FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
9 JULY 2017
To
understand the words of Jesus in today’ Gospel, we need to consider the
context. In this part of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus has been proclaiming the Good
News in Galilee. However, the religious
leaders and the “important” members of the communities have rejected him. In rejecting him, they complained that John
the Baptist fasted, avoiding food and drink.
They accused Jesus of eating and drinking, hanging out with “drunkards”
and sinners.
That is why
Jesus addresses his words today to the “little ones”. The little ones have welcomed him and
accepted his message. So, he invites
them to come to him and take rest. But,
the rest that he recommends seems strange.
He invites them to accept his yoke upon their shoulders and learn from
him, because his yoke is easy, and his burden light.
As the
stepson of a carpenter, Jesus knows something about yokes. A yoke united a pair of oxen together to
allow them to share the load of plowing or hauling a loaded wagon. The
yoke rests on the necks and distributes the work load, not necessarily evenly,
but in a way that capabilities are shared.
Each member of the yoked pair can contribute to his/her maximum
capability, the stronger contributing more energy than the weaker, to
accomplish the common task. Jesus' yoke is light, because it is Jesus who is
yoked to each of us, and in every task he bears the heavier part of the burden.
He is carrying the yoke of rejection.
Important people have judged him to be a fraud. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he
gives thanks for his close relationship with his heavenly Father. He continues his journey to the hill of
Golgotha, where the yoke of the cross will take his life. In carrying the heavier load, he helps us to carry
our burdens, maintaining our faith in the mystery of his death and resurrection.
We are his
disciples, the “little ones” today. We
have come to Mass to give praise and thanks to God, who slowly reveals himself
to us as we continue our pilgrimage together through life. Each of us comes with our own set of
circumstances. Many of us are taking
rest in these summer days following the 4th of July. For many of us, life is going well, and it is
easy to give thanks to God as we gather to worship. But, some of us are carrying heavy burdens or
yokes. Some are struggling with
difficulties in relationships, or even breakups in families. Others are shouldering economic difficulties,
with job losses or unexpected expenses.
Others are carrying the heavy yokes health issues or life changing
cancers or other diseases. Many are
burdened with the difficulties of the aging process or loss of memory.
Whatever
yoke we may be carrying, Jesus invites us to rest and carry his yoke. Instead of allowing the yokes of our lives to
separate us from the love of the Father, Jesus invites us to imitate his
example in the face of hatred and rejection.
He invites us to yoke ourselves with him, allowing him to carry the
heavier load of our burdens. He invites
us to give thanks for his Father’s care for us and to trust that his Father is
not abandoning us when we carry heavy yokes.
He does not take away those burdens.
Instead, he promises to yoke himself with us in facing those
difficulties and renewing our trust in the power of his death and resurrection.
Saint Paul
expresses this truth in a different way.
He reminds us that we are no longer in the flesh but in the spirit of
God. Saint Paul is not telling us to
hate our bodies and regard our bodies as obstacles to being holy. Those who
live only in the flesh cannot see beyond what we perceive with our senses. Those who live only in the flesh will do
anything to avoid pain and the cross of Jesus Christ. Those who live in the spirit can carry those
yokes, because we are yoked to Jesus Christ.
If we renew our faith in his death and resurrection, his strength allows
us, in our weakness, to keep carrying the lighter portion of the load.
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