Mt 11:28-30 Come To Me
Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Come to me. This morning, after reading the Gospel, I asked myself the question: How does one come to the Lord? What does “come to me” mean? Immediately the word trust came to me. To come to the Lord means to trust in the Lord: Speak as I speak, live as I live, forgive as I forgive, love as I love, do as I do.
Come to me all you who are burdened. Why do I feel so overburdened? Why do I feel the weight of the world upon my shoulders? Why do I end the day totally exhausted and in fear? Again, almost immediately, this thought came to me: Because you are trying to play God. Yes, that’s it! It’s true. I’m trying to be God and I am failing miserably. I can’t keep up. I can’t do it all. I can’t keep thinking about the past, what will happen in the future, and what I will do about it all. I can’t! I’m tired. “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”
I must trust in the Lord. I must imitate the Lord, not replace Him. I understand: there is a God and I am not Him. Be meek and humble of heart.
I am not here to say to you that what I have written above is easy to do. Of course not! It’s not easy to let go and allow the Lord to take control. We all face difficult choices to make. But the Lord is inviting us to choose Him. If we want to play it safe, then the Lord invites us to play it safe with Him. If we commit an error in giving up too much to Him, then He is invites us to err on His side.
It happens far more often than we would like to think. It’s not easy to have a child. I know many who were blessed with many children. I know some who were blessed with no children. Sometimes those with many are criticized by those with a few. Sometimes those with a few are criticized by those with many. What’s important to remember is that all are blessed when all trust in the Lord.
There’s no need to fight over that!
Tragedy will always strike when we choose to play God; when I place an enormous burden and a unbearable yoke around my neck. That’s when I will feel like I am being choked to death.
Many years ago, as a seminarian, I met a couple that had two kids. After the birth of their second child, they decided they were done. Not too long after that, they lost one child in a terrible - freak - accident. [Their grandfather ran over him while backing up in the driveway]. The couple was racked with guilt and burdened with doubts. They asked me if the Lord had done this to them because of the decision they had made. What was I going to tell them? Could I speak for the Lord? Could I put words in His mouth? Could I be absolutely sure of what I was going to say? I don’t know how I did it, but I did not tell them what I wanted to tell them. Instead, I told them the truth. I said, “I don’t know.”
Over the years these types of heartbreaking stories have repeated themselves over and over again.
But over the years I have learned something. I’ve learned it myself and I’ve learned it the hard way: If I want to play God, then I must be ready to go all the way; that is, I must be prepared to raise the dead. Go ahead, raise the dead!
If not, then take comfort: Don’t play God.
Sometimes "I don't know" is a very comforting line! When I lay in bed at night I try to solve the world's problems...and when I don't know the answers it is nice to know that someone has the answers, God. It gives you peace, if God wanted you to know everything he would of made you God:) At the end of the night I usually end up telling Jesus, " wow, you made a really complicated world! I don't know all the answers, so I am sure glad you do!!!!!!!!!" I bet if people left things to the Lord, there would be alot more smiling people with a lot lighter burdens.
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I guess God's the only one who knows why a man would massacre at least 12 people at a batman screening in Colorado last night....horrible.
ReplyDeleteThe Buddhist monks try to reach Nirvana solely through meditation: it’s a psychological “place” where there is no fear and no desire. There is only peace. Many, many have accomplished this feat. As I was studying more about this, Psalm 23 came to mind: “Shepard me, oh Lord, beyond my wants, beyond my fears, from death into life.” Is this not the exact same thing? Christ reiterates this for us; we can learn so much from this!!!! Be still and know that I am God!
ReplyDeleteBut He also gave us so much more: one of them being the understanding that God is Love. Why was John the ‘beloved’ disciple? John BELIEVED in the love of God! He truly KNEW in every cell of his being (his subconscious) that Jesus loved him immensely – that is why he had no fear. He felt loved! And he could love as much in return b/c he was completely free: free from fear, free from desire, b/c he had everything that every soul was made for: God’s Love. We know w/our heads that Jesus loves us (consciously), but we have to go much deeper than that. Even though Peter said he would always acknowledge Jesus, he became fearful of the others. Did he not really trust, really believe that everything that happened to him was b/c Jesus loved him so much? It took him a lifetime to understand that. But once he got it, he did raise Tabitha from the dead only w/the grace of God. Look out Father! As you said, it is terribly hard to do. Everything, everything that happens to me is only for my good; it is b/c of the Love of God. It’s all good – it just may not seem like it humanly speaking. I continue to pray, accepting God’s constant voice that tells me He Loves me. The more I accept this, w/o doing anything about it, the more I believe it. Then, I can love others in a different way, (like Peter who was moved by compassion for Tabitha & co), not out of obligation or laws or the ‘shoulds’ of the world that are laid upon me, but b/c I 'want' to give them something that I have: God’s Love. It’s the most perfect gift I could ever receive: it takes away my fears and desires!
Easier said than done.
Well, WOW!!!!! I'm absolutely positive this is THE best added meditation I've ever read!!! It is full of hope and and understanding of how our lives COULD be if we would just open our hearts fully to receive God's love in the way He intends to give it! My heart is beating just a little quicker with excitement! Bless you!
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