Walking with Jesus: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Zechariah 9:9-10; Romans 8:11-13; Matthew 11:25-30
How is your life going right now?
If that question is asked us, we might begin our response with the list of worries, burdens, sorrows, distresses, pains and/or afflictions that seem to be paramount in our lives … what a huge list.These feelings can be an added weight to carry. If we are then asked:
What are you doing about it?
I don’t know what I would say … maybe, “Haven’t you heard what I’ve been saying?” The readings today focus on help for all our burdens by asking a very serious introspective question:
What do we do when life is difficult and getting worse?
Do I turn in on myself? Do I “stop the world and try to get off?” Do I pamper myself a little or big time? Do I look to those special wisdom people who have gently led me in the right direction in the past? Do I turn negatively to the Lord, blaming my life on Him? Do I do things that in the past have hurt me? Do I look for love in the right places or in the wrong places?
Zechariah was clarifying God’s word to the people after Israel’s return from exile. They had been away from the temple, their native lands, friends and family for generations. They had dreamed of better times and they had arrived. It was a time of hoped restoration. His message certainly is a needed update for the acutely distressing times our world is facing. The prophet reminds the people that the only sure foundation for restoration is a sincere devotion to God. If the people abandon their misguided ways and embrace the standards of heaven, their future will be on solid ground. Where has our trust and reliance on God been during this pandemic? More than 50 times in his book, Zechariah refers to God as “Lord of Hosts.” God is the protector of the people. God’s hosts, message bearers, helpers are prepared to remove all obstacles to spiritual progress. But the people must place their reliance on God and not on their own devices. God will continue to lead people to Himself. The Messiah will come, not as a conquering warrior but in lowliness and peace. Will we be able to recognize Him? First one must trust. How are we to trust God?
Matthew has been explaining to his readers the opposition that Jesus encountered. In today’s passage Jesus is counteracting this opposition by taking comfort in those who accept Him. In His response we see another glimpse of His complete uniqueness. Of all people, of all leaders and religious figures, Jesus alone can say “…no one knows the Father, except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” (Matthew 11:27) So Jesus is the only one able to tell us all about God and who God is to us. So when we speak to Jesus, follow Him, delve into His teachings, and learn from those who have come to know Him, we will be discovering God Himself. Am I doing this in my continual study of Jesus and how He is leading me?
Jesus sets the stage today by praising His Father for revealing this divine wisdom (Jesus Himself) to “little ones” rather than the elite and learned. The “ones in the know” led by the Pharisees have rejected Jesus. What does He have to offer them? They have all the knowledge necessary for knowing the “real” God. But Jesus alone knows God and characterizes Him totally as love. God loves. It has nothing to do if I love me, God loves me. Can I look at myself as God looks at me? Dr. Bonnie Thurston, a renowned theologian, teacher, poet and spiritual writer, prays this prayer in her class: “Lord, make me the person my dog thinks I am.” God is crazy in love with me, right now, just the way I am. Praise God!
What is the bottom line prayer for me in these troubled, uncertain days? Fr. John Bartunek sums it up well in his Gospel book, The Better Part:
“I want to know You, Lord. I want to know what You care about, what You think about, what’s on Your mind and in Your heart. I want to know what makes You smile, what makes You frown. I want to discover the God who created me — who created all things. Jesus, Your face reveals God’s face. Open my eyes, Lord, let me see You ...
“Lord, I know You don’t judge me, because You promise that You are meek and lowly of heart. How hard it is for me not to judge! How much grief I cause myself and others by my outbursts of vanity, arrogance, and anger! I want to learn from You, Lord, and I know You want to teach me. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart more like Yours …
“Lord, why do I think I can do everything by myself? You’d designed me to need other people, to help other people, and to depend upon God for everything. This is the law of Your universe. Like a little child in its mother’s arms, so I keep myself in You, O Lord. Teach me to trust You and to obey Your will. Thy kingdom come.”
So I reflect on:
God is the one who wants to save us, to carry our burdens, to set us free. How do I resist that? How do I burden myself more with my own pity-party?
The joy of love makes life lighter. What has helped me carry my cross? My crosses?
Sacred Space 2020 states:
“When am I most willing to come to Jesus with all my labors and burdens? When do I most resist going to Him?
“Jesus, I can know God the Father because of my friendship with You. Remind me to rely on the resources of Your love and wisdom as I learn how to live as a child of God."
How is your life going right now?
If that question is asked us, we might begin our response with the list of worries, burdens, sorrows, distresses, pains and/or afflictions that seem to be paramount in our lives … what a huge list.These feelings can be an added weight to carry. If we are then asked:
What are you doing about it?
I don’t know what I would say … maybe, “Haven’t you heard what I’ve been saying?” The readings today focus on help for all our burdens by asking a very serious introspective question:
What do we do when life is difficult and getting worse?
Do I turn in on myself? Do I “stop the world and try to get off?” Do I pamper myself a little or big time? Do I look to those special wisdom people who have gently led me in the right direction in the past? Do I turn negatively to the Lord, blaming my life on Him? Do I do things that in the past have hurt me? Do I look for love in the right places or in the wrong places?
Zechariah was clarifying God’s word to the people after Israel’s return from exile. They had been away from the temple, their native lands, friends and family for generations. They had dreamed of better times and they had arrived. It was a time of hoped restoration. His message certainly is a needed update for the acutely distressing times our world is facing. The prophet reminds the people that the only sure foundation for restoration is a sincere devotion to God. If the people abandon their misguided ways and embrace the standards of heaven, their future will be on solid ground. Where has our trust and reliance on God been during this pandemic? More than 50 times in his book, Zechariah refers to God as “Lord of Hosts.” God is the protector of the people. God’s hosts, message bearers, helpers are prepared to remove all obstacles to spiritual progress. But the people must place their reliance on God and not on their own devices. God will continue to lead people to Himself. The Messiah will come, not as a conquering warrior but in lowliness and peace. Will we be able to recognize Him? First one must trust. How are we to trust God?
Matthew has been explaining to his readers the opposition that Jesus encountered. In today’s passage Jesus is counteracting this opposition by taking comfort in those who accept Him. In His response we see another glimpse of His complete uniqueness. Of all people, of all leaders and religious figures, Jesus alone can say “…no one knows the Father, except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” (Matthew 11:27) So Jesus is the only one able to tell us all about God and who God is to us. So when we speak to Jesus, follow Him, delve into His teachings, and learn from those who have come to know Him, we will be discovering God Himself. Am I doing this in my continual study of Jesus and how He is leading me?
Jesus sets the stage today by praising His Father for revealing this divine wisdom (Jesus Himself) to “little ones” rather than the elite and learned. The “ones in the know” led by the Pharisees have rejected Jesus. What does He have to offer them? They have all the knowledge necessary for knowing the “real” God. But Jesus alone knows God and characterizes Him totally as love. God loves. It has nothing to do if I love me, God loves me. Can I look at myself as God looks at me? Dr. Bonnie Thurston, a renowned theologian, teacher, poet and spiritual writer, prays this prayer in her class: “Lord, make me the person my dog thinks I am.” God is crazy in love with me, right now, just the way I am. Praise God!
What is the bottom line prayer for me in these troubled, uncertain days? Fr. John Bartunek sums it up well in his Gospel book, The Better Part:
“I want to know You, Lord. I want to know what You care about, what You think about, what’s on Your mind and in Your heart. I want to know what makes You smile, what makes You frown. I want to discover the God who created me — who created all things. Jesus, Your face reveals God’s face. Open my eyes, Lord, let me see You ...
“Lord, I know You don’t judge me, because You promise that You are meek and lowly of heart. How hard it is for me not to judge! How much grief I cause myself and others by my outbursts of vanity, arrogance, and anger! I want to learn from You, Lord, and I know You want to teach me. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart more like Yours …
“Lord, why do I think I can do everything by myself? You’d designed me to need other people, to help other people, and to depend upon God for everything. This is the law of Your universe. Like a little child in its mother’s arms, so I keep myself in You, O Lord. Teach me to trust You and to obey Your will. Thy kingdom come.”
So I reflect on:
God is the one who wants to save us, to carry our burdens, to set us free. How do I resist that? How do I burden myself more with my own pity-party?
The joy of love makes life lighter. What has helped me carry my cross? My crosses?
Sacred Space 2020 states:
“When am I most willing to come to Jesus with all my labors and burdens? When do I most resist going to Him?
“Jesus, I can know God the Father because of my friendship with You. Remind me to rely on the resources of Your love and wisdom as I learn how to live as a child of God."
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