Sunday Gospel Reflection
"Heavenly things revealed to babes"
Introduction:
Amazingly, each year thousands celebrate Independence Day in this country while remaining enslaved. Because of the abuses of political power our ancestors rebelled and claimed the right of self-determination politically. Although we exercise self-government politically, we often find that we really cannot govern ourselves personally, instead we are enslaved by habits and passions over which we have little control. The good news we should have celebrated on Independence Day is that Christ really can set us free.
Contrary to our normal way of thinking it is surrender to Another's rule in our life which puts us on this road to freedom. This surrender, of which we speak, is manifest when we make a conscious faith decision to embrace and believe in Jesus. It is manifest by willingly welcoming him into our hearts by faith, as the Lord of our lives. Signing over the deed of ownership to our life. When we have been taught to idolize self-will and independence, as most of us have, it requires a major effort of our will. As Pope Paul VI mentions in On Evangeli-zation in the Modern World.
"This kingdom and this salvation, which are the key words of Jesus Christ's evangelization, are available to every human being as grace and mercy yet each individual must gain them by force, . . . But above all each individual gains them through a total interior renewal which the Gospel calls metanoia; it is a radical conversion, a profound change of mind and heart."
Pope Paul VI earlier in this encyclical says, "As an evangelizer, Christ first of all proclaims a kingdom, the kingdom of God; . . ." This rule of God in our life is what is so radical. He wants to guide and direct us in our life decisions, he wants to reveal himself, and reveal Truth through his son Jesus, he wants us to know Jesus experientially and not simply know of Jesus. God wants us to allow Jesus to live out his life of gentleness, meekness, and purpose through us.
Many of us shy away from fully yielding our lives to walk in the Spirit, rather than in the flesh. Perhaps we anticipate that a life lived in the Spirit will be burden-some, so we hang back, ex-changing the joy of total commit-ment for the agony of halfway living.
Jesus said his burden is not troublesome and heavy but rather easy and light. Those of us who find the Christian life difficult should exchange our half-hearted burdensome form of following Christ for the light and joyful surrender of wholeheartedness. This life in Christ, which consists of allowing Christ to live out his will, his rule of love in our life, is what Jesus died to obtain for us. It is only when we yield and depend on him that his kingdom in us becomes a reality. Praying "Thy kingdom come" is the way to truly become free.
First Reading
Zechariah 9:9-10
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of
Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you;triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding
on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass.
10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the
battle bow shall be cut off,and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall
be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Second Reading
Romans 8:9,11-13
9 But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if in fact
the Spirit of God dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not
belong to him. ...
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ
Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who
dwells in you.
12 So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-
13 for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to
death the deeds of the body you will live.
Gospel Reading
Matthew 11:25-30
25 At that time Jesus said in reply,"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.
26 Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
27 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.
28 "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you
will find rest for your selves.
Bible Study
25 At that time Jesus said in reply,
---This is a typical Jewish blessing formula, except that Jesus refers
to God as "Father."
25b "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
----Divine communication from God.
25c them to little ones.
----Literally, the simple, the uneducated.
26 Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
-----Jesus has not reached the wise and prudent; His message has
been grasped only by a few disciples who are from the peasant class. Jesus has resigned
Himself to this because it is God's will. There is a sense in which Jewish wisdom and
learning, which was the knowledge of the Law, was a genuine obstacle to the understanding
of the message of Jesus. The more one knew about the Law, the more difficult it was to see
that the Messianic revolution would supercede the Law.
27 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.
-----Jesus is the absolute Son of the absolute Father. Jesus is the
exclusive revelation of the Father. This is a direct contradiction of the Jewish claim to
have complete revelation of God in the Law and the Prophets.
28 "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
-----Those who are under the yoke of the Law; the metaphor of the yoke
is used in rabbinical writings. The import of the saying in itself is more general than
this - the weary and the burdened are the poor who have the Good News proclaimed to them.
Jesus invites them because He is one of them.
28b and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you
-----The yoke and burden of Jesus are submission to the reign of
God. This imposes no further burden on those who accept it, but rather makes it easier to
bear the burdens they already have.
29b and learn from me,
-----The disciple is to be a life-long learner.
29c for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your
selves.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my
Meditation
Do you want to know the mind and thoughts of God? Jesus thanks the Father in heaven for revealing to his disciples the wisdom and knowledge of God. What does Jesus' prayer tell us about God and about ourselves? First, it tells us that God is both Father and Lord of earth as well as heaven. He is both Creator and Author of all that he has made, the first origin of everything and transcendent authority, and at the same time, goodness and loving care for all his children. All fatherhood and motherhood is derived from him (Ephesians 3:14-15). Jesus' prayer also contains a warning that pride can keep us from the love and knowledge of God. What makes us ignorant and blind to the things of God? Certainly intellectual pride, coldness of heart, and stubbornness of will shut out God and his kingdom. Pride is the root of all vice and the strongest influence propelling us to sin. It first vanquishes the heart, making it cold and indifferent towards God. It also closes the mind to God's truth and wisdom for our lives. What is pride? It is the inordinate love of oneself at the expense of others and the exaggerated estimation of one's own learning and importance.
Jesus contrasts intellectual pride with child-like simplicity and
humility. The simple of heart are like "babes" in the sense that they see purely
without pretense and acknowledge their dependence and trust in the one who is greater,
wiser, and more trustworthy. They seek one thing - the "summum bonum" or
"greatest good" who is God himself. Simplicity of heart is wedded with
humility, the queen of virtues, because humility inclines the heart towards grace and
truth. Just as pride is the root or every sin and evil, so humility is the only soil in
which the grace of God can take root. It alone takes the right attitude before God
and allows him as God to do all. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble
(Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6). Only the humble in heart can receive true wisdom and
understanding of God and his ways. Do you submit to God's word with simple trust and
humility? Jesus makes a claim which no one would have dared to make: He is the
perfect revelation of God. One of the greatest truths of the Christian faith is that we
can know the living God. Our knowledge of God is not simply limited to knowing
something about God, but we can know God personally. The essence of Christianity,
and what makes it distinct from Judaism and other religions, is the knowledge of God as
our Father. Jesus makes it possible for each of us to personally know God as our
Father. To see Jesus is to see what God is like. In Jesus we see the perfect love of
God -- a God who cares intensely and who yearns over men and women, loving them to the
point of laying down his life for them upon the Cross. Jesus is the revelation of
God -- a God who loves us completely, unconditionally and perfectly. Jesus
also promises that God the Father will hear our prayers when we pray in his name. That is
why Jesus taught his followers to pray with confidence, Our Father who art in heaven
..give us this day our daily bread. Do you pray to your Father in heaven with
joy and confidence in his love
and care for you?
What does the yoke of Jesus refer to in the gospel? The Jews used the image of a yoke to express submission to God. They spoke of the yoke of the law, the yoke of the commandments, the yoke of the kingdom, the yoke of God. Jesus says his yoke is "easy". The Greek word for "easy" can also mean "well-fitting". Yokes were tailor-made to fit the oxen well. We are commanded to put on the "sweet yoke of Jesus" and to live the "heavenly way of life and happiness". Jesus also says his "burden is light". There's a story of a man who once met a boy carrying a smaller crippled lad on his back. "That's a heavy load you are carrying there," exclaimed the man. "He ain't heavy; he's my brother!" responded the boy. No burden is too heavy when it's given in love and carried in love. Jesus offers us a new kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy. In his kingdom sins are not only forgiven but removed, and eternal life is poured out for all its citizens. This is not a political kingdom, but a spiritual one. The yoke of Christ's kingdom, his kingly rule and way of life, liberates us from the burden of guilt and from the oppression of sin and hurtful desires. Only Jesus can lift the burden of sin and the weight of hopelessness from us. Jesus used the analogy of a yoke to explain how we can exchange the burden of sin and despair for a burden of glory and yoke of freedom from sin. The yoke which Jesus invites us to embrace is his way of grace and freedom from the power of sin. Do you trust in God's love and submit to his will and plan for your life?
Reflections:
· Please re-read the phrase(s)/sentence(s) that move(s)/touche(s) you.
What inner message of the heart is the Spirit whispering to you this week?
. 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.(Matthew 10:27)
------What makes the relationship between the Father and the Son Jesus
so close? How close is your relationship with God? How can you improve this relationship?
. "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 your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden
light." (Matthew 10:28-30)
-----What are the heavy burdens you are carrying? Your job, Your study,
Your family, Your finance, Your ambition...? Are they necessary? How can you make
them lighter? How can He make your burdens lighter?
-----Jesus gives us comfort, rest and peace. You can be a comforter to
your friends, children, spouse too. Share one experience that someone was in despair and
you were the one to help him/her overcome that problem.
· What does stress often indicate about our life and spirituality?
. Do you always act solely based on your knowledge, or do you let your heart direct your in a meek and humble way? What type of person are you?
To live His Word this week:
. Call someone who is in despair and invite her/him to your home or a restaurant for a talk.
. Spend at least 15 minutes alone to think about your relationship with each member of your family in the past 6 months.
For Youngsters:
. Read one story in the Old Testament
Prayer
Lord, give me the child-like simplicity and purity of faith to gaze upon your face with joy and confidence in your all-merciful love. Remove every doubt, fear, and proud thought which would hinder me from receiving your word with trust and humble submission.