The scriptures for Mass today are all about Jesus. The old testament reading is a prophecy about Jesus’s arrival in Jerusalem, riding on an ass, which he fulfilled. Isn’t the first reading from the old testament beautiful? It describes Jesus perfectly:
“See your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, meek, and riding on an ass …. he shall proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.”
This reading called for rejoicing, to shout for joy, and that is exactly what the people did when they greeted Jesus upon his arrival in Jerusalem. He was their king, at that moment in time. The responsorial psalm leads right into this same joy and praise that comes from the heart, and echos in our own heart:
“I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
I will extol you, O my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.”
What beautiful verses in the scriptures we have for mass today. They are filled with the Holy Spirit and they fill our hearts with love, peace and joy. This is a kind of peace and happiness that the world can not give, only Jesus.
The second reading says:
“If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you.”
Don’t these words come alive in your own heart? They come alive with a life all their own. They are Living Words. The Holy Spirit lives within us, bringing us to life, both in this world, and in the next. These beautiful words in the bible are not beautiful to everyone, only those whom the good Lord has called. Many people read these words and they are just words in a book to them, but they are words that live in our hearts. These words of love are etched in our hearts.
The Spirit is so profoundly present in Christ’s words in the gospel today. How beautiful they are and so life giving. All things that originate in God, or through God, through the Holy Spirit and through Jesus Christ, are life giving. Things that are not of God, the words we say to each other, our actions that we do, they are not of God if they are not life giving. Words and actions can drain the life out of others, or build up the life in others, actually building up the body of Christ, our family, friends, and all those we come in contact with throughout our daily life.
It says that Jesus “exclaimed” his prayer. Joy so completely saturates his words. His heart seems full to overflowing with love for his Father, and with love for those who love them too. He praises God for His excellence in loving the little ones of the earth, revealing things to them that even the most educated of men do not know. God is like that. He can reveal knowledge in an instant, that would take most of us years of study or research, to discover on our own. God is the source of knowledge, and Jesus acknowledges this in his prayer today as well.
Christ said:
“No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal to him.”
We are called to come to know God more deeply. Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist and through the sacraments of the church, prepare the way for us to encounter the living God. Even this is not enough though, without prayer. Jesus’s own relationship with his Father, while he was alive on earth, was through prayer. Grace can not be achieved through our own efforts, or our own initiative. Actual grace is always a gift from God.
Jesus’s words in today’s gospel ends with:
“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; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy and my burden light.”
Don’t we all seek this deep down sense of peace, of healing, of rest and refreshment? Why do we struggle alone with so many things? We often do though. We forget to pray. We forget to turn to Jesus and give him our cares and concerns, our worries, our problems, our heartaches. We carry them like heavy weights sometimes on our shoulders, disturbing the peace of our hearts.
Jesus said, “learn from me” and this is such excellent advice. He prayed to his Father in today’s gospel. His life was founded in prayer, which helped him to form such a close bond of love with his Father. We too, need to revive our prayer life. In a single moment God can impart the grace we need to handle the things that cause us the most heartache, if we only give him half a chance.
Grace is such a beautiful gift. Everything else in life is such a struggle sometimes, such a difficult yoke to bear. But, grace transcends everything, solving problems, healing us, and bringing such deep down peace. Grace is as light as air.
Sunday Mass Readings:
Zechariah 9: 9-10 / Psalm 145 / 1 Paul 8: 9, 11-13 / Matthew 11: 25-30
