José Ricardo Bezerra e Felipe Bezerra
Introduction
On this 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, we continue with the Gospel of Matthew, and the Lord makes us an invitation that lifts the heart: “Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Mt 11:29-30). The burden of the world is heavy, but the Lord’s is light. They are only six verses, yet so rich that one thing keeps drawing out the next.
As always, we have chosen five points for your meditation and prayer with this Gospel, which we share on the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oswcLCBoK88 (with subtitles in your language).
The Gospel
“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 the childlike. 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.’” (Mt 11:25-30).
1. “I give praise to you, Father…”: the praise that sets us free
“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth.” (Mt 11:25). The Gospel begins with Jesus opening his heart to the Father. In the parallel passage, Luke says that Jesus “rejoiced” (cf. Lk 10:21-22), an expression that points us directly to the Psalms. It is the praise of the person of Jesus, true man, to the Father in heaven. Here we learn how Jesus prayed: the disciples watched him pray and asked, “teach us to pray” (cf. Lk 11:1). Jesus opens his heart so that we may enter, come to know, and discover what is within it.
May our prayer always begin with praise. In the face of difficulties and trials, we can say: “I praise you, Father, I thank you, everything is in your hands.” This does not make things resolve as if by magic, but it changes our heart, and then the Lord, in his Providence, keeps helping us. In the desert, the tribe of Judah, whose name means praise, walked at the front (cf. Nm 2:9; 10:14). In the hour of our own desert, what should go before us is praise of God, for it opens the way. First it changes the heart, then it changes what is outside; or, as Saint Thomas Aquinas teaches, the habit also forms the virtue: if you want to be courageous, practice courage.
2. The things hidden from the wise, but revealed to the little ones
“You have hidden these things from the wise and the learned and revealed them to the childlike.” (Mt 11:25). In the Greek two words resound: the “apocryphal,” what is concealed and hidden, and the “apocalypse,” which is revelation. “These things” are the “mysteries of the Kingdom” (cf. Mt 13:11). God does not hide them out of malice: the wise and learned of this world exclude themselves, because pride lets nothing in. “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (Jas 4:6; 1 Pt 5:5).
If your heart and mind are already full, nothing more fits. Whoever thinks he has understood everything does not learn; whoever has already closed his notion of right and wrong does not let himself be taught by the Lord. But the one with the heart of a disciple says: “Lord, then teach me, I do not know.” Saint Teresa of Ávila reminds us that “humility is truth”: our mind is far inferior to the divine mind. The little ones are the disciples of Jesus, those who make themselves small and open their understanding to his revelation.
3. The intimacy of the Heart of the Son and the 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.” (Mt 11:27). Here the intimacy and identity of Jesus with the Father is made manifest. It is one more proof of his divinity: the intimacy he had with the Father was such that it can be explained only by his being God, of the same nature. It is the inseparable unity between the Father and the Son that the Creed of Nicaea, in the year 325, professed about Jesus: “God from God, Light from Light.” As the Gospel of John says, “Whoever sees me sees the Father” (Jn 14:9); the Son is the face of God for us (cf. Jn 1:18). This is why it is so important to read the Word of God in its totality, and not an isolated verse out of context, which can lead us into errors of interpretation and heresies.
And the knowledge Jesus wants to give us is not merely intellectual: it is experience, it is intimacy, it is participation. “Come and see,” he said to the first disciples (cf. Jn 1:39). No one loves what he does not know, and to know God is to enter into his intimacy. This does not mean setting the intellect aside: faith is to assent with the understanding, to believe and accept, but God is always above our reason.
4. “Come to me, all you who are weary”
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Mt 11:28). The invitation is to everyone, no one is excluded, for who is not weary? The heavy burden Jesus speaks of is everything that oppresses and makes life harder, and the heart of this invitation is Christological: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me” (Mt 11:29). The yoke is light not only because it is a lesser weight, but because it is Christ himself who carries it with us, unites us to himself, and teaches us his way. Among those burdens was the weight of the Law lived in an oppressive way. In Matthew 23:1-36 Jesus sharply criticizes the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees who “tie up heavy burdens on people’s shoulders and will not lift a finger to move them” (cf. Mt 23:4), the many commandments no one could fulfill, and from this came the weight of sin.
How does Jesus lighten this weight? First, by summing up the whole Law in love: to love God above all things and your neighbor as yourself (cf. Lk 10:25-28). “Whoever loves fulfills the whole law,” as Saint Paul says in the Letter to the Romans (cf. Rom 13:8-10). The burden of Jesus is light because it is the law of love. Second, through his forgiveness: sin weighs us down, and so we should always return to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, to grow accustomed to receiving God’s forgiveness. It is the wedding garment that prepares us for the banquet of the Lamb (cf. Mt 22:11-12; Rev 19:9).
The Lord’s burden is light, and he did not come to overload us. We must be careful with the many weights invented today in the name of faith, turning into a burden what the Lord wants to be light. Before the Lord you need to be yourself, without putting on a “cloak of holiness” you do not have. As Saint Teresa of Jesus taught, why speak of the devil if I can speak of God? A precious piece of advice sums it all up: “Be quiet and stay with God.” Sometimes we go to prayer with so much to say that we forget simply to hand over our burden and rest in the Lord.
5. “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart”
“Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest.” (Mt 11:29). The Jerusalem Bible completes it: “…rest for your souls.” Jesus does not promise that the burdens of this age will disappear. Saint Paul, in the Second Letter to the Corinthians, recalls the shipwrecks, hunger, thirst, and stonings (cf. 2 Cor 11:23-27): “persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Cor 4:8-9). The trials continue, but the soul is at peace, because Jesus gives us his peace: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” (Jn 14:27; 16:33).
“Learn from me” is a boldness that only Jesus could say. He was persecuted, slandered, and attacked more than any disciple, and even so he did not lose his composure, did not retaliate, did not hold resentment: he invited. “Come to me, all of you.” The Pharisees were not excluded; they excluded themselves, without openness to receive the good news. This peace comes from union with Jesus, the spiritual marriage of which Saint Teresa of Ávila and Saint John of the Cross speak. It is not the end of suffering, for neither Teresa, nor Saint Paul, nor the prophets ceased to suffer; it is keeping one’s eyes fixed on the Lord, in the certainty, as Teresa said, that he is always at our side. Tribulations happen, but they have no power to take away the peace of the one whose heart is in Jesus.
Now it is your turn: take your Bible, return to the text, and pray with the Word of God, following the steps below.
Steps of the Lectio Divina
Lectio Divina is the prayerful reading of the Word of God. Set aside a time of silence, invoke the Holy Spirit, and go calmly through these steps, praying yourself with this Gospel.
1. Reading (Lectio). What does the text say? Read this Sunday’s Gospel (Mt 11:25-30) attentively, more than once. Take your Bible or read the text in the description above. Note or underline the words that most strike you.
2. Meditation (Meditatio). What does the text say to me? Return to the five points above and let one word touch your heart: the praise of the Father, what is hidden and what is revealed, the intimacy of the Father and the Son, the “come to me,” learning from Jesus, meek and humble. Where are my burdens? What weights do I carry that the Lord wants to lighten?
3. Prayer (Oratio). What do I say to God from this text? Respond to the Lord in your own words. If you lack inspiration, begin like this: “Lord, take my heart and all the weights and burdens within it; take from me the attachments and the excessive worries that drag me backward, and place upon me your yoke, which is light. Teach me to be meek and humble as you are; give me patience, courage, temperance, humility and, above all, faith and trust. O Mary, take my hand and help me on this way, you who walked it so well.”
4. Contemplation (Contemplatio). What new gaze does God give me? Remain in silence before the Lord. “Be quiet and stay with God.” Rest in his light burden, letting his peace, the peace the world cannot give, rest upon your soul.
5. Action (Actio). To what concrete action is the Lord calling me today? Make a resolution: to return to the Sacrament of Reconciliation to let God forgive me? To put praise ahead of my desert? To bring a word of peace to someone carrying heavy burdens? Share this Word with someone in your family or among your friends.
Until next week!
Shalom!
From Monday to Saturday we have a short video; on Sunday, our podcast with the Sunday Gospel for you to meditate and pray. Subscribe to the channel and invite others, so that more people may love the Word of God. Leave your “like” and share it with your friends. God bless you. Shalom!
Podcast video: https://youtu.be/oswcLCBoK88 with subtitles you select in your own language.
