14th Sunday of Ordinary Time

07-09-2017Weekly Reflection©2017 Liturgical Publications, Inc.

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." Is there anyone to whom this doesn't apply? Don't we all have to labor at something, whether it be work, school, relationships, household affairs, or personal, emotional, or mental battles? Aren't we all burdened in some way at some time?

Jesus offers us powerful words of consolation in today's Gospel. He promises us rest. He calls all of us to himself, along with the baggage and burdens that we carry, and assures us that we will find relief. Thank God! What a gift for our tired, weary souls.

The strange part about the passage, however, is when Jesus suggests that in order to find this wonderful rest, we have to take a "yoke" upon our shoulders. This of course is a refer­ence to the animal harness of old that would join two oxen together to share the weight of the load they carried. He tells us, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me... For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." Somehow, joining Jesus in his work is supposed to bring us rest! Contrary to the standard belief that not working is the source of relief, Jesus urges us to join him in his mission in order to find peace. But what is this mission? To be "meek and humble of heart." Jesus' work is to do whatever God the Father wants him to do. As he says elsewhere, "My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work" (Jn 4:34). So, it seems that if we also humbly submit to doing God's work-with Jesus right alongside us as our partner in the task-we will "find rest" for ourselves. So as we labor through the trials of the day, may we bear this in mind, and pray That we may handle them according to the will of God.

Como lo vemos cada domingo del tiempo ordinario las lecturas del Antiguo Testamento iluminan el Evangelio. Las de hoy nos muestran como el Mesías es manso y humilde de corazón. "Alégrate sobremanera, hija de Sión; da gritos de júbilo, hija de Jerusalén; mira a tu rey que viene a ti, justo y victorioso, humilde y montado en un burrito" (Zac 9, 9). ¿Por qué esta lectura nos invita a estar alegres? ¿Qué relación tiene esta lectura con la del Domingo de Ramos? Ciertamente, el resultado de la acción de este rey no es nada parecido a lo que vivimos actualmente con los líderes que nos gobier/an. La paz en lugar de la guerra, el amor en lugar del odio.

También, el texto del Evangelio nos muestra la acción de gracias que Jesús hace a su Padre porque ha revelado los misterios del Reino a los sencillos de corazón, motivando a sus oyentes de entonces, y a nosotros ahora, a practicar la mansedumbre y a ser humildes de corazón. En tiempos de Jesús la gente tenía poca fe. Para los ricos él era demasiado pobre, para los sabios, muy sencillo y para los piadosos demasiado libre. Sus acciones no eran bien vistas por ellos. Sin embargo, para los pobres, los sencillos, los de corazón abierto hacia las cosas de Dios él era su todo. Por esa razón Jesús exclama con alegría, "¡Te doy gracias, Padre, Señor del cielo y de la tierra, porque has escondido estas cosas a los sabios y entendidos, y las has revelado a la gente sencilla! Gracias, Padre, porque así te ha parecido bien" (Mt 11, 25).