A missionary once arrived on a forlorn islands in the South Pacific Ocean.

After having acquainted himself with some aspects of the local culture, in a bid to start his evangelization work, he wanted to translate the Gospel of John into the native language.

However as he started his translation work, he realised that there was not a single word – atleast to his knowledge  –  which meant “believe” in the native language.

Now the word “believe” is a very much occurring word in the Gospel of John (it occurs around 90 times!) .

Therefore not to have an equivalent word in the native language, was a big blow to the translation process!
So he laid the manuscript aside….

A few days later however, one of the native workers who had been out, over the hills, in some Christian service, came in to this missionary’s office.

Sitting in one chair and putting his feet up on another, that man used a native word which meant, “I am resting my whole weight on these two chairs.”

And there was one native word which meant all this – “I am resting my whole weight upon”

That ‘word’ hit the missionary like a lightening!
He got the word that he was searching for – equivalent for “believe”!

He translated the Gospel of John, and every time he needed a word for “believe,” he put in that word which meant, “I am resting my whole weight upon”

Well, how would that look like…

Lets see, for example…
• John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whosoever “rests his whole weight upon Him” should not perish, but have everlasting life”!
• John 1: 12: But to those who did accept Him, he gave power to become children of God, to those who “rested their whole weight upon him”

The Gospel of the Day is this invitation of the Lord to “rest our whole weight on Him”
Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened; and I will give you rest” (Mt 11: 28)

The two words that are used in this verse “labour” and “burdened” and worth considering…
• The Greek word used for “labour” is “kopiao”
 Kopiao refers to the one who is labouring to the point of exhaustion

• The Greek word used for “burdened” is ” phortizo”
 Phortizo refers to the one who is carrying a burden for a long time.

Therefore the invitation of Jesus is to those who are…
… labouring to the point of exhaustion
… carrying the burden for a long time

Do not many of us, if not all of us, qualify ourselves for this invitation of the Lord?

• Are we not people who often labour to the point of exhaustion?
…. the duties of life gets too cumbersome and we feel “when will all this just cease!”
… the strains in relationships or workplaces gets so bad that we feel like “calling it quits!”
… the problems of life block our visions so much so that we wish to just “end everything”!

• Are we not people, who have been carrying burdens for a long time?
… the works that we do, never seems to have an end and we just get fed up
… the daily anxieties we go through take a deep toll on us and makes it hard to continue
… the lack of encouragements sometimes makes the road ahead too bleak and seem miserable

In all such conditions, our Blessed Lord makes this wonderful invitation: “Come to Me!”
He invites us to “rest our whole weight on Him” and experience serenity and calm in Him!

The focus of the Lord is surely more on the spiritual aspect than on just our physical tiredness or exhaustion; though, of course, physical weariness and worldly worries also leads to spiritual anxieties.

Today we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

On July 16th, 1251, Blessed Mother Mary appeared to St Simon Stock, who was the Superior-General of a Carmelite Order in London.
She gave him a brown scapular, with the words, “Receive, my beloved son, this scapular of thy order; it is the special sign of my favour, which I have obtained for thee and for thy children of Mount Carmel. He who dies clothed with this habit shall be preserved from eternal fire. It is the badge of salvation, a shield in time of danger, and a pledge of special peace and protection.”

This Feast is a reminder for us that just as on Mount Carmel, Prophet Elijah had called the people of Israel to abandon the worship of false gods…
… we too need to do away with all false sources of comfort, relaxation, pleasure and enjoyment
… and instead come to the realisation that the Lord alone can give us true comfort and rest!

May our Blessed Mother of Carmel intercede for us and with Her, may we always “rest in the Heart of our Blessed Lord”

May we “rest our whole weight on Him” and live our lives in joy and happiness!

Happy Feast of our Blessed Mother of Carmel!

God Bless! Live Jesus!