HOMILY FOR THE 14TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A.
THEME: I am Gentle and Humble of Heart!
BY: Fr. Jerome Ituah, OCD
Readings:Zech 9:9-10; ps 144(145); Rom 8:9,11-13; Matt 11:25-30
Our theme is based on the words of Jesus in the gospel ‘learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart.’ The Greek word translated as gentle is praus, which refers to a mild and friendly disposition. Therefore, it means gentle, kind, considerate, humble or meek. The praus is an unassuming person. On the other hand, the Greek word for humble in the text is tapeinos, which literarily means low, the opposite of high. Therefore, the tapeinos was a lowly, poor, unimportant person, a humble person, the opposite of one who looks for high and lofty things. In the context of the Scriptures, the praus and tapeinos is that person who has no power or influence in the world and therefore depends on God.
In the first reading, the prophet Zechariah announces the coming of the Messiah, the king who would end wars and establish a reign of peace. He tells the inhabitants of Jerusalem to rejoice and shout for joy. Their sufferings and years of servitude, their time of exile is over. Strangely, this king, who ought to come as a warrior riding on chariots and horses, comes riding on a donkey, depicting his humility. Zechariah compares this king-messiah with the kings who brandish instruments of war. He will banish chariots from Ephraim, horses from Jerusalem and banish bow of war. He will institute a reign of peace over the whole world. Still, he is a gentle and humble king.
In Matthew 11:20-24, the pericope before our gospel, Jesus criticizes the unbelieving Jews. Despite his miracles and good works, he was surprised at their lack of acceptance of his Messiahship. However, they claimed to know and understand the Law and the Prophets. And he says to them: ‘If the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day’ (Matt 11:23). In contrast to their unbelief, Jesus exclaims in the gospel: ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children. In this context, the wise and understanding are those who claim to know about the faith, the Jewish leaders. But God, through Jesus, has revealed the mysteries of the kingdom to those the Jewish leaders would consider children in the Law and faith. These are the disciples of Jesus and all those who listen to his teaching. In the previous chapter, Jesus explained who the little ones are, his disciples (cf. Matt 10:42). They are considered people of low status. They are the ones God chose to reveal the things of the kingdom through Jesus. God has handed everything in heaven and on earth to Jesus. The disciple must depend on Jesus in humility. The gentle and humble person depends on God for sustenance.
Consequently, the disciples must cast their burdens on Jesus and learn from him. The mission of the disciples is difficult in a world where they are not accepted. To accomplish their task, they must always turn to Jesus to be refreshed. The work of the kingdom is not for the disciples but for Jesus. The disciple’s role is to work for Jesus. To accomplish that task, the disciple must constantly return to the source, Jesus himself, to be refreshed. Unfortunately, many ministers and preachers of the gospel labour and work themselves out without much success because they think they own the work and never create them to return to the source of their ministry, Jesus.
Therefore, the disciple must learn from Jesus, who is gentle and humble in heart. Jesus knew that his work on earth was doing the Father’s will, and he constantly returned to his Father to be refreshed. He depended on his Father while on earth to execute his mission. In the same way, the disciple must rely totally on Jesus and learn from him, doing the work the way Jesus did it, constantly taking time to be refreshed in the arms of his Father. The time for refreshment is that time spent in prayer with God, as Jesus always did (cf. Lk 11:1). When the disciple relies on Jesus, the yoke becomes easy and the burden light.
RELATED: HOMILY FOR THE 14TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A.
The yoke was a heavy wooden beam laid across the shoulders and fastened around the neck of two animals, usually oxen, tied with rope or straps. This yoke enabled the animals to pull a plough or a cart (cf. Deut 21:3). Yokes were also used on slaves and prisoners (see Jer 28:10; Lam 1:14). It means that the yoke could serve the excellent purpose of ploughing or the negative purpose of servitude. Jesus acknowledges that there are difficulties and challenges in life. These challenges can weigh us down and become heavy burdens. And many of us carry so many burdens daily – the burden of family, work and so on. But when we journey with Jesus, we are not weighed down. Life becomes light for us despite the challenges that we face.
Jesus invites us to take up our yoke and fasten it to his like the animals pulling a plough. When Jesus shares our yoke and burden with us, they become light, and we are not overburdened. In this way, we will be able to pull the plough of the challenges of life, which may weigh us down both spiritually and physically. So when Jesus says, come to me, for my yoke is easy, let us not hesitate to go to him. What makes our yoke easy is that Jesus carries it with us. We are not alone. Jesus is always with us sharing our burdens and making them light. All we need is that humility to accept the invitation of Jesus and go to him no matter how we see ourselves. He will not judge but welcome and lift the burden off us.
FOR MORE HOMILIES CLICK >>>>>