First Reading: Zec 9:9-10
Second
Reading: Rom
8:9, 11-13
We are in the Fourteenth
Sunday in ordinary time. The readings of today are about life in the spirit,
rather living with God. In the Second reading, St. Pauls tells us that if we do
not have the spirit of Christ then we do not belong to Him (Rom 8:9). In all
his letters St. Paul affirms that the Spirit of Christ living in the person
makes him/her a Christian – Christ living in him/her. We get our identity as
disciples of Christ by possessing His Spirit which He breathed forth into the
world from the Cross. In baptism we receive that Spirit. And so, St. Paul urges
the romans then and today us to lead our life according to the Spirit that we
possess. To live according to the flesh makes us animals. As rational beings
and care takers of the earth we need to live according to Spirit of God. The
creator knows how to care for His creature. Thus, to guard our lives and to
care for the earth we need the assistance of God. If only we posses God in us
we may lead whole creation including oneself to its proper end.
In the first part of the
Gospel, Jesus praises God for the way He functions. In Is 55:8 we read that
God’s thoughts and ways are not as humans. Yes, this is the reason that the
leaders in the Judaism could not identify the Messiah. They had knowledge about
Messiah, they did prepare to receive Him but when He came they could not
recognize Him. On the Contrary, simple people who had less religious knowledge,
have identified Messiah in Jesus. In Jewish setting, woman and Infants have no
identity, they are like second class citizens. In the Gospel, Jesus says that
the infants – the so called identity less people – have recognized the Messiah.
The infants are His disciples who are poor in scripture and religious
knowledge. In Jesus’ praise we notice that the disciples’ knowledge about Jesus
as Son of the Eternal Father comes from divine revelation (Mt 11:25). We find
the same thing when Jesus congratulates peter for recognizing Him as Messiah at
Caesarea Philippi (Mt 16:16-17). Thus, we need to be receptive to the working
of the divine spirit in us to understand the mysteries of God and our Christian
faith.
In the second part of the Gospel we have the very familiar and consoling
words of Jesus; “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens”
(Mt11:28) In saying ‘heavy burdens’ Jesus refers to many regulations laid down
by the Jewish authorities which blocks ordinary people from reaching God. The
priests and religious are supposed to facilitate the people to reach God. On
the Contrary, they have loaded the people with multiple laws, empty rituals,
heavy penances, and unnecessary sacrifices. The little ones could not fulfill
the laws of the religion. Prophets call these little ones as Anawim, - the poor and those who are
bowed down. They cry to God for redemption and upliftment. They (Anawim) have right to access God but
they have been externally blocked from exercising that right. The cry of this
poor people brought down God’s wrath in the Old Testament. In New Testament,
God embraces these poor ones in Jesus. For He says, “I am gentle and humble in
heart” (Mt 11:29). He promises rest for the souls. In this material world many
philosophers and sages have sought and found happiness as the ultimate end of human
life. There are differences of view with regard to what that happiness is. In
Christianity that happiness is rest – resting in God. St. Augustine’s famous
dictum: our hearts are restless until
they rest in you, explicates the rest that Jesus is promising us in today’s
gospel. In the world, people who promise to give us happiness do not reveal
burdens that are attached with it. But Jesus authentically says that all who come
to Him should take upon His yoke to find rest in Him. He is a loyal and
transparent Master. Usually yoke is laid upon two animals so that they can
plough are pull the cart properly. When Jesus invites us to take up the yoke,
He means that there are two persons carrying that yoke: you and He. The yoke is burdens of this material world. The land that
we plough together or the cart that we pull together is the effect of the life
that is achieved with our union. Yes dear friends, we need union with God to
lead this life. We need to possess the Spirit of God to carry heavy burdens of
this life. When we carry alone we feel the burden unbearable and fail to reach
the goal. If we take Jesus with us to carry, then we plough the land properly
for the cultivation and pull the cart firmly to reach the desired destination.
May the Spirit of God rest in us always.
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