These hot summer days bring us together to the Eucharistic celebration to place our stress, worries, fears and anxieties on the altar and allow Jesus to cool down the overheated radiators of our hectic lives. We come to unload the burdens of our sins and worries every time we gather for worship and offer them and ourselves to God during the Holy Mass. Jesus wants to lift off our backs the burdens that suck the life out of us, so that He can place around our necks His yoke of grace that brings us new life, new energy, and new joy. We are called, not only to find peace, refreshment and rest for ourselves, but also to live the kind of life through which others, too, may find God's peace, God's refreshing grace, and the joy of placing their lives in God's hands.
For us to truly experience the power of the Eucharist requires a great deal of humility and humbleness as we turn to God for guidance. For that reason, St. Paul in our second reading today said that if we live according to the flesh, that is to the spirit of this world, the prejudices of our upbringing, the natural tendency which is in all of us, to fight fire with fire, to take an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth, to defend ourselves by retaliation or threat, will not bring us a success. For that reason, Jesus comes to us again today with His words calling us to come and to learn from Him, for He is meek and humble of heart. These were obviously very important virtues Jesus taught His followers. These were very important values Paul taught the first Christians.
Unfortunately in our society today, gentleness and humility are no longer valued. They are rather despised, confused with being a door-mat, lacking backbone, or being unable or unwilling to stand up for one’s self rights. Self-assertiveness is much more highly prized, while violence is promoted and even glorified in movies, games, on TV, and in politics. In a way, we have lost the sense of discipleship Christ calls us to embrace.
Faithful discipleship calls us to a self-sacrificing love…a love which knows no bounds when the good of the other is at stake. It calls us to let go of our self-importance, to become meek and humble like Jesus, and to serve others. In everyday terms this means that we always seek God’s will in our lives. That is why we truly trust God. It is not an easy task, but it is the mission of Christ. It is our mission as the Body of Christ – His church… a mission to bring every mind, heart and will together into unity through the union with the mind and heart of Christ. The Church, of whom we are at every level of our existence– at home, among friends, at work– needs to work tirelessly for service to the world. In every place and situation, our mission is to help each other to recognize Jesus who is “gentle and humble of heart.”
On Saturday, our nation celebrates the Fourth of July- Independence Day- one of the most important national holidays. This is a day to thank God for the political and religious freedom we enjoy and to pray for God’s special blessings on the leaders and the people of our country. It is the day to remember the basic principle underlined in the constitution that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is day to remind ourselves that we have a duty to protect these God-given rights by living our lives with integrity that builds our character to reflect that belief that every human person regardless of color, faith, or orientation has inalienable rights.