Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Zechariah 9:9–10; Romans 8:9, 11–13; Matthew 11:25–30
Today, we are given a glimpse into one of Jesus’ prayers.
It begins with an intimate word:
“Father.”
“Abba.”
Then Jesus reveals this Father as “Lord of heaven and earth.”
In biblical language, “heaven and earth” means everything created.
So today, we could render Jesus’ prayer in this way:
Abba, Father, Lord of the whole universe.
This reveals two things.
First, the intimate relationship between Jesus and His Father.
Second, the biblical truth that Jesus’ Father is in charge of everything.
He is the Lord.
Nobody else.
And then Jesus praises His Father.
Not first for power, though all power belongs to God.
Not first for might, though all might belongs to God.
Not first for glory, though all glory belongs to God.
Jesus praises the Father for His mysterious way of dealing with us:
“You have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, and revealed them to little ones.”
Why was Abraham chosen from among all the people of the earth?
Why did Jesus choose His disciples from among ordinary Galilean fishermen?
Why did so many of the first Christians belong to the lowest strata of society, many of them even slaves?
This is one of the great surprises of God’s action in the world:
He does not begin with the powerful.
He does not first choose the influential.
He does not build His Kingdom on those who impress the world.
God chooses the weak, the lowly, the despised,
so that no one may boast before Him.
Even today, the majority of Christians live in the so-called developing world, in the global South,
far from the centers of wealth and power.
And yet, we have been chosen to know the truth of Christ.
Then Jesus continues:
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Here Jesus speaks as the Good Shepherd of Psalm 23,
who leads His sheep beside quiet waters
and restores their souls.
These words also echo the prophet Isaiah:
“Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles.”
There is a way out of weariness.
There is a way out of the endless race, the pressure, the anxiety,
and the burden of trying to carry life alone.
“Come to me,” Jesus says.
He promises rest.
He promises refreshment.
He promises life.
But His invitation also includes a command:
“Take my yoke upon you.”
This yoke is not slavery.
It is the sweet yoke of God’s commandments.
For us, it is also the way of the Cross,
the path that leads through death into resurrection.
His yoke is easy because He carries it with us.
His burden is light because He gives us His Spirit.
So we come to Christ with our tired hearts, our troubled minds, our unfinished struggles, and our hidden wounds.
He leads us to living waters.
He restores our souls.
Let us make Jesus’ prayer our own:
Abba, Father, Lord of the whole universe,
we praise You for the gift of faith You have revealed to us,
ordinary people, people with little power and little influence.
Thank You, Abba, Father.
Amen.
Biblical Reflections on the Gospel of Matthew
Scripture Attribution
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993
the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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