Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reassured and comforted once again by the Lord through what we have heard in our Scripture passages, telling us all that we are all beloved and dear to Him, and nothing will happen to us without Him knowing it, and He will always take care of us even when we are suffering great persecutions and challenges in life, such as what the people of God, the Israelites had suffered in the past during their enslavement in Egypt. In God’s time and plan, He would rescue them all out of their predicament, sending His deliverance and help, as He has frequently done throughout history and perhaps to all of us as well. It is often that when we look back at what happened then we all realise what God had done and how He has always been there for us.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Exodus, we heard of the moment when God told Moses exactly what he was to do as he was sent to the land of Egypt to face the Pharaoh of Egypt and to tell the Israelites at the same time about the coming of God’s deliverance and salvation for His people. Moses was unsure and doubtful about how 

he could do such a work, as he was rather uncharismatic and had difficulties with words, not eloquent and was also unsure how he could introduce the Lord to the people who had been suffering a lot in hardships in their lives in slavery. But the Lord reassured Moses and told him that He would guide him and be with him throughout his ministry, his works and ordeals, in guiding His people out of their sufferings.

The Lord reassured Moses by telling him everything that He would do wonders through him, and made it clear to him what he would encounter and all the challenges that he would have to face in the midst of his ministry and works. Linking to the later Gospel passage of today, this is a reminder for us that God’s mission and calling for us is something that may be full of challenges and difficulties, but we must not be afraid to take them up because ultimately, like Moses himself, who accepted his calling and ministry, he trusted wholeheartedly in the Lord and putting his faith in His Providence, doing everything with God’s guidance and help, not by depending on his own strength or power. Otherwise, if he and the Israelites had used their own strength and means to liberate themselves, without God’s guidance, it would have been impossible.

Then, as we listened from our Gospel passage today, from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we are reminded of God’s great and ever enduring love for each one of us, and how all of us as the beneficiaries of this wonderful love should trust in Him and believe in His path, and all that He has called on us all to do in our respective lives. The Lord told His disciples and followers that they all should put their trust and faith in God, and put their trust in the yoke that He offered to them. Why the imagery and comparison to a yoke? Again, the Lord was using this metaphor to deliver His intentions and teachings to the people, using terms that many of them were familiar with so that they could appreciate its meaning and understand better.

For many people who were working in the fields, as farmers and others who were aware of the agriculture works, the yoke is the burden placed onto beasts of burden, animals like buffaloes and oxen, or donkeys and mules which helped them to shoulder the weight of carriages and other weights placed on them. Therefore, this symbolism of the yoke is meant by Christ Himself to highlight that becoming His disciples and followers would mean struggles and difficulties will be part of those who have chosen to do so, but at the same time, He reassured all those, all of us who have embraced Him as our Lord, Master and Saviour that we will not have it difficult beyond our means to carry those burdens and endure them, it will be easier than we think it is.

As mentioned earlier, following Christ does not mean for us to enjoy all happiness, comfort and joy, unlike what some would have believed, and unlike what some people actually taught about believing in God, that this would have led to blessings and more good things, something known as the ‘Prosperity Gospel’. While it is indeed much nice, easier and more enticing to believe in that manner, that following God would have led to an easier and less challenging path for us, we must not understood what we have heard from our Gospel passage today and what is to be expected of our journey in life as Christians, as the disciples and followers of the Lord. We should not think that being the disciples of the Lord would mean instantaneous liberation from hardships and trials, as we might have hoped to be.

But the truth is that following the Lord would mean that we may have to choose the harder path or what may seem to be harder one as compared to the alternatives that we may have. Why is that so? That is because the alternative path, the path of worldliness and the paths advocated by the evil ones seeking our destruction will naturally look more attempting and pleasing for us. However, they all ultimately lead to destruction and damnation for us, and we must not easily be swayed by short term gains and pleasures which lead to us denying the true happiness, joy and satisfaction that will be ours if we remain firm in our faith and commitment to the Lord. And why the Lord said that His yoke is lighter and easier despite all these? That is because we are not alone in this journey, as the Lord is with us, always.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, our Lord is carrying our burdens, our crosses in life with us, journeying and walking with us at each and every moments of our journey. We must not forget that the Lord has always been faithful to His Covenant with His beloved people, and all the love that He has constantly shown us. And that is why today we are again reminded of this great love, and we should therefore do our best to live our lives most worthily as Christians, in obeying God’s will and doing our part to glorify Him and to proclaim His truth and Good News by our lives and examples. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.