God is on the Cross March 17th, 2014 [In honor of St. Patrick Day, the Psalms will be replaced with Celt in Prayers.] The Yoke that makes the Burden Light Invocation: From the dawning of the day through the morning, guide us, From the noontime to the setting of the sun, lead us, From the evening till we sleep, keep us, Through the night till daybreak, protect us, all for Your loves sake. Request for Presence: God the Father, enfold us with Your love; God the Son, surround us with Your presence; God the Spirit, revitalize us with Your power. Surround, enfold, revitalize us Each day, each night. Refrain: Lord of the morning, we give thanks for energy and enthusiasm, for the challenges of a new day, for Your Resurrection power. Lesson from.Bonhoeffer: The Yoke that makes the Burden Light Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me.... (Matt 11:28-30). A yoke itself is a burden, one burden added to another, and yet it has the peculiar nature of making another burden light. A burden that would certainly push a person down to the ground becomes bearable through the yoke.....Jesus wants to put us human beings under such a yoke, so that our burden will not become too heavy for us. My yoke He calls it--that is, the yoke under which He has learned to carry His burden, which is a thousand times heavier than our burden, precisely because it is indeed all our burdens that He bears... Those who carry this yoke, and thus learn from Him, have a great promise: ....you will find rest for your souls. That Is the end. The rest is the last thing, and it is already here under the yoke of Jesus. It is yoked together with Him in gentleness and humility. But only there where all burdens fall will we find the complete rest that we long for. Refrain: Lord of the morning, we give thanks for energy and enthusiasm, for the challenges of a new day, for Your Resurrection power. Meditation: There is a mistaken notion in contemporary Christendom that conversion is the end of labor; that there is nothing we need do after receiving Christ because He has done all. This reasoning is the rot of the indolent and the sloth. Christ invites us to a yoke, His own yoke, and what is a yoke but a device of labor. Usually the yoke must be strapped onto an animal after it has been trapped inside by force. But Christ invites us to bow our necks in abject humility and to stick our own heads through. The invitation to discipleship is an invitation to labor that benefits the household. The grain must be tread; people must be fed! Yet, far from a tortuous device, this yoke comes with promises. The load will be easy, the burden light. There are two facts about the yoke that makes this true. First a yoke is designed for two to tread together, one stronger than the other, guiding the other, and bearing the lions share of the burden. The heavier end of this yoke belongs to Christ Christ Himself. It is His yoke and His labor we are called to share. Second, the yoke Is tailor made to fit us, designed to specification. It neither Chaffes nor slips, it fits us perfectly , enabling comfort. Make no mistake, however, there is simply no way to be partnered with Christ and remain in yoked or without labor. The Prayer Appointed for the Week: O Lord, You have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send Your Holy Spirit and pour into my heart Your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before You. Grant this for the sake of Your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. The Concluding Prayer of the Church: Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, You have brought me in safety to this new day: Preserve me with Your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all I do direct me to the fulfilling of Your purpose; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen. A blessed day of remembrance of St. Patrick of Ireland to all!
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 19:40:02 +0000
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