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 revealed 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 Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal 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."
Breaking the text open:
The gospel reading for today, the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, from the Gospel of Matthew has two specific but related sections.
First, Jesus praises His Father whose will it was to reveal His great love for all of humanity through His Son beginning not with the elite of society or the scholars of the law. Rather, Jesus was revealed first to the lowly shepherds and then to the magi from another. And those who came to recognize Him as the Son of the Living LORD were fishermen and tax collectors rather than temple officials or religious figures in authority. Jesus goes on to exclaim and explain that it is only through Him that the Father is revealed.
Then Jesus invites us to come to Him, all of us who are laboring in life and feel burdened by it. He extends to us an invitation to put on his yoke. Picture it. If we put on Christ’s yoke, we find ourselves beside Christ and He carries the brunt of the burden. We must give up control, however, because it is Christ’s yoke and Christ will lead.
Meditating on the text:
Do I allow Christ to hold my burdens, to help me with them? Am I willing to give up control and hand them over to Christ? Am I willing to let Christ lead me?
Praying:
LORD, how I long to be with You, to have You at my side, to take the rest You offer. Send your Spirit to guide me so that I might, meek and humble of heart, accept your call, accept the life You offer me, accept your transformative love. Help me set down my need for “control” and my desire for independence. Amen.
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