Sunday Reflection – Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (07/09/17):
(ZEC 9:9-10 / PS 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14 / ROM 8:9, 11-13 / MT 11:25-30)
The first reading for next Sunday is from the book of the prophet Zecariah, though scripture scholars haven’t really been able to settle on exactly when this passage was written, though they seem to agree it was somewhat later than the original Zecariah which was from 520 to 518 BCE. The people of Judea seem to be in a crisis, and the only way they see out is with direct intervention from Yahweh’s own self. In place of despair, the people are told to “rejoice heartily” O daughter of Jerusalem. Why? Because the king will come to you as a just savior. The new king will come riding on an ass. Why that animal? The horse was seen as a symbol of pomp, power and war, while the donkey symbolized humility and peaceful intent.
Our translation states: “He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem;” and the bow will be banished, in other words, the event would usher in a time of peace. The original Hebrew is probably closer to “I, Yahweh shall banish,” leaving no doubt about who is bringing all of this about. Yahweh will proclaim peace to the nations and dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. How many times do we get so down and out that we finally wake up and realize that God is really our answer, our only answer?
The beginning of today’s Gospel sounds more like a passage from John than from Matthew, as it discusses Jesus relationship with his Father from several different angles. Jesus praises the Father, the Lord of heaven and earth, who revealed “these things” not to the wise and learned, but rather to the little ones, a phrase Jesus often used to fondly describe his followers. The little ones, or children, were on the lowest rung of the social ladder. Whereas in our society, a child is rightfully protected, in Jesus’ time, if there was a famine, the children received the leftover portions after the adults, even to the point of death. It was the Father’s will to reveal to the little ones first.
The Father knows the Son, and the Son knows the Father, as well as anyone the Son has revealed the Father to. The life of the subsistence farmer was a very rough one, barely able to eke out support for his family from day to day, with nothing ever extra because of all the taxes and tariffs and so forth imposed by the rich. Jesus invites all those little ones to come to him who labor and are burdened and he will give rest. Take his yoke, and it is indeed light, especially after the 613 precepts of the Old Testament, all of which were to be kept perfectly. After that, Jesus’ burden is indeed light, and his yoke is easy. We all know the burdens that everyday life involves. Jesus invites each of us little ones to give him the burden, thus making life tolerable, and even easy and rewarding. -Mike Glotzbach