14^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); July 9, 2023

Zec 9:9-10;   Ps 145;   Rom 8:9-13;   Mt 11:25-30

Deacon Jim McFadden

            In today’s Gospel reading Jesus is not offering us one more philosophy of God.  He is offering us the view of the inner life of God and he is inviting us to share in this eternal and divine life.  First of all, Jesus raises prayer of blessing and thanksgiving to the Father because he has revealed the mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven to the childlike; then he reveals the intimate and unique relationship between the first two Trinitarian persons; finally, he wants us to go to him and follow him so that we may find ultimate rest. 

            In the first place, Jesus praises the Father because he has kept the secrets of his Kingdom, of his truth, hidden “from the wise and the learned” (Mt 11:25c).  You’d think they would be the first ones to grasp the truth of the Kingdom, but they don’t.  Why?  They’re trying to process reality, not from the vantage point of divine consciousness which is essentially relational, but from the perspective of concupiscence: that ancient theological notion which believes one can attain happiness by acquiring the goods of the world.  It’s the difference of being in relationship to God or having things that aren’t God; such a disposition creates a closed heart to the movement of grace.  True wisdom may begin with rationality, but it ends in the heart.  If you know many things—what St. Bonaventure called the Eye of the Mind—but have a closed heart, you can’t possible be wise.  Jesus tells them that his Father’s mysteries are revealed to the “little ones,” to those who trustingly open themselves to his Word of salvation.  They feel the need to be at-one with God and they recognize that they are radically dependent upon God to be fully human.  Their heart is open and trustful towards the Lord.

            Then, Jesus explains that he has received everything from the Father, and calls him “my Father,” to affirm the unique relationship with him.  What is the essence of the divine life?  It is a play of giving and receiving.  The Father, forgetting himself, pours all his Being to his Son and the Son, refusing to cling to himself, receives the Father and reciprocates in the eternal act of generous, self-giving love. The Holy Spirit is this mutual sharing of the Father and the Son.  God’s inner life is a looking toward the other in love and Jesus wants is to share in this eternal dynamic.

            And, here we have Jesus’ compelling invitation: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (v. 28).  He wants to give what he receives from the Father.  He wants to give us Truth and Jesus’ Truth is always free: it is a gift, it is the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of Life, who will give us rest.  What everyone wants is rest—no one likes to be anxious or afraid.  But, being at rest does not mean to be relaxed, free from tension.  Rather rest here means achievement of Joy.  The great illusion of our dominant secular culture is that joy will come when we fill up the ego with stuff: the typical culprits are wealth, prestige, power, and pleasure.  In fact, joy will only come from emptying ourselves out, from turning our lives over to the direction of God, of doing the Father’s will.

            Today’s Gospel concludes with those extraordinary words: “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” (vs. 29-30).  Jesus himself is bearing the yoke that he speaks of since he is yoked to his Father, doing only what he sees his Father doing.  Jesus, in his innermost nature, is the one who listens and obeys.  And, being members of his mystical Body, the Church, we are called to do the same. 

            What Jesus is saying, therefore, is to stand next to him, just as the ox stands next to the other as they pull together.  Just as Jesus is yoked to the Father, so we should be yoked to him, obeying him as he obeys the Father. 

            Brothers and sisters, when we live this way, we will experience a profound sense of joy that will carry us to eternal life.  We don’t originate it, but it is something that Jesus gives us.  It is the joy that comes from the 1^st Beatitude—Blessed are the poor in spirit, for there is the Kingdom of God.  Those who are detached from the goods of the world, who are living out of their spirit and not their ego, those who have been evangelized and are builders of a new humanity: their solace is joy!  This joy only comes from Jesus.  As Teilhard de Chardin (SJ) once wrote, “The most infallible sign of God’s presence is joy.” Today’s Gospel is a message for all of us, for all people of good will, which Jesus conveys today in a world that exalts those who are rich, influential, and powerful.  Today’s Gospel is a message for the Church, called to live is life of mercy and forgiveness, and to evangelize the poor, the meek, and humble.  This is how the Lord wants his Church, that is, the People of God, us, to be.  Amen.