Zec. 9:9-10. Ps. 145. Romans 8: 9, 11-13. Matt. 11:25-30
In the first reading, Zachariah foretells the birth of the human God, meek and riding on an ass. Paul then instructs on the pre-eminence of the spirit, rather than the body. To drive home the point of humility, Jesus praises His Father for hiding these things from the learned and wise and revealing them to little ones.
How upside down, counter-cultural, and potentially life changing are these readings? Since Zachariah, Paul, and Jesus walked the earth, we humans have changed to believe we are Lord of all. The wise and clever created the known world from the natural resources placed before them.
Jesus’ comforting words: "My yolk is easy and my burden is light," soothe the people in the pews, but by the time of the Sunday parking lot exodus, stress abounds.
The people of the wise and clever world reveal how our materialistic wants and needs have designed heavy yokes for the upright. The spirit takes precedence over the body, thus making the gospels so challenging for us. Our call to live simply while bearing our burdens, knowing we walk with a loving God and supportive community is the key to lightening burdens. Power comes with a trust that the Jesus who lived and instructed us is the energy needed for the day ahead.
Does the yoke of God's love and those with whom we live and work with help you through each day?
Does my posture reveal a liberated or burdened figure?
Sister Dorothy Maxwell, OP