Thursday of the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year A. July 20, 2017.
1st Reading: Exodus 3:13-20
Moses, hearing the voice of the LORD from the burning bush, said to him, “When I go to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” God replied, “I am who am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: I AM sent me to you.” God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.” This is my name forever; this my title for all generations. “Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and tell them: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I am concerned about you and about the way you are being treated in Egypt; so I have decided to lead you up out of the misery of Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.” Thus they will heed your message. Then you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him: “The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent us word. Permit us, then, to go a three-days’ journey in the desert,that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God.” Yet I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless he is forced. I will stretch out my hand, therefore, and smite Egypt by doing all kinds of wondrous deeds there. After that he will send you away.” The word of the Lord.
Resp Ps:105:1 & 5, 8-9, 24-25, 26-27
R/. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
Holy Gospel: Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus said: “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.” The gospel of the Lord.
THURSDAY REFLECTIONS:
This invitation from Jesus is one that we may need to hear far more often than we realize. It’s a gentle invitation to let our Lord lighten our daily burden, relieve our worries, our stress, our concerns and all that weighs us down. It’s an invitation of love and mercy and is one we should always accept. Sometimes we can go through life with heavy burdens that we are afraid to let go of. We can be fearful of coming to Jesus and fearful of letting Him in. Coming to Jesus means we must face whatever it is that burdens us with honesty and openness and we must face these burdens in the presence of Jesus.
What is it that burdens us? What is it that weighs us down and tempts us to fall into depression, sorrow or even despair? Is there something that we tend to think about obsessively? Is there some concern that we can’t seem to shake? Whatever it is that troubles our hearts, Jesus wants to lift it. But the key thing we need to know is that Jesus is gentle, merciful and generous in forgiveness and grace. He longs to lift our burdens far more than we long to have them lifted. He sees the oppression many face and so deeply desires to have that oppression eliminated.
Together we pray: Lord, I do come to You and I do lay down my life and every burden before You. I give You my life, my hopes, my fears, my past, my future and everything that worries me. Jesus, I give You everything. Jesus, I trust in You that You alone will heal our sick brethren and set them free. May the souls of our faithful departed brethren rest in perfect peace, amen.