To be Christian is not above all about fulfilling a task, a list of things to do. It is

about welcoming, though faith (a faith entwined with hope and love), the immense

gift offered freely to us. To live the gospel means learning to receive in our human

heart, with its limits and weaknesses, all the richness of the Father’s merciful love,

letting ourselves be transformed by it day after day, responding freely and

generously to it, and sharing it with those whom the Lord places on our path. (Fr.

Jacques Philippe)

To be a Christian means to be in relationship with the one Person who has changed our

lives for the best. We would not be who we are if we were not created in the image and

likeness of God, if the Son had not become man and had not given his life for us, if the

Spirit had not share God's divine life with us. To be a Christian is spend our lives

responding to all that God has and is doing in our lives, knowing that our response will

always be inadequate in comparison to what we have received. To be a Christian is do

what we have been commissioned to do: to share with others the Good News of God's

love with others. In other words, to be a Christian is not an obligation and a task but a

response and a joy that is obvious to all around. Rejoice, O Christian!

 

Cardinal Ratzinger said, referring to the dark night of faith St. Therese endured in the last months of her life: “When you sense God is absent, it is not that He has withdrawn His presence from you. It is, rather, that He is present to you now in a new form: under the form of yearning. And yearning stretches your capacity for love.”

Pray for this grace of yearning that leads to greater love, when you experience the sense of God's absence. God is never absent, because he loves us so much. But he allows us to experience a sense of absence, so that our desire for him can grow in a deeper and more fulfilling way. It is the yearning of the heart that seeks the good, the perfect and the beautiful. Things can't fulfill this deeper longing, only the source of life and love can. God doesn't want us to settle for the less when we can have the more. It was only the love for the Father that enable Jesus to endure the cruel sufferings of crucifixion for our sake. His cry: "I thirst" was an expression of this yearning for the Father. Thirst for the Lord. Seek the Lord with your whole heart until the moment you will see him face to face. Then your yearnings will be fulfilled.

 Jesus said: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you res. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." (Mt.11:28-30)

Each of us has our own struggles and burdens in life, some greater than others. At times, we are overwhelmed by the heaviness of the weight upon us. Jesus knows the burdens of human life, for he was like us in all things but sin. He gives us a plan of action. First, come to him. Be in relationship with him. Seek him. Second, instead of carrying the load on our own, as we have been doing unsuccessfully, he invites us to share our burdens with him by yoking ourselves to him. In doing so, he doesn't promise to take our burdens away from us, but to share with us his strength and love as together we carry the cross (like Simon of Cyrene). What he does promise is to bring us an inner peace and resolve, for we know that we are not alone and that Jesus, whose grace is sufficient, is with us. We don't need to prove anything to anyone. We don't need to remain independent, struggling under the weight of our cross. But united with Christ and dependent upon his grace, we can walk our personal Way of the Cross. 

 

"Is our faith unconditional or conditional, total or partial? Is our faith based on conditions. Are we like Christians who say 'I am Christian but on the condition that things are done this way'. Am I a smorgasbord Christian, picking and choosing what I will believe and passing over what I do not accept? Is my faith in God or in myself? These Christians are afraid to grow, are afraid of life’s challenges, are afraid of the Lord’s challenges.” (Pope Francis)

Our faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is based on his revelations and the truth he has revealed. Even though I am free, I can't call myself a Christian, a follower of Jesus the Christ, if I don't accept what he and his Church, through the Holy Spirit, has revealed to us about what is morally right or morally wrong. It is better for those who can't believe in what is revealed to walk away than to become a false disciple.  The smorgasbord Christian is walking on the wide road; the faithful Christian choses the narrow road. A sin is a sin. We have no right to determine the rightness or wrongness of an action. We are not God. The commands of the Lord are clear. We are called to follow his commands, not choose what we will follow or not. 

 Sixteenth Sunday Gospel C

Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. 

· Martha, Mary and Lazarus were close friends of Jesus. They lived in Bethany outside of Jerusalem. This is probably where Jesus and the disciples stayed when they went to Jerusalem.

· Mary assumes the position of a disciple, sitting beside Jesus at his feet and listening to him. It indicates that Jesus had both men and women disciples.

Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” 

· Trying to feed a group of more than fifteen people was a major task for one person. Martha feels that her sister should share the load.

The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

· Jesus reminds her and us that there is a priority in life: Listening to the word of God because there is a great hunger in one’s heart for the truth is prior to sharing in the preparation of a meal. Both are good but one is greater.

· What causes us anxiety? What is the real issue underlying our anxiety? What was it for Martha?

· What is our priority in our daily life? How much quality time do we spend listening to the Lord? How much time do we spend doing things, even for the Lord?

· What message do we take and apply in our lives from reflecting on this passage?

 

When St. Teresa of Avila was 9 years old, she briefly ran away from home looking to be martyred by the Moors. When her parents returned her home and demanded an explanation, she explained her motive: “I want to see God.”

She, in her innocence and deep faith, wanted to be martyred, so she could be with God and see him. She captured in her youth the ultimate purpose of her life: God. For this she was created. Naively, she wanted to skip the steps of life and go directly to the end. She came to realize that before she could see God in eternity, she had to grow in relationship with him in time. Her love for God grew through many sufferings and struggles. The way to the top of the mountain was difficult. But she persevered, because she knew that being and seeing God was worth whatever she had to die to. How strong is our desire to see and be with God? What are we willing to die to, to let go of, so that we can reach the top of our mountain? The climb is slow and laboriously, but the vista is worth it.

 In today's Gospel we read: "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." God is not asking us not to love our parents or our children. That would be contrary to the Fourth Commandment: "Honor your father and mother." This is a natural, God-made bond. But it must yield to a greater bond, that between God and us. God made us in his own image and likeness, while our parents brought us into life. Our parents gave us the opportunity to live an earthly life. God gives us the grace to live eternally with him. God wants us to love him first, not because he needs our love. We need him. "Our hearts are restless unless they rest in you, my God." (St. Augustin) 

It is because of our need to love God first that we are called to love our parents or our children or others, secondly. It does not take away from the love of others, but only gives our love its true priority and worth. It is because I love God first that I choose to love others as well. What Jesus is reminding us of is the great Schema in the Old Testament. "Hear, O Israel. You shall love God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your strength. You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Is our priority in right order?