Daily Readings Reflection for 7/15/10

Reflection on Today’s Daily Readings by Fr. Bertrand Buby, SM

Scripture: July 5, Lectionary # 392. Isaiah 26:7-9.122.16-19. Psalm
102:13-14.15.16-18.19-21. Matthew 11:28-30:

St. Ignatius of Loyola encouraged those who make the Spiritual Exercises to
do a lot of creative imagining with the Sacred Scriptures. We are to place
ourselves in the Presence of Jesus and imagine him speaking to us and
leading us on his journeys.

In our liturgical texts for this day we may wish to use our creative
imagination with the texts of Isaiah, Psalm 102, and Matthew's beautiful
excerpt on the words of Jesus so familiar to us. Our imagination and
memory are supportive of reflective prayer and lection divina (a pondering
over in a spiritual way the texts for the day). Imagination helps us to be
motivated and we often gain some new insights from the texts we pray or
listen to.

Both the text of Isaiah and that of the Psalm have us entering into the
heart and mind of the great Prophet Isaiah and that of a very prayerful and
creative musician and poet, the Psalmist. Both readings are quite personal
and are addressed as someone identified as "I" (Isaiah) and "I" (the
Psalmist) to God as Thou. Thus we have the beginning of an I-Thou
relationship with God through these passages that become our creative
material for prayer. Recently, a young man on a Catholic campus was
wearing a T-shirt with the saying "Invite God In" this is just what we need
to hear if we are inclined to egoism which one spiritual writers has made
into a mneumonic from the Ego vocable to "Edging God Out." That, of course,
leads us away from an I-Thou relationship not only with God but even with
friends and neighbors.

God is listening to Isaiah just as we are. God does not speak in these two
excerpts of Psalm and Prophet. We wonder what God would say and now as the
Gospel is read we have the answer through what Jesus says to us very
directly in his I-Thou relationship with us. "Come to me, all you who are
weary and find life burdensome and I will refresh you. I am gentle and
humble of heart." His words are so consoling and comforting that they need
no interpretation. They are words from a friend to a friend who needs to
hear the divine voice of Jesus. Jesus is that friend. All we have to do is
to open our ears, our hearts and minds to the words of the Lord. If we do,
we will find ourselves at peace and at prayer. Amen.