Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A
For today’s Gospel reading click the link below:
Mass Readings
(Zech 9:9-10, Rom 8:9. 11-13, Matt 11:25-30)
Homily Reflection by Fr. JJ Fenelon
Dear brothers and sisters,
It is normal for us to think that reading the Word of God, is the same as living or observing them. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us to “come to him if we labour and are burdened and he will give us rest.” While all of us think these words are very consoling, how many of us have really come to the Lord and been in His presence to be consoled? Do we take our burdens to Him and talk to Him asking for a solution? What do we do most of the time? We tend to depend on our own strength and ability. If we have a problem or something that is burdening or bothering us we immediately try to fix it. But if we turn to the Lord first and entrust it to Him, then we might be surprised at the different and possibly much better solution. But then we so often can’t wait and want what we want right now. Remember when Jesus said, “Ask and you shall receive”, He never added the word “immediately.”
If we are to take the words of Jesus seriously and respond to His invitation, then we need to be connected with Him through, with and in the Spirit. In the 2nd reading, St Paul reminds us of the need to live in the spirit. If we are caught up with the world with its values and desires, materialism and greed will overwhelm us and we will be deprived of a relationship with Jesus. That’s why St Paul says: “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Jesus does not belong to Him.” We may be members of His church, be involved in ministry, but unless we share that vital union through our prayer life which is possible through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we are namesake Christians. The Spirit of God is said to dwell everywhere: in heaven; in the temple; and now in the church, which is “a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Eph 2:22); and he lives in each individual believer, whose body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19)
To rely on the Holy Spirit one needs humility. To be humble means to almost renounce one’s own strength and ability and to rely on someone else. The 1st reading today epitomizes and foretells the humility of the Christ-King who was to come. “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout… behold your King comes to you. Triumphant and victorious is he; humble and riding on a donkey.” He comes to give help and justice to the poor and oppressed of Israel. One of the greatest deceptions of our age is that we need only ourselves – to need God is the exception, not the rule.
In the Gospel, Jesus reveals and gives us the key to the heart of God to be “humble and gentle of heart”. If we do this, we are being “infants” before God as Jesus says: “You have hidden these things from the learned and clever and revealed them to infants.” Finally, today Jesus beckons us: “Come to me all who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”
This invitation is not for the proud hearted, because they hardly realise that they are overburdened. Such people go about like zombies thinking they are strong. Though this invitation is extended to everyone, it is only the simple, humble, and gentle hearted who are quick to realise their need for God’s intervention in their lives. When we depend upon God for spiritual and physical life, we should submit ourselves to Him, make our needs known to Him through prayer and trust Him to provide according to His ever faithful love and complete wisdom. We should praise God for His faithfulness to provide for our daily needs.
As fallen beings, we are born with corrupted hearts and minds which incline us to sin against God: “all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). In this state, we ignore the reality that we are dependent creatures. We refrain from gratitude which God rightly deserves. Convinced of our competence and self-reliance, we no longer worship and serve God. Instead, our relationships and work serve us. We expect our acceptance and success to inflate our ego and pride which move us to self-adoration.
The world’s yoke is hard, and its burden is heavy because it demands that we become what we are not: God. Jesus met us where we were in our burnout culture and paid the highest cost, His own life, so we could find rest in Him.
Our culture tells us that our value is found in our performance, but God proclaims something different: If we model ourselves on the perfect obedience and sacrifice of Jesus, we will be able to overcome all challenges in life, no matter how much the odds are against us. “If God is for us, who can be against us” (Rom.8:31).
Do not be afraid to be countercultural, no matter what the challenges are, be it financial, emotional stress, illness, or family hardships. Rest in him who calls, pleading:
“Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)