My Yoke is Easy

                   14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                  A cycle

 

 

After celebrating the three great feasts, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, and Corpus Christi, that bring the Easter season to its conclusion, we have entered into what the Church calls Ordinary time. Ordinary time refers to that time of the Church year that is not associated with Christmas or Easter. During Ordinary time the priest will usually wear vestments of green, the color of hope. In a way these Sundays after Easter will give us an idea of what the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus means for us.

 

In today’s first reading from the Book of Zechariah the prophet speaks of a day when the burdens laid on people by their oppressors will be lifted.

 

      He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim,

And the horse from Jerusalem;

The warrior’s bow shall be banished,

and he shall proclaim peace to the nations.

 

Chariots, horses, and the warriors bow are instruments of oppression and military conquest. The overlords of the people often put heavy burdens on their subjects. On the Fourth of July we celebrated our own Declaration of Independence whereby our founding fathers threw off the yoke of British oppression.

 

However, even though we live in the freest country in the World, there is a kind of oppression or burden that hits very close to home. I will never forget an incident that occurred years ago when I was a financial advisor. I visited an elderly couple in their home one evening to look over their finances. The man sat stopped over the kitchen table after his long commute home. The train ride to New York City took over an hour each way, but then he had to take a subway, and then walk a few blocks to his office. He hated the long commute and was sick of his job, which he had been doing for years.

 

After looking over the financial situation, I told them that there was no reason for him to continue working. They lived very frugally, and the income from their savings and investments was more than enough for them to retire comfortably. I was amazed when the man slowly raised his head and shoulders as if a great burden had been lifted. This miracle was not my doing but theirs. They had worked hard but just didn’t realize how well they had done.

 

It’s the same thing with most of us. I’m not just talking about finances now. Why do teenagers seem to be so gloomy and depressed? Why is there such addiction among young people? Why is there such a high rate of teen suicide? Why, in the years when they should feel the most free, do young people have to say what their friends want to hear; follow peer pressure and do what their friends want them to do? Why do they feel that they must smoke this, or drink that in order to be socially acceptable?

 

As we get older the burdens seem to get even greater. So many of us have had a yoke placed upon our shoulders by our friends and family. Indeed, sometimes we are the ones who have placed the burden on our own shoulders. We all know the stress of family relationships, job insecurity, raising children, or caring for aged parents. Half the country seems to be on some sort of medication, legal or illegal, to relieve the burdens. Who is there to lift the yoke from our backs.

 

Here is a good way to tell a true from a false friend. A true friend helps us to bear life’s burdens; a false one just piles more weight on our backs. In fact, the good friend is the one who actually lightens the load by sharing it with us. In today’s gospel Jesus is trying to make us realize that our burdens have been lifted.

 

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

And I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

For I am meek and humble of heart;…

For my yoke is easy, and my burden light. *

 

Christ suffered so that we would not have to. He told us to be humble and not proud; to care for our neighbor instead of always thinking of ourselves. He was always healing people. Did he ever hurt anyone? Jesus continually criticized the Pharisees for their rules and regulations that put innumerable burdens on people. 

 

St. Paul was born and raised a Pharisee. In fact, he said he was a kind of super-Pharisee who followed all rules to their minutest detail. After his conversion, however, he realized that living in the Spirit and not in the flesh was the road to happiness. 

 

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die,

But if by the Spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body,

You will live.

 

Right before today’s Eucharistic prayer, the priest will ask the congregation to “lift up your hearts,” which is just a way of saying lift up your spirits and prepare to throw off the yoke that burdens. 

 

###

Reading 1. Zechariah 9: 9-10

Reading II. Romans 8:9, 11-13

Gospel. Matthew 11: 25-30 (my yoke is easy)

*Note: 

 

To bear a yoke is to be coupled with another—to be part of a pair (Phil 4,3). When Jesus speaks of his yoke, it means that our terrible loneliness is over. We no longer belong to ourselves. Our yoking to the Lord brings about the Father’s plan of redemption {Mt 5: 45). And since the word “yoke” forms the root of the Greek word for “spouse,” Jesus here does not just tender an invitation—he proposes to us.

 

Magnificat, July 5, p. 71. 

Prepare the Way

  

                  14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                  C cycle

 

      

Today's first reading from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah is a song of praise for Jerusalem. "Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her, all you who love her..." Isaiah compares Jerusalem to a mother from whom we all take nourishment. Obviously, Jerusalem was the heart and soul of ancient Israel. It was more than a place or even a capitol city. It was the holy city of God, in a way the source of all that the Jews were as well as the place to which they all aspired to ultimately return.

 

We often think of America in the same way. On July 4th we can compare Isaiah's words with the words to "My Country Tis of Thee," set to the melody of the English national anthem, "God Save the King."

 

      My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing

      Land where my fathers' died, land of the pilgrims' pride

      From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

 

For Isaiah Jerusalem is something feminine. He compares it to a nursing mother. From the earliest times the Church has been viewed in the same way. How many times have we heard the expression "Holy Mother Church?"

 

Christians have always valued these readings from Isaiah because the Church itself is a spiritual Jerusalem. It is not just a city or country. We have our holy cities and shrines which we visit on pilgrimages but we don't regard Rome in the same way that Jews regard Jerusalem or Moslems regard Mecca. The Church is a community of believers and we can feel right at home anywhere in the world, but nowhere more so than in our own little parish. From here we embark on our own spiritual journey to the heavenly kingdom that our Lord speaks of in today's gospel.

 

Perhaps you noticed in today's gospel that Jesus sent 72 disciples ahead of Him to visit the cities and places that He would pass through on His road to Jerusalem. They were to go in pairs and prepare the way for Him. He gives them their marching orders and warns them that the going will be rough. "Behold I am sending you like lambs among wolves." He tells them to travel light and to expect to be sheltered and fed by those whom they serve. He even tells them what to say. "Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.'" 

 

If they are welcomed, they are to behave as dutiful guests, cure the sick, and proclaim, "The Kingdom of God is at hand for you." If not welcomed, they are to shake the dust of the town from their feet and go on to the next town. Jesus always insists that the door to the kingdom of God is wide open but that no one can be forced to enter. 

 

Whenever our Lord speaks to His disciples, we can assume that He is speaking to us. Like the disciples we are being sent to prepare the way for the Lord. Like the first disciples it is our job to cure the spiritually sick and to show them that "the kingdom of God is at hand." It is not just the job of the bishops or priests or sisters. It is not just the job of the Pope although God knows that recent Popes have given their lives for "the kingdom of God." 

 

What or where is the "kingdom of God?" What does our Lord mean when He says that it's "at hand?" I know that many people believe that our lives here on earth must be filled with pain and suffering and that we will only know true happiness after death. However, our Lord always seemed to work at alleviating pain and suffering right here on earth and he instructed his disciples to do the same. He cured the sick both of their physical and spiritual ailments. 

 

It's interesting that in Dante's, Divine Comedy, the most famous poem of the Middle Ages, all the characters in the poem are portrayed as being the same both before and after death. Those whom Dante placed in Hell--the lechers, the gluttons, the drunkards, the misers, the cruel, the proud, the angry, the murderers, the traitors--had made a hell for themselves and for others during their lives on earth. Those journeying up the great mountain of Purgatory had already begun their journey of redemption while on earth. Those whom Dante placed in Paradise had already exhibited the saintly qualities of love and humility during their life on earth. They had already found heaven on earth and had spent their lives in bringing it to others.

 

I know that there is always room for conversion, even on one's own deathbed. Tragically, some of us might even fall at the last moment. That's why St. Paul urges us to consider that we're in a race and to keep our eyes on the finish line. Today, he ends his letter to the Galatians by telling them that the question of circumcision is irrelevant. What matters is whether we've been willing to give up our lives in the service of others. Like those first disciples Paul was sent to prepare the way of the Lord. It wasn't easy--"for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body." He ends with a famous blessing which reminds us of the blessing that our Lord gave to the disciples. It's one that we can still use today.

 

      The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit,

      brothers and sisters.

###

Reading 1. Isaiah 66: 10-14c

Reading II. Galatians 6: 14-18

Gospel. Luke 10: 1-12, 17-20 (lambs among wolves.)

A Prophet without Honor

                       14^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                      B cycle

 

                     

In today’s first reading the prophet Ezekiel is warned that his mission will be difficult. Though he is being sent to his own people, the Israelites, he should not expect a warm welcome. 

 

Hard of face and obstinate of heart

Are they to whom I am sending you.

 

This passage from the Hebrew scriptures is obviously an introduction to our gospel reading. Today’s passage from Mark picks up right after the words we heard last week where Jesus had worked some miracles in a land with a mixed population of Jews and pagans. Even though he was not a native of this territory, his reputation had preceded him and crowds swarmed around him. A woman just had to touch his cloak to be healed, and he had even raised the young daughter of a synagogue official from her deathbed. In both cases it was faith that worked the miracle.

 

But today we read that Jesus returned to his own native land and rather than receiving a hero’s welcome the people who knew him could not believe. Even when the wisdom of the words that he spoke in the synagogue amazed them, they could not believe their ears.

 

How could he be so smart? They knew he was just a carpenter or the son of a carpenter. They knew his mother, Mary. Was she any different from any other Jewish mother? They knew his brothers and sisters. Scholars tell us not to take these words literally. The words brother and sister could mean just cousins or kinfolk. In any case, there was nothing special about any of his relatives. 

 

We are told that his neighbors took offense at Him leading Jesus to utter the famous reply.

 

A prophet is not without honor except in his native place

And among his own kin and in his own house. 

 

It is always good for us to put ourselves in the place of those mentioned in the gospels. Today we should put ourselves in the place of the hard hearted or hard headed Israelites of Ezekiel’s time, or the neighbors of Jesus who could not believe or understand.

 

Haven’t we all had the experience of underestimating someone that we knew very well? Aren’t we surprised sometimes to find out that a brother or sister, a son or daughter has done very well in their chosen profession? Has any of us had the experience of going to an awards banquet and discovering that someone we thought we knew was highly regarded by strangers? Sadly, don’t we all often fail to realize how gifted or talented our own husbands and wives might be? We all love to get recognition but it is so hard to give it. 

 

On the other hand, it is hard when we fail to receive recognition for what we have done or for who we are. From children to senior citizens we all want to get our just desserts. The gospel says that Jesus was amazed by the lack of faith of his hometown neighbors. We can understand because we are often ignored by those closest to us. It has often been said that if business men or women would treat their spouses with the same respect they treat their clients, their marriages would be much happier.

 

In today’s second reading St. Paul expresses a similar kind of disappointment. He knows that God has given him a great gift but that God has also humbled him so that he will not become puffed up.  He knows that he will not always succeed or get the recognition he desires but still he will carry on. It is better to trust in God than in yourself.

 

I am content with weaknesses, insults,

Hardships, persecutions and constraints,

For the sake of Christ,

For when I am weak, then I am strong.

 

###

Reading 1.  Ezekiel 2: 2-5

Reading II. 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10

Gospel. Mark 6:1-6 (a prophet without honor)

My Yoke Is Easy

                   14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                  A cycle

 

 

After celebrating the three great feasts, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, and Corpus Christi, that bring the Easter season to its conclusion, we have entered into what the Church calls Ordinary time. Ordinary time refers to that time of the Church year that is not associated with Christmas or Easter. During Ordinary time the priest will usually wear vestments of green, the color of hope. In a way these Sundays after Easter will give us an idea of what the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus means for us.

 

In today’s first reading from the Book of Zechariah the prophet speaks of a day when the burdens laid on people by their oppressors will be lifted.

 

      He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim,

And the horse from Jerusalem;

The warrior’s bow shall be banished,

and he shall proclaim peace to the nations.

 

Chariots, horses, and the warriors bow are instruments of oppression and military conquest. The overlords of the people often put heavy burdens on their subjects. On the Fourth of July we celebrated our own Declaration of Independence whereby our founding fathers threw off the yoke of British oppression.

 

However, even though we live in the freest country in the World, there is a kind of oppression or burden that hits very close to home. I will never forget an incident that occurred years ago when I was a financial advisor. I visited an elderly couple in their home one evening to look over their finances. The man sat stopped over the kitchen table after his long commute home. The train ride to New York City took over an hour each way, but then he had to take a subway, and then walk a few blocks to his office. He hated the long commute and was sick of his job, which he had been doing for years.

 

After looking over the financial situation, I told them that there was no reason for him to continue working. They lived very frugally, and the income from their savings and investments was more than enough for them to retire comfortably. I was amazed when the man slowly raised his head and shoulders as if a great burden had been lifted. This miracle was not my doing but theirs. They had worked hard but just didn’t realize how well they had done.

 

It’s the same thing with most of us. I’m not just talking about finances now. Why do teenagers seem to be so gloomy and depressed? Why is there such addiction among young people? Why is there such a high rate of teen suicide? Why, in the years when they should feel the most free, do young people have to say what their friends want to hear; follow peer pressure and do what their friends want them to do? Why do they feel that they must smoke this, or drink that in order to be socially acceptable?

 

As we get older the burdens seem to get even greater. So many of us have had a yoke placed upon our shoulders by our friends and family. Indeed, sometimes we are the ones who have placed the burden on our own shoulders. We all know the stress of family relationships, job insecurity, raising children, or caring for aged parents. Half the country seems to be on some sort of medication, legal or illegal, to relieve the burdens. Who is there to lift the yoke from our backs.

 

Here is a good way to tell a true from a false friend. A true friend helps us to bear life’s burdens; a false one just piles more weight on our backs. In fact, the good friend is the one who actually lightens the load by sharing it with us. In today’s gospel Jesus is trying to make us realize that our burdens have been lifted.

 

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

And I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

For I am meek and humble of heart;…

For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.

 

Christ suffered so that we would not have to. He told us to be humble and not proud; to care for our neighbor instead of always thinking of ourselves. He was always healing people. Did he ever hurt anyone? Jesus continually criticized the Pharisees for their rules and regulations that put innumerable burdens on people. 

 

St. Paul was born and raised a Pharisee. In fact, he said he was a kind of super-Pharisee who followed all rules to their minutest detail. After his conversion, however, he realized that living in the Spirit and not in the flesh was the road to happiness. 

 

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die,

But if by the Spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body,

You will live.

 

Right before today’s Eucharistic prayer, the priest will ask the congregation to “lift up your hearts,” which is just a way of saying lift up your spirits and prepare to throw off the yoke that burdens. 

 

###

Reading 1. Zechariah 9: 9-10

Reading II. Romans 8:9, 11-13

Gospel. Matthew 11: 25-30 (my yoke is easy)

Discipleship

  

                  14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                  C cycle

 

 

     

Today's first reading from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah is a song of praise for Jerusalem. "Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her, all you who love her..." Isaiah compares Jerusalem to a mother from whom we all take nourishment. Obviously, Jerusalem was the heart and soul of ancient Israel. It was more than a place or even a capitol city. It was the holy city of God, in a way the source of all that the Jews were as well as the place to which they all aspired to ultimately return.

 

We often think of America in the same way. On July 4th we can compare Isaiah's words with the words to "My Country Tis of Thee," set to the melody of the English national anthem, "God Save the King."

 

      My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing

      Land where my fathers' died, land of the pilgrims' pride

      From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

 

For Isaiah Jerusalem is something feminine. He compares it to a nursing mother. From the earliest times the Church has been viewed in the same way. How many times have we heard the expression "Holy Mother Church?"

 

Christians have always valued these readings from Isaiah because the Church itself is a spiritual Jerusalem. It is not just a city or country. We have our holy cities and shrines which we visit on pilgrimages but we don't regard Rome in the same way that Jews regard Jerusalem or Moslems regard Mecca. The Church is a community of believers and we can feel right at home anywhere in the world, but no where more so than here in our own little parish. From here we embark on our own spiritual journey to the heavenly kingdom that our Lord speaks of in today's gospel.

 

Perhaps you noticed in today's gospel that Jesus sent 72 disciples ahead of Him to visit the cities and places that He would pass through on His road to Jerusalem. They were to go in pairs and prepare the way for Him. He gives them their marching orders and warns them that the going will be rough. "Behold I am sending you like lambs among wolves." He tells them to travel light and to expect to be sheltered and fed by those whom they serve. He even tells them what to say. "Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.'" 

 

If they are welcomed, they are to behave as dutiful guests, cure the sick, and proclaim, "The Kingdom of God is at hand for you." If not welcomed, they are to shake the dust of the town from their feet and go on to the next town. Jesus always insists that the door to the kingdom of God is wide open but that no one can be forced to enter. 

 

Whenever our Lord speaks to His disciples, we can assume that He is speaking to us. Like the disciples we are being sent to prepare the way for the Lord. Like the first disciples it is our job to cure the spiritually sick and to show them that "the kingdom of God is at hand." It is not just the job of the bishops or priests or sisters. It is not just the job of the Pope although God knows that recent Popes have given their lives for "the kingdom of God." 

 

What or where is the "kingdom of God?" What does our Lord mean when He says that it's "at hand?" I know that many people believe that our lives here on earth must be filled with pain and suffering and that we will only know true happiness after death. However, our Lord always seemed to work at alleviating pain and suffering right here on earth and he instructed his disciples to do the same. He cured the sick both of their physical and spiritual ailments. 

 

It's interesting that in Dante's, Divine Comedy, the most famous poem of the Middle Ages, all the characters in the poem are portrayed as being the same both before and after death. Those whom Dante placed in Hell--the lechers, the gluttons, the drunkards, the misers, the cruel, the proud, the angry, the murderers, the traitors--had made a hell for themselves and for others during their lives on earth. Those journeying up the great mountain of Purgatory had already begun their journey of redemption while on earth. Those whom Dante placed in Paradise had already exhibited the saintly qualities of love and humility during their life on earth. They had already found heaven on earth and had spent their lives in bringing it to others.

 

I know that there is always room for conversion, even on one's own deathbed. Tragically, some of us might even fall at the last moment. That's why St. Paul urges us to consider that we're in a race and to keep our eyes on the finish line. Today, he ends his letter to the Galatians by telling them that the question of circumcision is irrelevant. What matters is whether we've been willing to give up our lives in the service of others. Like those first disciples Paul was sent to prepare the way of the Lord. It wasn't easy--"for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body." He ends with a famous blessing which reminds us of the blessing that our Lord gave to the disciples. It's one that we can still use today.

 

      The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit,

      brothers and sisters.

###

Reading 1. Isaiah 66: 10-14c

Reading II. Galatians 6: 14-18

Gospel. Luke 10: 1-12, 17-20 (lambs among wolves.)

A Prophet Without Honor

                       14^th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

                    

 

                     

In today’s first reading the prophet Ezekiel is warned that his mission will be difficult. Though he is being sent to his own people, the Israelites, he should not expect a warm welcome. 

 

Hard of face and obstinate of heart

Are they to whom I am sending you.

 

This passage from the Hebrew scriptures is obviously an introduction to our gospel reading. Today’s passage from Mark picks up right after the words we heard last week where Jesus had worked some miracles in a land with a mixed population of Jews and pagans. Even though he was not a native of this territory, his reputation had preceded him and crowds swarmed around him. A woman just had to touch his cloak to be healed, and he had even raised the young daughter of a synagogue official from her deathbed. In both cases it was faith that worked the miracle.

 

But today we read that Jesus returned to his own native land and rather than receiving a hero’s welcome the people who knew him could not believe. Even when the wisdom of his words that he spoke in the synagogue amazed them, they could not believe their ears.

 

How could he be so smart? They knew he was just a carpenter or the son of a carpenter. They knew his mother, Mary. Was she any different from any other Jewish mother? They knew his brothers and sisters. Scholars tell us not to take these words literally. The words brother and sister could mean just cousins or kinfolk. In any case, there was nothing special about any of his relatives. 

 

We are told that his neighbors took offense at Him, leading Jesus to utter the famous reply.

 

A prophet is not without honor except in his native place

And among his own kin and in his own house. 

 

It is always good for us to put ourselves in the place of those mentioned in the gospels. Today we should put ourselves in the place of the hard hearted or hard headed Israelites of Ezekiel’s time, or the neighbors of Jesus who could not believe or understand.

 

Haven’t we all had the experience of underestimating someone that we knew very well? Aren’t we surprised sometimes to find out that a brother or sister, a son or daughter has done very well in their chosen profession? Has any of us had the experience of going to an awards banquet and discovering that someone we thought we knew was highly regarded by strangers? Sadly, don’t we all often fail to realize how gifted or talented our own husbands and wives might be? We all love to get recognition but it is so hard to give it. 

 

On the other hand, it is hard when we fail to receive recognition for what we have done or for who we are. From children to senior citizens we all want to get our just desserts. The gospel says that Jesus was amazed by the lack of faith of his hometown neighbors. We can understand because we are often ignored by those closest to us. It has often been said that if business men or women would treat their spouses with the same respect they treat their clients, their marriages would be much happier.

 

In today’s second reading St. Paul expresses a similar kind of disappointment. He knows that God has given him a great gift but that God has also humbled him so that he will not become puffed up.  He knows that he will not always succeed or get the recognition he desires but still he will carry on. It is better to trust in God than in yourself.

 

I am content with weaknesses, insults,

Hardships, persecutions and constraints,

For the sake of Christ,

For when I am weak, then I am strong.

 

###

Reading 1.  Ezekiel 2: 2-5

Reading II. 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10

Gospel. Mark 6:1-6 (a prophet without honor)

My Yoke is Easy

                                    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                                    

After celebrating the three great feasts, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, and Corpus Christi, that bring the Easter season to its conclusion, we have entered into what the Church calls Ordinary time. Ordinary time refers to that time of the Church year that is not associated with Christmas or Easter. During Ordinary time the priest will usually wear vestments of green, the color of hope. In a way these Sundays after Easter will give us an idea of what the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus means for us.

In today’s first reading from the Book of Zechariah the prophet speaks of a day when the burdens laid on people by their oppressors will be lifted.

            He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim,

And the horse from Jerusalem;

The warrior’s bow shall be banished,

and he shall proclaim peace to the nations.

Chariots, horses, and the warriors bow are instruments of oppression and military conquest. The overlords of the people often put heavy burdens on their subjects. On the Fourth of July we celebrated our own Declaration of Independence whereby our founding fathers threw off the yoke of British oppression.

However, even though we live in the freest country in the World, there is a kind of oppression or burden that hits very close to home. I will never forget an incident that occurred years ago when I was a financial advisor. I visited an elderly couple in their home one evening to look over their finances. The man sat stooped over the kitchen table after his long commute home. The train ride to New York City took over an hour each way, but then he had to take a subway, and then walk a few blocks to his office. He hated the long commute and was sick of his job, which he had been doing for years.

After looking over the financial situation, I told them that there was no reason for him to continue working. They lived very frugally, and the income from their savings and investments was more than enough for them to retire comfortably. I was amazed when the man slowly raised his head and shoulders as if a great burden had been lifted. This miracle was not my doing but theirs. They had worked hard but just didn’t realize how well they had done.

It’s the same thing with most of us. I’m not just talking about finances now. Why do teenagers seem to be so gloomy and depressed? Why is there such addiction among young people? Why is there such a high rate of teen suicide? Why, in the years when they should feel the most free, do young people have to say what their friends want to hear; follow peer pressure and do what their friends want them to do? Why do they feel that they must smoke this, or drink that in order to be socially acceptable?

As we get older the burdens seem to get even greater. So many of us have had a yoke placed upon our shoulders by our friends and family. Indeed, sometimes we are the ones who have placed the burden on our own shoulders. We all know the stress of family relationships, job insecurity, raising children, or caring for aged parents. Half the country seems to be on some sort of medication, legal or illegal, to relieve the burdens. Who is there to lift the yoke from our backs.

Here is a good way to tell a true from a false friend. A true friend helps us to bear life’s burdens; a false one just piles more weight on our backs. In fact, the good friend is the one who actually lightens the load by sharing it with us. In today’s gospel Jesus is trying to make us realize that our burdens have been lifted.

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

And I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

For I am meek and humble of heart;…

For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.

Christ suffered so that we would not have to. He told us to be humble and not proud; to care for our neighbor instead of always thinking of ourselves. He was always healing people. Did he ever hurt anyone? Jesus continually criticized the Pharisees for their rules and regulations that put innumerable burdens on people. 

St. Paul was born and raised a Pharisee. In fact, he said he was a kind of super-Pharisee who followed all rules to their minutest detail. After his conversion, however, he realized that living in the Spirit and not in the flesh was the road to happiness. 

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die,

But if by the Spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body,

You will live.

Right before today’s Eucharistic prayer, the priest will ask the congregation to “lift up your hearts,” which is just a way of saying lift up your spirits and prepare to throw off the yoke that burdens. 

###

Reading 1. Zechariah 9: 9-10

Reading II. Romans 8:9, 11-13

Gospel. Matthew 11: 25-30 (my yoke is easy)

Peace to this Household

                                    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                                   

Peace to this Household

          

Today's first reading from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah is a song of praise for Jerusalem. "Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her, all you who love her..." Isaiah compares Jerusalem to a mother from whom we all take nourishment. Obviously, Jerusalem was the heart and soul of ancient Israel. It was more than a place or even a capitol city. It was the holy city of God, in a way the source of all that the Jews were as well as the place to which they all aspired to ultimately return.

We often think of America in the same way. On July 4th we can compare Isaiah's words with the words to "My Country Tis of Thee," set to the melody of the English national anthem, "God Save the King."

            My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing

            Land where my fathers' died, land of the pilgrims' pride

            From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

For Isaiah Jerusalem is something feminine. He compares it to a nursing mother. From the earliest times the Church has been viewed in the same way. How many times have we heard the expression "Holy Mother Church?"

Christians have always valued these readings from Isaiah because the Church itself is a spiritual Jerusalem. It is not just a city or country. We have our holy cities and shrines which we visit on pilgrimages but we don't regard Rome in the same way that Jews regard Jerusalem or Moslems regard Mecca. The Church is a community of believers and we can feel right at home anywhere in the world, but no where more so than here in our own little parish. From here we embark on our own spiritual journey to the heavenly kingdom that our Lord speaks of in today's gospel.

Perhaps you noticed in today's gospel that Jesus sent 72 disciples ahead of Him to visit the cities and places that He would pass through on His road to Jerusalem. They were to go in pairs and prepare the way for Him. He gives them their marching orders and warns them that the going will be rough. "Behold I am sending you like lambs among wolves." He tells them to travel light and to expect to be sheltered and fed by those whom they serve. He even tells them what to say. "Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.'" 

If they are welcomed, they are to behave as dutiful guests, cure the sick, and proclaim, "The Kingdom of God is at hand for you." If not welcomed, they are to shake the dust of the town from their feet and go on to the next town. Jesus always insists that the door to the kingdom of God is wide open but that no one can be forced to enter. 

Whenever our Lord speaks to His disciples, we can assume that He is speaking to us. Like the disciples we are being sent to prepare the way for the Lord. Like the first disciples it is our job to cure the spiritually sick and to show them that "the kingdom of God is at hand." It is not just the job of the bishops or priests or sisters. It is not just the job of the Pope although God knows that recent Popes have given their lives for "the kingdom of God." 

What or where is the "kingdom of God?" What does our Lord mean when He says that it's "at hand?" I know that many people believe that our lives here on earth must be filled with pain and suffering and that we will only know true happiness after death. However, our Lord always seemed to work at alleviating pain and suffering right here on earth and he instructed his disciples to do the same. He cured the sick both of their physical and spiritual ailments. 

It's interesting that in Dante's, Divine Comedy, the most famous poem of the Middle Ages, all the characters in the poem are portrayed as being the same both before and after death. Those whom Dante placed in Hell--the lechers, the gluttons, the drunkards, the misers, the cruel, the proud, the angry, the murderers, the traitors--had made a hell for themselves and for others during their lives on earth. Those journeying up the great mountain of Purgatory had already begun their journey of redemption while on earth. Those whom Dante placed in Paradise had already exhibited the saintly qualities of love and humility during their life on earth. They had already found heaven on earth and had spent their lives in bringing it to others.

I know that there is always room for conversion, even on one's own deathbed. Tragically, some of us might even fall at the last moment. That's why St. Paul urges us to consider that we're in a race and to keep our eyes on the finish line. Today, he ends his letter to the Galatians by telling them that the question of circumcision is irrelevant. What matters is whether we've been willing to give up our lives in the service of others. Like those first disciples Paul was sent to prepare the way of the Lord. It wasn't easy--"for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body." He ends with a famous blessing which reminds us of the blessing that our Lord gave to the disciples. It's one that we can still use today.

            The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit,

            brothers and sisters.

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Reading 1. Isaiah 66: 10-14c

Reading II. Galatians 6: 14-18

Gospel. Luke 10: 1-12, 17-20 (lambs among wolves.)

A Prophet without Honor

                           14^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                        

                          

In today’s first reading the prophet Ezekiel is warned that his mission will be difficult. Though he is being sent to his own people, the Israelites, he should not expect a warm welcome.

"Hard of face and obstinate of heart

Are they to whom I am sending you."

This passage from the Hebrew scriptures is obviously an introduction to today’s gospel reading. Today’s passage from Mark picks up right after the words we heard last week where Jesus had worked some miracles in a land with a mixed population of Jews and pagans. Even though he was not a native of this territory, his reputation had preceded him and crowds swarmed around him. A woman just had to touch his cloak to be healed, and he had even raised the young daughter of a synagogue official from her deathbed. In both cases it was faith that worked the miracle.

But today we read that Jesus returned to his own native land and rather than receiving a hero’s welcome the people who knew him could not believe. Even when the wisdom of his words when he spoke in the synagogue amazed them, they could not believe their ears.

How could he be so smart? They knew he was just a carpenter or the son of a carpenter. They knew his mother, Mary. Was she any different from any other Jewish mother? They knew his brothers and sisters. Scholars tell us not to take these words literally. The words brother and sister could mean just cousins or kinfolk. In any case, there was nothing special about any of his relatives.

We are told that his neighbors took offense at Him leading Jesus to utter the famous reply.

A prophet is not without honor except in his native place 

And among his own kin and in his own house.

It is always good for us to put ourselves in the place of those mentioned in the gospels. Today we should put ourselves in the place of the hard hearted or hard headed Israelites of Ezekiel’s time, or the neighbors of Jesus who could not believe or understand.

Haven’t we all had the experience of underestimating someone that we knew very well? Aren’t we surprised sometimes to find out that a brother or sister, a son or daughter has done very well in their chosen profession? Has any of us had the experience of going to an awards banquet and discovering that someone we thought we knew was highly regarded by strangers? Sadly, don’t we all often fail to realize how gifted or talented our own husbands and wives might be? We all love to get recognition but it is so hard to give it.

On the other hand, it is hard when we fail to receive recognition for what we have done or for who we are. From children to senior citizens we all want to get our just desserts. The gospel says that Jesus was amazed by the lack of faith of his hometown neighbors. We can understand because we are often ignored by those closest to us. It has often been said that if business men or women would treat their spouses with the same respect they treat their clients, their marriages would be much happier.

In today’s second reading St. Paul expresses a similar kind of disappointment. He knows that God has given him a great gift but that God has also humbled him so that he will not become puffed up.  He knows that he will not always succeed or get the recognition he desires but still he will carry on. It is better to trust in God than in yourself.

I am content with weaknesses, insults, 

Hardships, persecutions and constraints,  

For the sake of Christ,  

For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

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Reading 1.  Ezekiel 2: 2-5

Reading II. 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10

Gospel. Mark 6:1-6 (a prophet without honor)