Martes, Abril 30, 2013

From the Taize Community and the Focolare Movement

26 April 2013

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Bible texts with commentary
These Bible meditations are meant as a way of seeking God in silence and prayer in the midst of our daily life. During the course of a day, take a moment to read the Bible passage with the short commentary and to reflect on the questions which follow. Afterwards, a small group of 3 to 10 people can meet to share what they have discovered and perhaps for a time of prayer.

May 2013

Matthew 11:28-30: A Burden that Lightens our Load
Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
In a sense, we are all weary and overburdened. In our depths lies hidden a poverty which, because it frightens us, oppresses us and drags us down. In the words of this passage, Christ welcomes us in our vulnerability and does not seem to be afraid of it. “Come to me,” he says, and later on he will say: “Let the little children come to me, for the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like them” (Matthew 19:14).
Jesus seems to want to teach us to offer this inner poverty to God. It is God alone who can cover it with the right garment. Accepting our inadequacies, Christ takes upon himself what hurts us in ourselves.
And Jesus’ proposal goes even further: our shoulders do not remain empty for long. Once we have entrusted our burden to him he gives us another one, which seems to be even heavier. Jesus calls this new load a yoke, the name of the large piece of wood which connects two oxen to each other to plow or to tow something.
We are thus brought from a solitary effort to a common effort. Becoming an ox with Christ is a striking image. It recalls the image used by the prophet Isaiah, that of a suffering servant burdened with the faults of others.
Working in tandem, making a joint effort: this gesture is what connects us to God. Not only is God unafraid of our poverty, but in addition he invites us to undertake with him the great work he is accomplishing in the world: to liberate by bearing the burdens of others, especially the self-imposed burdens that are sometimes borne out of self-contempt.
This task is not one that we can achieve by ourselves. If I try to carry myself, often I will simply become a caricature of myself, so caught up in my own preoccupations that I forget everybody else or, even worse, become a burden to them. Listening to Jesus’ words, we are called rather to divest ourselves of our own worries and to accept Christ’s concerns in their place, to take upon ourselves a burden that, paradoxically, lightens our load.
This exchange recalls the very significance of Jesus’ life. In the first centuries, people dared to express it like this: Christ clothed himself with our humanity in order to clothe us with his divinity. In this way, he turns us into kings who have nothing greater to do than to carry the burdens of the little ones. Let us then offer our shoulders so that human beings are no longer victims of themselves. This is a kingly service, the beginning of the great liberation. It is the coming of the Kingdom.
- If I look at my personal life, what are the burdens I have to bear for others? Are they related to Christ’s “yoke”?
- How can we live in the best way possible the dimension of concern, of worrying about others that is part of a relationship of love?

“Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be put into your lap.”(Lk 6:38).

Has it ever happened that you received a gift from a friend and then felt you had to reciprocate — not so much because you felt obliged to pay the person back, but simply out of love and gratitude? I’m sure it has.

If you feel this way, imagine how God must feel, God who is love. God reciprocates every gift that we give to any neighbor in his name. True Christians experience this frequently. And each time it is a surprise. We can never get used to the inventiveness of God.
I could give you a thousand examples of this. I could even write a book on this subject alone, and you would see how true are the words, “A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be put into your lap.” God always reciprocates with generosity.
Here is one example. Night had fallen in Rome. In their basement apartment, a small group of young women who wanted to live the Gospel were wishing each other good night. Then the doorbell rang. Who could it be at this hour? At the door they found a panic-stricken young father. He was desperate: the following day he and his family were going to be evicted because they had been unable to pay their rent.
The women looked at one another and then, in silent agreement, went to the dresser drawer. There they kept what was left of their salaries. In envelopes marked “gas,” “electricity” and “telephone” was the money they had set aside for these bills. Without a moment’s worry about what would happen to them, they gave all the money to their visitor. That night they went to bed very happy. They knew someone else would take care of them.
Just before dawn the phone rang. It was the same man. “I’ve called a taxi, and I’m coming right over!” Amazed that he should have chosen to come by taxi, they awaited his arrival. As soon as they saw his face they knew something had changed. “Last night, as soon as I  got home,” he said. “I found I had received an inheritance I never dreamed I would get. My heart told me I should give half of it to you.” The amount he gave them was exactly twice what they had generously given him. 
“Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be put into your lap.”
Haven’t you also experienced this? If not, remember that the gift must be given with no self-interest, without hoping to get it back, and to whoever asks for it.
Try it, not so that you can see if it works, but because you love God.
You might be tempted to say, “I have nothing to give.” That’s not true. If we want to, each of us can discover that we possess inexhaustible treasures: our free time, our love, our smile, our advice, our peace, our words that might persuade someone who has to give to someone who has not.
You might also say, “I don’t know whom to give to.” Just look around you: don’t you remember that sick person in the hospital, that widow who always feels lonely, that boy in your class who failed and got discouraged, the young man who is sad because he can’t find a job, your little sister or brother who needs a helping hand, that friend who is in prison, that new person at work who is unsure of herself? In each person, Christ is waiting for you.
Put on the new style of behavior that comes from the Gospel and is the garment of a Christian. It is the exact opposite of having a closed mind or being concerned only about ourselves. Stop putting your trust in this world’s goods, and start relying on God. This will show your faith in him, and you will see from the gifts you receive that your faith is well founded.
It becomes apparent, however, that God does not give as he does in order to make us rich. He acts in this way so that many, many others, seeing the little miracles that happen to us as a result of our giving, may decide to do the same.
God also gives to us because the more we have the more we can give. He wants us to be administrators of his goods and see to it that they are distributed throughout the community around us, so that others might be able to repeat what was said of the first Christian community, “There was not a needy person among them” (Acts 4:34).
Don’t you think that in this way you too can help give a solid spiritual foundation to the social change that the world is waiting for?
“Give and it will be given to you.”
When Jesus said these words, undoubtedly he was thinking first and foremost of the reward we will receive in heaven. But the reward we receive on this earth gives us already a foretaste and a guarantee of our heavenly reward.
Chiara Lubich
(Previously published in June 1978 and October 2008)
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