11.12.24 Sayap Elang: Terbang Tinggi Bersama Beban yang Ringan

Wednesday 2nd week of Advent "Mt 11:28-30" "Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." For some the demands of being a disciple of Jesus are too much. They feel overwhelmed with all their responsibilities: 'I have to pray, to offer sacrifices, to finish my work, do my jobs, to live charity with this person, to read, to...' They feel like they are doing more than everyone else. They are anxious, stressed, harassed, worried, frenetic... they spend the day complaining and don't find time for God. There is a rule we can follow to know whether a burden comes from God or not: its weight. If it is from God, He helps us to carry it. There is a joke about a tough man, very strong, who was helping his mother to move house, taking the furniture to a neighbouring one. A wardrobe didn't fit in the lorry. Being just one mile away, his mum told him to ask his brother for help and between them both to take it to the new house. After half an hour the lady saw her husky son approaching the house alone, staggering and sweating beneath the wardrobe. She opened the door and blurted out, "Didn't I tell you to ask your brother for help?" "But he is helping," replied the son, "he is inside holding the hangers!" Sometimes we are like that. The burden is heavy because we don't know how to accept it and we don't ask Our Lord for help; but Our Lord never sends us anything we can't cope with. His yoke is easy, He says. Have you seen those ladies carrying heavy burdens on their heads? The secret is in the 'balance'. In our lives, to cope with all our responsibilities, the secret is also 'balance': balance between prayer and action. Those burdens, taken for and with Jesus, become opportunities to sanctify ourselves. Complaining about your burdens would be like a bird complaining about the weight of its wings! Wings are a lovely burden for an eagle, for they allow it to soar! Mary, my Mother, may I never complain about the burden that God puts on my shoulders but rather, give thanks to Him and use that to soar to the heights of holiness.