July 5, 2020 - 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Zec 9:9-10; ROM 8:9, 11-13; Mt 11:25-30)

In Romans, St. Paul says that when we surrender ourselves to the Spirit of God, he transforms us, body and soul, into “heirs with Christ” of the heavenly Kingdom that immeasurably surpasses anything that earth can offer (8:17). Our way to that inheritance is the same that he trod: through suffering and death.

We sometimes puzzle over the Gospel’s image of the yoke, which is the mechanism used by farmers to bind draft animals to each other and to the equipment that they labor to pull. It sounds to us as though Jesus isn’t doing us any favors by offering us such a yoke. The yoke that Jesus speaks of is a symbol for a covenantal, familial relationship with God. What Jesus offers us is a new way to enter the kingdom of God, the covenant with God, one which does indeed involve obedience, but which is made easy and light because of the grace that he wins for us by his own obedience. He first models the obedience he asks for by being “meek and humble of heart.” His own obedience to the Father and love for us comes first; then he asks us to take on ourselves the yoke he has already carried for us. When he says that it is “my yoke,” he means that it is the one he not only wears, but also that he shares.

• In the Second Reading St. Paul says that the Spirit of God dwells within us. How can you know that the Spirit is within you? How are suffering and death connected to the indwelling of the Spirit?
• Jesus says specifically that his yoke is “easy” and “light,” but why should we want to be bound up like a draft animal, even if the instrument that binds me is relatively comfortable?
• A yoke is designed so that the burden doesn’t fall on just one animal; it is designed so they share the workload. How might a yoke be a good image for how Jesus wants to help us carry our burdens in life?  What part of your life needs rest and peace? Your relationships? Your career? Your health? How can you turn that weight over to Jesus?
• What do meekness and humility have to do with the yoke Jesus talks about. How can you apply this to your life?

Turning our burdens over to Jesus isn’t something that happens once and for all time, but something we have to do continually, sometimes many times in a day. To do so isn’t to fail, but rather to build trust and confidence in God’s provision