Happy Sunday!
DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Zachariah 9,9-10; Rom 8,9.11-13; Matt 11,25-30; 14th Sunday of the Year; 5th July, 2020)
Today the Gospel makes us penetrate into the soul of Jesus. It refers us to one of Jesus’ prayers to the Father: a prayer of praise and thanksgiving, which leads us to discover his deepest feelings. The deepest feeling of the Son towards the Father is that of gratitude: an intense gratitude, which manifests itself in every moment of his life. The occasion that provokes Jesus' gratitude is a situation in which we, certainly, would not think of giving thanks: a failure in his ministry. Jesus preached but his preaching was not accepted by the wise and the intelligent, that is, by the so called elites, people, who in principle are in the best situation to appreciate his preaching. The wise and the intelligent should discover the beautiful, just and profound things that Jesus says more easily. He preaches the kingdom of God and reveals its mysteries by means of parables, but the Pharisees, scribes and high priests (the authorities of the Jewish people), do not want to accept this preaching. In this situation, Jesus gives thanks to the Father, because it was the Father who planned and allowed it to be so. I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed them to the little ones. Yes, Father, because you liked it this way. Jesus understands the Father's plan, which is opposed to human pride and wants to reveal himself to the simple. It is true that intelligence can arouse pride, and then, instead of serving the truth, it becomes an impediment, and even harmful. This was the situation verified amidst the authorities of the Jewish. Jesus recognises the Father's plan, he understands that it is a design of love, which is revealed to the little ones, the simple and the humble, and cannot manifest itself before hardened hearts. Then he expresses his relationship with the Father: Everything was given to me by my Father. This is the affirmation of the Son, who admits that he has received everything from the Father. He receives in particular his knowledge of the Father. This knowledge, in the biblical sense, means a personal, intimate relationship with him. Jesus says: Nobody knows the Son except the Father, and nobody knows the Father except the Son and the one to whom the Son wants to reveal him.
Here we have the revelation of the life of the Most Holy Trinity: the Father knows the Son; the Son knows the Father; that is, there is a mutual and intimate relationship, in which everything is transparent and beautiful. The Son also recognises that he has received authority from the Father. It is the Son who decides whom to reveal the Father to. Nobody knows the Father except the Son and the one to whom the Son wants to reveal him. Here, we are dealing with very profound revelations, which push us to admiration and adoration. Thus, we too are introduced to the mutual knowledge of the Father and the Son. Then Jesus turns to us men, and in particular to those who are in need. He manifests his merciful heart by saying: Come to me, all you who are fatigued and oppressed, and I will refresh you. How comforting it is to hear this invitation from the merciful Lord! When we are tired and oppressed, instead of being discouraged, we should feel relieved by the welcoming grace given to us by Jesus, by his invitation to go to him, to find rest, comfort and strength. We should imprint these words of Jesus deeply in our hearts, because they will be precious in life's difficulties and moments of crisis. Jesus adds a phrase that may seem surprising: to these tired and oppressed people he advises that they should take upon them his yoke: Take my yoke upon you. If these people are already fatigued, why then propose a further weight, another yoke? But here we can understand that in reality it is a yoke that makes all things easier. In fact Jesus says: You will find refreshment for your souls. My yoke is in fact sweet and my load light. Jesus' yoke is a love yoke, and love makes it easier. Where there is love - says St. Augustine - there is no fatigue; and if there is fatigue, it is loved/accepted; thus, it becomes light. When we are in fatigue and in difficulty, we must remember these words of Jesus, which make us go extra miles to live in love. Trials of life can have the effect of making us fall back on ourselves. But, Jesus invites us to take his yoke of love, to welcome everything in union with him and for the good of our brothers. Thus the trials of life have a twofold advantage for us: that of uniting us with the passion of Christ, and making us united with people who suffer. It is necessary to accept this grace, which is demanding and at the same time very precious. Jesus explains why his yoke is sweet and his load light: Learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart. His yoke is sweet, because he is meek and humble of heart. Jesus is not a hard and proud master; on the contrary, he is a Lord full of understanding, compassion and meekness, a very humble Lord, who puts himself at our level, to help us in the most effective way possible.
The first reading anticipates this revelation of Jesus. The prophet Zechariah says in Jerusalem: Behold, your king comes to you. He is just, victorious and humble, riding on a donkey, a foal of a donkey. This king does not ride a horse, which is a war animal, but on a donkey, which is a peaceful animal and has no warrior pretension. This prophecy predicts Jesus’ triumph on Palm Sunday, when he voluntarily presented himself to the people riding a donkey, to show that he is not a warrior Messiah, a conqueror with weapons, but a Lord full of humility and meekness, a Lord who breaks the bow of war and announces peace. Zachariah says: Make wagons from Ephraim disappear and horses from Jerusalem, proclaim peace to the people. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, brings peace everywhere. He brings it into our hearts, in our relationships with other people, and he also brings it among the different peoples, if they are docile.
The second reading and a passage from the Letter to the Romans, which deals with a different theme, has a connecting point with the Gospel, because it speaks of the Spirit of Christ. Paul says: If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. By Spirit of Christ the Apostle means the Holy Spirit, who inspires Jesus' meekness and humility of heart. We must welcome this gentle and humble Spirit of Christ if we want to belong to him. On the other hand, this Spirit is the Spirit that raises from the dead. The resurrection is not an act of external power, but an act of internal power, which corresponds to the meekness and humility of Jesus. For this reason we must not live according to the flesh, which makes us aggressive and proud, but according to the Spirit of Christ, in meekness and humility. So many quarrel and divisions would be avoided if we welcome the mild and humble Spirit of Christ. Life according to the Spirit, is not only a life that follows the spiritual principles, but a life that follows the dictates of the Spirit of God already given to the believer at the moment of justification, that is, in baptism. It is not really a new way of life, but a new life. Paul says that the Spirit of God lives in us; this does not mean a home in a local sense, but in a social sense; it means that the Spirit holds, permeates and determines our existence. In practical terms the Spirit should inspire our thoughts, moderate our actions and make it correspond to the mind of Christ who is meek and humble of heart. Therefore, in this Mass, we ask for the grace to take upon ourselves the yoke of Jesus who is meek and humble of heart in order to find inner peace, comfort in difficulties and peace in our relationships with others. We will also pray for world peace, according to the desire of the heart of Jesus. His yoke is sweet and his load light, because he brings peace everywhere. +John I. Okoye(graphics by Chukwubike)
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