How is it that people defy Jesus? He says: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Mtt 11: 29) In this age of individualism we accept no yoke and will not learn. In the song "My Way" the lyrics state:
For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way!
In the contemporary mind there is an heroic aspect to the defiant and self justifying individual who lives a lonely life on a lonely planet in a lonely Universe. There is no rest. The person plaintively demands: "You must accept me as I am!" What a contrast to the lives of the saints! They endure burdens, suffering and persecution and through it all they are sustained by the one who has loved them. The heart of the Lord feels for all humanity not just as an abstract but for each and everyone, epecially the small ones - those who trust in him. Lonely and crushed we may be at times but we are never alone and never unloved. What a contrast to the sentiments of "My Way"! St Paul, about to be martyred for the faith wrote: "At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen." (2 Tim 4: 16-18)
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