Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
my yoke is easy,
and my burden light. »
Reading 1 Zechariah 9:9-10
Thus says the LORD: Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion,shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass. He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim,and the horse from Jerusalem; the war-rior’s bow shall be banished, and he shall proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14
- I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
I will extol you, O my God and King, and I will bless your name forever and ever. Every day will I bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever. R
The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The LORD is good to all and compassionate toward all his works. R
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD, and let your faithful ones bless you. Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might. R
The LORD is faithful in all his words and holy in all his works. The LORD lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. R
Reading 2 Romans 8:9, 11-13
Brothers and sisters: You are not in the flesh;on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you. Consequently, brothers and sisters,we are not debtors to the flesh, to live accord-ing to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die,but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body,you will live.
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Gospel Matthew 11:25-30
At that time Jesus exclaimed: « I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have re-vealed them to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Fa-ther except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to re-veal him. » « Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 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. »
GOD IS FOR SIMPLE PEOPLE
Many years ago, in the Ecole Biblique of Jerusalem, a teacher of exegesis introduced us to the difficult art of figuring out the Gospel of Matthew. It all seemed insignificant in order to grasp the ultimate meaning of the text: textual criticism, literary analysis, structure of the passage. One day we got to those verses in which Jesus exclaims: «I give you thanks, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, and have revealed them to the simple people». The professor went silent for a long time. Then he said very slowly: «Don’t ever forget these words. Everything else you can forget». It was probably the best lesson of exe-gesis I have ever received. Later, through the many years, I have been able to see that it’s true.
Always when I’ve had the impression of being near a person who’s close to God, it’s been someone of simple heart. Sometimes a person without great knowledge, other times someone of notable culture, but always a man or woman of humble and pure soul.
In more than one occasion I’ve been able to ascertain that it’s not enough to talk about God in order to awaken faith. For many people, certain religious concepts are very worn out, and though you try to pull out from them all the vigor and flavor they have in their origin, God continues as if «fossilized» in their consciences. Yet I’ve en-countered simple people who don’t seem to need grand ideas or arguments. They quickly sense that God is «a hidden God», and from their heart is born a spontaneous invocation; «Lord, show me your face».
I’ve also encountered persons who always go about in the field of what’s useful. Some abandon God because God end’s up perfectly useless to them; others hold onto God and worship God because it’s worthwhile to them. I don’t know how they reach it, but from their heart there always seems to be springing forth the praise of the Creator. Their life is a success.
I’ve often expressed religious themes and have talked of God before all kinds of peo-ple. On occasion I’ve meet with people who raise questions and more questions about all kinds of theological issues, without showing the least interest in encounter-ing God. But I’ve also seen simple people whose eyes shine in a special way when I read such texts as this from the prophet Isaiah: «I am the Lord, your God… You are precious in my eyes, you are valuable and I love you… Don’t be afraid, I am with you» (Isaiah 43,4); or when I pronounce Psalm 103: «As a father feels tenderness for his children, so the Lord feels tenderness for those who fear Him. Since God knows of what we are made; God remembers that we are clay» (Psalm 103,13-14). Yes, God reveals Self to simple people.
José Antonio Pagola
Translator: Fr. Jay VonHandorf