HOMILY FOR 14TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME — YEAR A
HOMILY THEME: RSVP TO JESUS
BY: Fr. Gerald Muoka
Zech. 9:9-10 / Rom. 8:9, 11-13 / Matt 11:25-30
The most interesting part of a Nigerian invitation card is the RSVP because of what it means to us: R=Rice, S=Stew, V=Very, P=Plenty (rice and stew very plenty). In an RSVP, usually, there is the contact number or email of the person to respond to if you would honor the invitation. RSVP is an abbreviation of the French: répondez s’il vous plaît, which translates as ‘please respond to.’
My dear friends, in today’s Gospel reading, there is an invitation from Jesus to rest. He encourages those interested to RSVP to him. The question is, who are the invitees? Gerald Muoka is an invitee. Why? Jesus said, “Come, all you who labor and are burdened.” Reading through the gospel, I realized that I labor a lot, and sometimes, I get overwhelmed and overburdened by worries, anxieties, sufferings, and pains, too heavy to figure out on my own. So, it immediately occurred to me that the invitation was for me. The same applies to every one of us who is overburdened by suffering, anxieties, and pains so heavy to carry.
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The invitation is for rest and peace. That is why the atmosphere in today’s first reading speaks of peace and rest from war: “The Savior of Zion no longer comes on a horse but on a colt, the foal of an ass, with the intention of banishing chariots and horses from Ephraim and Jerusalem.” These instruments of war represent all that troubles us. He is coming to restore peace and calm only if we accept the invitation and RSVP to Him.
Jesus said again, “Take my yoke and learn from me, for my yoke is easy and burdens light.” The yoke, in the agrarian Jewish context, was a wooden beam fastened on the necks of two donkeys for cultivating the farm. Normally, a stronger and more experienced donkey was yoked with a weak and inexperienced one so that the latter could learn from the former. So, Jesus, who underwent suffering and emerged victorious, wishes to teach us how to scale through tough and difficult times.
Lesson
We need to ask ourselves, “What do I do or where do I seek help when overwhelmed and overburdened by worries, anxieties, suffering, and pains? Do I struggle to figure it out, trusting my personal capabilities like the learned in today’s Gospel, or do I surrender and RSVP to Him, like little children to whom the mysteries of the kingdom are revealed, whose security and survival are dependent on parents, not their powers? Do I depend solely on counsel from professionals? Do not carry the burdens of your sufferings, sickness, broken relationship, grief, divorce, and betrayal alone. Bartimaeus RSVP to Jesus and received his sight (Mark 10:46-52). The woman with the issue of blood RSVP to Him and was restored (Matthew 9:20-22). Mary and Martha RSVP to Him at the death of their brother Lazarus, and he raised him (John 11).
What are you waiting for? RSVP TO HIM ASAP
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