. They loved their sheep and did their best to keep them safe. They would leave the rest if one went missing, but knew that the rest of the sheep would be at risk. God does not have this limitation. Jesus was using this to show how much more even than these shepherds love their sheep that He loves each of us, His children.
Part of what we do each Advent is prepare our own hearts for Jesus. God longs that we live as His children, and follow the example of Jesus. May we take time this Advent to ponder that amazing love that God has for us, and strive even more to stay close to Him. But, let us be heartened that, even if we do wander away, that loving shepherd will seek us out and will not rest until we are back in His arms again. What a wonderful joy to consider this Advent, and always!
Action for the Day:
Take time today to say a prayer of thanks to Jesus, our Good Shepherd, and ask that we do our best to be loving members of His flock, and that we share that love with someone today who especially needs to receive it.
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One day as Jesus was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there, and the power of the Lord was with him for healing. And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed; they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence. But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “As for you, your sins are forgiven.” Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who but God alone can forgive sins?” Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply, “What are you thinking in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”– he said to the one who was paralyzed, “I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.” He stood up immediately before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, “We have seen incredible things today.”
Reflection: There are several lessons in this story. The obvious lesson is that the faith of the paralytic saved him but let’s look a little deeper. For example, the Pharisees and Scribes who doubted Jesus and His teachings were present and attended this gathering. So, if they didn’t believe in Him then why were they there? Were they too paralyzed with their power and greed?
In this miracle, Jesus performs both a spiritual and a physical healing. The Spiritual is the faith of this man. The physical is the assistance from his friends. But the real truth to this story is that the paralyzed man would not have been able to get to Jesus without the spiritual and physical help from his friends. So, the faith that is taught in this story is the “Faith of the friends”. Can you think of anyone who needs a helping hand from you? How about yourself, do you need spiritual or physical help from friends? I know I do.
There are times when we need to be assisted and we must ask for healing, or to help others to do so. It was the faith of his friends and not the paralyzed man’s own faith to which Jesus responded, “And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “My friend, your sins are forgiven.” When we forgive, and when we are forgiven, a crippling burden is lifted from our shoulders. We can then, like the man in this episode, rise and walk with the rest of our friends.
The man’s friends were not easily put off because of the large crowd. They used a team effort, their creativity, and the willingness to succeed to ensure that their paralyzed friend meets Jesus. Isn’t that what our church needs? Isn’t that what our life is really about? We are all in this together so shouldn’t it be a reasonable concept to succeed together as one group, one entity through unity?
This story always reminds me about something beautiful, responsive, and fun. Think about this story and its success. Now through your “Imaginative” power, what do you think this man and his friends did after all this happened? My guess would be that they probably laughed and cried with joy! They probably went to one of their homes and had a great feast. Imagine the joy, the love, the satisfaction that lived in their hearts. They not only cured a friend’s illness, but they witnessed Jesus Christ and was part of one of His miracles.
Isn’t that what this world around us needs during this Advent season? We are remembering the first coming of a Savior, and we are also preparing a welcome for Our Lord in our own hearts, and in the world of today. We need to prepare our community and bring “Joy to the World”.
Action of the Day: Think about those that you can assist. How could you bring joy to their world?
As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out, “Son of David, have pity on us!” When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they said to him. Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.
Reflection: Who is Jesus? This question is much more easily answered today than it was at the time Jesus walked the Earth. Today we are blessed with countless saints who have gone before us who have prayerfully and intelligently taught much about the person of Jesus. We know Him to be God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, and the Savior of the World, the promised Messiah, the Sacrificial Lamb and so much more.
Todays Gospel comes from the conclusion of the miracle in which Jesus healed two blind men. These men were overwhelmed with their cure, and their emotion overtook them. Jesus instructed them to “See that no one knows about this” miraculous healing. But their excitement could not be contained. It’s not that they were intentionally disobedient to Jesus; rather, they did not know how else to express their sincere gratitude other than to tell others about what Jesus had done.
One reason Jesus told them not to tell others about Him is because Jesus knew they did not fully understand Who He was. He knew that their testimony about Him would fail to present Him in the way that was most truthful. He was the Lamb of God. The Savior. The Messiah. The Sacrificial Lamb. He was the One Who came into this world to redeem us by the shedding of His blood. Many of the people, however, wanted a nationalistic “messiah” or a miracle worker alone. They wanted one who would save them from political oppression and make them a great earthly nation. But this was not Jesus’ mission.
Oftentimes we can also fall into the trap of misunderstanding Who Jesus is and Who He wants to be in our lives. We can want a “god” who will save us only from our daily struggles, injustices and temporal difficulties. We can want a “god” who acts in accord with our will and not vice versa. We want a “god” who will heal us and free us of every earthly burden. But Jesus taught clearly throughout His life that He would suffer and die. He taught us that we must take up our own crosses and follow Him. And He taught us that we are to die, embrace suffering, offer mercy, turn the other cheek, and find our glory in that which the world will never understand.
Action of the Day: Reflect, today, upon whether Jesus would caution you about speaking too loudly about your vision of Who He is. Do you struggle with presenting a “god” who is not actually God? Or have you come to know the very Person of Christ our Lord to such an extent that you are able to give witness to Him Who died. Do you boast only in the Cross? Do you proclaim Christ crucified and preach only the deepest wisdom of humility, mercy and sacrifice? Recommit yourself to a true proclamation of Christ, setting aside any and all confused images of our saving God.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”
Reflection: I’ve never been much of a handy man, just ask Ana, my wife. However, I have tackled a few projects in my time. From furniture that comes in a box to be assembled, patching drywall, and some amateur gardening. After many trials and more errors, I have learned to follow directions and use the appropriate tools. It seems that this is what we are encouraged to consider in today’s gospel. Maybe the saying “proper preparation prevents poor performance” applies here.
In this first week of Advent, we are preparing for two things, the celebration of when the Word was made flesh and for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. It would be true to say that we should prepare every day, all year long for when we are called home. But we are truly blessed that our Church, in her wisdom, guides us through special seasons throughout our liturgical year. This is a time to recall the most significant revelation of God’s relationship with all of us. He humbled himself to become like us so he could share in His divinity.
So how are we preparing, or as today’s gospel clearly says, on what kind of foundation are we building our spiritual dwelling. It would be safe to say that we have all deceived ourselves into thinking we can build anywhere and succeed only to face the misery of countless failures. At some point we realize that our plan will never work unless we align ourselves with the will of God and build upon the cornerstone of the church, Jesus Christ.
As we have witnessed, those who build on and around the only foundation that weathers any storm overcome life’s greatest challenges. But remember, the storms will come. And in the midst of these storms, we are to hold on and trust that our foundation will keep us anchored to the love, mercy, and compassion of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Action of the Day: Let’s all focus on the condition of our spiritual foundation. If it is on solid ground, then help someone fortify theirs. If it needs maintenance get to work. Ongoing concern and care for who our anchor is will enable us not just to survive but to thrive!
