OT XIV (A): Zec 9:9-10; Rom 8:9,11-13; Mt 11:25-30

 A farmer went to a government bureaucrat specializing in animal health. The farmer sought help from the “expert” because ten of his chickens had suddenly died. The government expert instructed the farmer to give aspirin to all the surviving chickens.

Two days later, however, the farmer returned. Twenty more chickens had died. What should he do now? The expert said quickly: Give all the rest castor oil.

Two days later, the farmer returned a third time and reported 30 more dead chickens. The government expert now strongly recommended penicillin.

Two days later a sad farmer showed up. All the rest of his chickens had now died. They were all gone.

“What a shame,” said the expert, “I have lots more remedies!”

The world offers many so-called remedies to the problem of stress, but the truth is most of them don’t work. The world offers many so-called solutions for the tensions and burdens that push us down and pull us apart… but the truth is there is only one Prince of Peace, who can soothe our jangled nerves and save our troubled souls.

In today's Gospel Jesus says, “Come to me. All who are exhausted and weighted down beneath your burdens, and I will give you rest….. my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

This is an imagery taken from the daily association of a farmer who used the yoke, and the carpenter who made the yoke.

It is a human tendency to mourn over our inabilities and blame God. It is common in everyone of us. We look at others talents, blessings, wealth, health and achievements.  In this despair we fail to appreciate our abilities and talents. When we are tested with trials we ask God Why me? And we fail to count the innumerable blessings that we have received.

Arthur Ashe, the legendary Wimbledon player was dying of AIDS which he got due to infected blood he received during a heart surgery in 1983.

From the world over, he received letters from his fan, one of them conveyed: "Why does God have to select you for such a bad disease?".

To this Arthur Ashe replied: The world over--50,000,000 children start playing tennis, 5,000,000 learn to play tennis, 500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach the Wimbledon, 4 to semi-finals, 2 to finals. When I was the one holding the cup, I never asked god "Why me?".

And today in pain, I should not be asking GOD "why me?".

If we can have this attitude   we will not feel that our life is overburdened with problems.  God has designed our life only according to our ability. When we compare our sufferings with that of others often we find ours problems are nothing. It is very good remember the quote, "I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.

Every heavy burden in our life will become light, if it is accepted in love.

We are burdened by many other things: business, concerns about jobs, marriage, money, health, children, security, old age and a thousand other things.

To take the yoke of Christ is to enter into relationship with Christ as his loving servants and subjects and to conduct ourselves accordingly. The yoke of Christ is not just a yoke from Christ but also a yoke with him. A yoke is fashioned for a pair -- for a team working together. So we are not yoked alone to pull the plow by our own unaided power; we are yoked together with Christ to work with Him using His strength. By saying that his “yoke is easy” (11:30), Jesus means that whatever God sends us is made to fit our needs and our abilities exactly.

There is an old story which tells how a man came upon a little boy carrying a still smaller boy, who was lame, upon his back. "That's a heavy burden for you to carry," said the man. "That's not burden," came the answer. "That's my wee brother."

The burden which is accepted in love and carried in love is always light.  A mother will never feel spending sleepless night with the suffering child a burden. So when we do things out of love what seems to be heavy burden for others will become joyful.

One of the effects of Worship for many of us is that it gives us a time for rest and refreshment when we let the overheated radiators of our hectic lives cool down before the Lord. This is especially true when we unload the burdens of our sins and worries on the altar and offer them to God during the Holy Mass.

During this holy Eucharist, let's renew our trust and faith in Jesus, and ask him to help us make the burdens of our life light and carry them with him.