Suy
niệm Tin Mừng Chúa Nhật 14 Thường Niên A
Trong bài đọc Tin Mừng Chủ nhật tuần trước, chúng ta đã thấy sự khác biệt rất lớn giữa việc đặt Chúa Giêsu lên hàng đầu và đặt Người đứng hàng thứ hai. Nếu chúng ta đặt Chúa Giêsu lên hàng đầu và chúng ta sẽ đạt được tất cả; nhưng, nếu chúng ta đặt Ngài vào hạng thứ hai và chúng ta sẽ mất tất cả. Đó là lý do tại sao Ngài nói "Nếu ai ai yêu thương cha, anh chi em hay con cái mình hơn ta đều không xứng đáng với ta."
Tin mừng Chủa nhật hôm nay cho chúng ta thấy một điều đáng ngạc nhiên. Khi chúng ta đặt Chúa Giê-su lên hàng đầu, Ngài cho chúng ta nghỉ ngơi: " Hãy mang lấy ách của Ta vào mình, hãy thụ giáo với Ta, vì Ta hiền lành và khiêm nhượng trong lòng, và các ngươi sẽ tìm thấy sự nghỉ ngơi cho tâm hồn. Vì chưng ách Ta thì êm ái, và gánh Ta lại nhẹ nhàng".
Thật đẹp biết bao, khi chúng ta được kết nối trong sự hiệp nhất với Chúa Giêsu. để, chúng ta có thể trải nghiệm sự nghỉ ngơi! sự nghỉ ngơi đó làm cho chúng ta có được sự bình tĩnh, và làm mới tâm hồn cũng như giúp tiếp sức thêm năng lượng cho chúng ta. Để chấp nhận lời Chúa, chúng ta phải mở lòng và đón nhận Lời Chúa bằng sự khiêm tốn. Chúa Giêsu đã hạ mình để nâng chúng ta ra khỏi sự khốn khổ và nô lệ tội lỗi của chúng ta để nâng chúng ta lên vinh quang với Người và Chúa Cha.
Chúa Giêsu đến không phải để làm tổn thương kẻ yếu mà là để chữa lành, Ngài tha thứ và không lên án, để khôi phục chúng ta, để chúng ta có được sự sống dồi dào bằng cách đánh bại tội lỗi, đánh bại Satan và cái chết. Cũng vì chính tình yêu Ngài dành cho Chúa Cha vĩnh cửu trên trời và cho mỗi người chúng ta mà Chúa Giêsu đã hạ mình xuống thế gian và chết trên thập giá để giải cứu chúng ta khỏi cảnh nô lệ cho tội lỗi và sự chết. Câu 3 trong sách Châm ngôn cho chúng ta biết rằng: Thiên Chúa chống lại kẻ kiêu ngạo, nhưng ban ân sủng cho những người biết khiêm tốn (Châm ngôn 3:34, James 4: 6). Chỉ có những người khiêm tốn trong tâm hồn mới có thể nhận được sự khôn ngoan đến từ Thiên Chúa và sự hiểu biết về lòng tốt và kế hoạch hoàn hảo của Thiên Chúa cho cuộc sống của chúng ta.
Bằng cách thừa nhận sự phụ thuộc hoàn toàn của chúng ta vào Thiên Chúa và chúng ta biết đặt niềm tin vào Ngài bằng cả trái tim, tâm trí và thể xác. Thì chúng ta mới có thể đươc Chúa Giêsu nâng đỡ bớt gánh nặng tội lỗi và sức nặng của sự vô vọng nơi chúng ta; bằng cách trao đổi cho chúng ta với bằng tình yêu mãnh liệt và vinh quang. Chúa Giêsu đã dùng hình ảnh của một ách để giải thích chúng ta biết là làm sao Ngài có thể trao đổi một gánh nặng tội lỗi và tuyệt vọng của mỗi người chúng ta thành một gánh nặng đầy vinh quang và với cái ách tự do khỏi tội lỗi. Cái ách mà Chúa Giêsu mời gọi chúng ta hôm nay là nắm lấy những ân sủng Chúa ban và từ bỏ những quyền lực của tội lỗi. Chúng ta hãy đặt niềm tin vào tình yêu của chúng ta vào Chúa và tuân theo ý muốn của Ngài và những kế hoạch mà Ngài dành riêng cho chúng ta. Chúng ta hãy xin Chúa Jêsus xóa bỏ mọi nghi ngờ, sợ hãi và suy nghĩ tự hào đang cản trở chúng ta nhận được những lời của Ngài bằng với niềm tin tưởng và sự khuất phục khiêm tốn trong cuộc sống riêng của mỗi người chúng ta.
Chúng ta hãy xin Chúa Giêsu, ban cho chúng ta có một trái tim biết khiêm tốn và lòng đơn sơ và tinh khiết trong đức tin để chúng ta có thể nhìn lên gương mặt của Ngài với niềm vui. Và biết tin tưởng vào tình yêu thương xót của Ngài.
Reflection for 14th
Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A. Matthew 11: 25-30
In the Gospel reading last Sunday, we saw the huge difference between putting Jesus first and putting him second. Place Jesus first and we would gain all; but, if we put him second and we will lose all. That's why He says "whoever loves father or mother; son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."
This Sunday we see something surprising. When we put Jesus first, He gives us rest: "Take my yoke upon you...and I will give you rest." Today, Jesus calls us to bring all burden or suffering that is wearing us down to him and He will help us. He uses the image of a yoke that calls us to picture the two oxens with a wooden yoke across their necks so that together they can pull a heavy load. We are to picture ourselves and Jesus with a yoke connecting us so that we can carry the burdens of life, not alone, but with Jesus. Jesus does this for us out of meekness and humility, so that we might find rest.
By acknowledge our utter dependence on God and we put our trust in Him with our whole heart, mind, and being. Only Jesus can lift the burden of sin and the weight of hopelessness from us; and give us a weight of love and glory in exchange. Jesus used the analogy of a yoke to explain how we can exchange the burden of sin and despair for a burden of glory and yoke of freedom from sin. The yoke which Jesus invites us today is to embrace is his way of grace and freedom from the power of sin.
Let’s ask the Lord Jesus removes every doubt, fear, and proud thought that would hinder us from receiving His words with trust and humble submission for our life.
14th Sunday in
Ordinary Time Year A 2026
This passage beautifully summarizes the entire Christian life—the life to which we are called and in which we find our purpose, meaning, and ultimate fulfillment. Jesus begins by offering praise to the “Father, Lord of heaven and earth.” Though Jesus Himself is fully God, “one in being with the Father”—co-eternal and consubstantial—He nevertheless offers praise to the Father.
In the original Greek, the phrase “I give praise to you…” (exomologoumai) indicates an open, public, and full acknowledgment by the Son of the Father’s sovereignty and gracious will. The Father is the All-Powerful Lord of all that exists—everything in the heavens and on earth. Jesus expresses this fundamental stance toward the Father for two reasons: first, because it is eternally true; and second, so that we might humble ourselves and join Him in praying the same prayer—through, with, and in Jesus.
This prayer closely parallels the opening of the Lord’s Prayer (the “Our Father”), because both begin with a direct acknowledgment and praise of the Father’s holiness and sovereignty. The Lord’s Prayer is the perfect prayer precisely because it was given to us by Jesus Himself. After addressing the Father, it presents seven petitions. According to Saints Thomas Aquinas and Augustine, the first two petitions—“hallowed be Thy name” and “Thy Kingdom come”—reveal the central purpose of our lives: to glorify God eternally and to be caught up in, and actively participate in that glory by becoming full members of His Kingdom. In today’s prayer, Jesus says “these things” have been revealed “to little ones” and that the Son can choose to reveal the Father to whom He wishes.
We are drawn into Jesus’ prayer and intimate relationship with the Father precisely when Jesus reveals the Father to us: “No one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” Because Jesus deeply desires that we come to know and love the Father with the same love He has for Him, His prayer continues by gently inviting us—especially when burdened by weariness, weakness, or sin—to lay our burdens down before His merciful power and glory: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
This tender invitation reveals Jesus’ deepest desire for us: that we would enter into His love for the Father, share intimately in the union between Father and Son, and thus magnify and glorify the Most Holy Trinity—not only in our earthly journey but eternally in Heaven. Indeed, what a sublime and glorious calling we have received!
Reflect today upon this beautiful prayer, knowing in your heart that Jesus Himself invites you to pray it with Him, through Him, and in Him. He longs for His voice to resonate within your voice, His love to beat within your heart, and His holy desires to shape your own. Turn your gaze toward the Father—He who is both the Source and ultimate goal of your existence—and strive lovingly and humbly to accomplish all things according to His gracious and holy will.
Our Father, You who dwell in the heavens and within the souls of Your sanctified ones, may Your eternal essence, Your holy Name—the One who was, who is, and who is to come, the Great I AM—be honored, praised, and glorified forever. May this glorification shine forth in my life and in the lives of all Your faithful, as we await with joyful hope the return in glory of Your Son, Jesus our Savior, when You, together with Him and the Holy Spirit, will establish the New Heavens and the New Earth. Jesus, I trust in You.
14th Sunday in
Ordinary Time Year A 2026
Opening Prayer: Lord God, we praise you, for you reveal the mysteries of your Kingdom to the humble and faithful of heart. Teach us to trust in your gentle rule, rejoice in your saving presence, and walk by your Spirit. Free us from the works of the flesh, that we may live as your children and proclaim your everlasting goodness.
1. Entrusting the Kingdom to Jesus: In the Gospel of Matthew, we are reading from the “Third Book” (Matthew 11-13), which concerns the mystery of the Kingdom. We are reading from the narrative section that builds up to the parables about the Kingdom (Matthew 13). Jesus, today, praises his Father and acknowledges that the Father has entrusted all things to him. With this phrase, “Jesus is claiming to be the heir of the universal kingdom of David and the universal kingdom of God. The two are ultimately one and the same. Just as David handed all things over to Solomon, who then rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to claim the throne; so God has handed all things over to Jesus (Ephesians 1:22), who is also the Son of David” (Bergsma, The Word of the Lord: Year A, 308). In his prayer to his Father, Jesus is alluding to the history of the Kingdom of David and especially the transition from King Solomon to his son, Rehoboam. When the people came to Rehoboam and asked him to lighten their burden, their taxes, and their forced labor, Rehoboam refused and only increased it. This led to the northern tribes separating from the two southern tribes. “In these verses of Matthew, Jesus the Son of David contrasts himself with some of the corrupt and abusive sons of David who preceded him, whose selfishness led to the breaking apart of God’s people. Jesus comes as the healer and consoler, the one to reunite “Ephraim” the north and “Jerusalem “the south” (Bergsma, The Word of the Lord: Year A, 309).
14th Sunday in
Ordinary Time Year A
“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.” Matthew 11:28–30
In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks to those “who labor and are burdened” and invites them to carry the light and easy yoke that He will give them. In other words, Jesus is identifying the fact that the scribes and Pharisees had so distorted the Law of Moses that the practice of the Jewish faith had become a burden that was too difficult to carry. In contrast, Jesus’ New Law of grace was freeing, light, and easy.
When you consider Jesus’ many teachings, do you see them as easy to follow? Or do they seem to be too much at times? For example, Jesus said to “be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). This was not only an invitation, it was also a command and a requirement. So are Jesus’ teachings easy? Or are they overwhelming?
Of course, since Jesus Himself says that “my yoke is easy, and my burden light,” then we can be certain that they are. Jesus not only calls us to moral perfection, He also gives us the means by which we can obtain it. By analogy, say someone told you to move a boulder that weighed 2,000 pounds. Could you do that? You could if the person also gave you a large tractor to use for the task. In that case, it would be as easy as using the machine correctly. So it is with all that our Lord asks of us. When we find some moral obligation to be difficult or even overwhelming, then we are not relying upon the grace that God has given us to fulfill His command.
Reflect, today, upon Jesus’ gentle invitation to you to embrace the “yoke” of perfection. Do not see it as too much. Rather, see it as a joyous invitation from our Lord. Ponder the fact that God not only calls you to the heights of holiness, He also provides you with the means to obtain it. Have faith in His almighty power and open yourself to it more fully so that You will be able to do anything and everything our Lord asks of you with ease and joy.
My gentle Lord, You place upon my shoulders Your own yoke to carry. I say “Yes” to all that You ask of me, and I thank You for bestowing Your mercy upon me. Please remove every yoke from me that is not from You, so that I can follow You with the joy of the light burden of Your grace. Jesus, I trust in You.
14th
Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 2023
Opening Prayer: Lord, each day, I experience my own smallness, insufficiencies, and shortcomings. Still, I know that you are the One who accomplishes every good thing in my life and that I can do nothing on my own. Therefore, Lord, I cast my worries to you and renew my faith, hope, and love in your infinite goodness. Lord, grant me the humble knowledge that you are working in me and I am in your hands.
1. Faith to the Little Ones: Every day, we experience, in some form or another, our smallness. Whether it is our lack of attention at work, laughing at something that makes us look insensitive, or simply not meeting up to our own exaggerated expectations of ourselves, we fall far short of seeming “wise and learned” by the world’s standards. However, Christ says that the Father has hidden “these things”–spiritual truths–from the wise and the learned and revealed them to the childlike. Why is that? Precisely because God and a proud soul–a soul who touts its own wisdom and learning–are like oil and water. They cannot mix. A small soul can allow God’s greatness to overshadow it and thus be able to receive spiritual wisdom.
Trong bài đọc Tin Mừng Chủ nhật tuần trước, chúng ta đã thấy sự khác biệt rất lớn giữa việc đặt Chúa Giêsu lên hàng đầu và đặt Người đứng hàng thứ hai. Nếu chúng ta đặt Chúa Giêsu lên hàng đầu và chúng ta sẽ đạt được tất cả; nhưng, nếu chúng ta đặt Ngài vào hạng thứ hai và chúng ta sẽ mất tất cả. Đó là lý do tại sao Ngài nói "Nếu ai ai yêu thương cha, anh chi em hay con cái mình hơn ta đều không xứng đáng với ta."
Tin mừng Chủa nhật hôm nay cho chúng ta thấy một điều đáng ngạc nhiên. Khi chúng ta đặt Chúa Giê-su lên hàng đầu, Ngài cho chúng ta nghỉ ngơi: " Hãy mang lấy ách của Ta vào mình, hãy thụ giáo với Ta, vì Ta hiền lành và khiêm nhượng trong lòng, và các ngươi sẽ tìm thấy sự nghỉ ngơi cho tâm hồn. Vì chưng ách Ta thì êm ái, và gánh Ta lại nhẹ nhàng".
Thật đẹp biết bao, khi chúng ta được kết nối trong sự hiệp nhất với Chúa Giêsu. để, chúng ta có thể trải nghiệm sự nghỉ ngơi! sự nghỉ ngơi đó làm cho chúng ta có được sự bình tĩnh, và làm mới tâm hồn cũng như giúp tiếp sức thêm năng lượng cho chúng ta. Để chấp nhận lời Chúa, chúng ta phải mở lòng và đón nhận Lời Chúa bằng sự khiêm tốn. Chúa Giêsu đã hạ mình để nâng chúng ta ra khỏi sự khốn khổ và nô lệ tội lỗi của chúng ta để nâng chúng ta lên vinh quang với Người và Chúa Cha.
Chúa Giêsu đến không phải để làm tổn thương kẻ yếu mà là để chữa lành, Ngài tha thứ và không lên án, để khôi phục chúng ta, để chúng ta có được sự sống dồi dào bằng cách đánh bại tội lỗi, đánh bại Satan và cái chết. Cũng vì chính tình yêu Ngài dành cho Chúa Cha vĩnh cửu trên trời và cho mỗi người chúng ta mà Chúa Giêsu đã hạ mình xuống thế gian và chết trên thập giá để giải cứu chúng ta khỏi cảnh nô lệ cho tội lỗi và sự chết. Câu 3 trong sách Châm ngôn cho chúng ta biết rằng: Thiên Chúa chống lại kẻ kiêu ngạo, nhưng ban ân sủng cho những người biết khiêm tốn (Châm ngôn 3:34, James 4: 6). Chỉ có những người khiêm tốn trong tâm hồn mới có thể nhận được sự khôn ngoan đến từ Thiên Chúa và sự hiểu biết về lòng tốt và kế hoạch hoàn hảo của Thiên Chúa cho cuộc sống của chúng ta.
Bằng cách thừa nhận sự phụ thuộc hoàn toàn của chúng ta vào Thiên Chúa và chúng ta biết đặt niềm tin vào Ngài bằng cả trái tim, tâm trí và thể xác. Thì chúng ta mới có thể đươc Chúa Giêsu nâng đỡ bớt gánh nặng tội lỗi và sức nặng của sự vô vọng nơi chúng ta; bằng cách trao đổi cho chúng ta với bằng tình yêu mãnh liệt và vinh quang. Chúa Giêsu đã dùng hình ảnh của một ách để giải thích chúng ta biết là làm sao Ngài có thể trao đổi một gánh nặng tội lỗi và tuyệt vọng của mỗi người chúng ta thành một gánh nặng đầy vinh quang và với cái ách tự do khỏi tội lỗi. Cái ách mà Chúa Giêsu mời gọi chúng ta hôm nay là nắm lấy những ân sủng Chúa ban và từ bỏ những quyền lực của tội lỗi. Chúng ta hãy đặt niềm tin vào tình yêu của chúng ta vào Chúa và tuân theo ý muốn của Ngài và những kế hoạch mà Ngài dành riêng cho chúng ta. Chúng ta hãy xin Chúa Jêsus xóa bỏ mọi nghi ngờ, sợ hãi và suy nghĩ tự hào đang cản trở chúng ta nhận được những lời của Ngài bằng với niềm tin tưởng và sự khuất phục khiêm tốn trong cuộc sống riêng của mỗi người chúng ta.
Chúng ta hãy xin Chúa Giêsu, ban cho chúng ta có một trái tim biết khiêm tốn và lòng đơn sơ và tinh khiết trong đức tin để chúng ta có thể nhìn lên gương mặt của Ngài với niềm vui. Và biết tin tưởng vào tình yêu thương xót của Ngài.
In the Gospel reading last Sunday, we saw the huge difference between putting Jesus first and putting him second. Place Jesus first and we would gain all; but, if we put him second and we will lose all. That's why He says "whoever loves father or mother; son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."
This Sunday we see something surprising. When we put Jesus first, He gives us rest: "Take my yoke upon you...and I will give you rest." Today, Jesus calls us to bring all burden or suffering that is wearing us down to him and He will help us. He uses the image of a yoke that calls us to picture the two oxens with a wooden yoke across their necks so that together they can pull a heavy load. We are to picture ourselves and Jesus with a yoke connecting us so that we can carry the burdens of life, not alone, but with Jesus. Jesus does this for us out of meekness and humility, so that we might find rest.
By acknowledge our utter dependence on God and we put our trust in Him with our whole heart, mind, and being. Only Jesus can lift the burden of sin and the weight of hopelessness from us; and give us a weight of love and glory in exchange. Jesus used the analogy of a yoke to explain how we can exchange the burden of sin and despair for a burden of glory and yoke of freedom from sin. The yoke which Jesus invites us today is to embrace is his way of grace and freedom from the power of sin.
Let’s ask the Lord Jesus removes every doubt, fear, and proud thought that would hinder us from receiving His words with trust and humble submission for our life.
This passage beautifully summarizes the entire Christian life—the life to which we are called and in which we find our purpose, meaning, and ultimate fulfillment. Jesus begins by offering praise to the “Father, Lord of heaven and earth.” Though Jesus Himself is fully God, “one in being with the Father”—co-eternal and consubstantial—He nevertheless offers praise to the Father.
In the original Greek, the phrase “I give praise to you…” (exomologoumai) indicates an open, public, and full acknowledgment by the Son of the Father’s sovereignty and gracious will. The Father is the All-Powerful Lord of all that exists—everything in the heavens and on earth. Jesus expresses this fundamental stance toward the Father for two reasons: first, because it is eternally true; and second, so that we might humble ourselves and join Him in praying the same prayer—through, with, and in Jesus.
This prayer closely parallels the opening of the Lord’s Prayer (the “Our Father”), because both begin with a direct acknowledgment and praise of the Father’s holiness and sovereignty. The Lord’s Prayer is the perfect prayer precisely because it was given to us by Jesus Himself. After addressing the Father, it presents seven petitions. According to Saints Thomas Aquinas and Augustine, the first two petitions—“hallowed be Thy name” and “Thy Kingdom come”—reveal the central purpose of our lives: to glorify God eternally and to be caught up in, and actively participate in that glory by becoming full members of His Kingdom. In today’s prayer, Jesus says “these things” have been revealed “to little ones” and that the Son can choose to reveal the Father to whom He wishes.
We are drawn into Jesus’ prayer and intimate relationship with the Father precisely when Jesus reveals the Father to us: “No one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” Because Jesus deeply desires that we come to know and love the Father with the same love He has for Him, His prayer continues by gently inviting us—especially when burdened by weariness, weakness, or sin—to lay our burdens down before His merciful power and glory: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
This tender invitation reveals Jesus’ deepest desire for us: that we would enter into His love for the Father, share intimately in the union between Father and Son, and thus magnify and glorify the Most Holy Trinity—not only in our earthly journey but eternally in Heaven. Indeed, what a sublime and glorious calling we have received!
Reflect today upon this beautiful prayer, knowing in your heart that Jesus Himself invites you to pray it with Him, through Him, and in Him. He longs for His voice to resonate within your voice, His love to beat within your heart, and His holy desires to shape your own. Turn your gaze toward the Father—He who is both the Source and ultimate goal of your existence—and strive lovingly and humbly to accomplish all things according to His gracious and holy will.
Our Father, You who dwell in the heavens and within the souls of Your sanctified ones, may Your eternal essence, Your holy Name—the One who was, who is, and who is to come, the Great I AM—be honored, praised, and glorified forever. May this glorification shine forth in my life and in the lives of all Your faithful, as we await with joyful hope the return in glory of Your Son, Jesus our Savior, when You, together with Him and the Holy Spirit, will establish the New Heavens and the New Earth. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, we praise you, for you reveal the mysteries of your Kingdom to the humble and faithful of heart. Teach us to trust in your gentle rule, rejoice in your saving presence, and walk by your Spirit. Free us from the works of the flesh, that we may live as your children and proclaim your everlasting goodness.
1. Entrusting the Kingdom to Jesus: In the Gospel of Matthew, we are reading from the “Third Book” (Matthew 11-13), which concerns the mystery of the Kingdom. We are reading from the narrative section that builds up to the parables about the Kingdom (Matthew 13). Jesus, today, praises his Father and acknowledges that the Father has entrusted all things to him. With this phrase, “Jesus is claiming to be the heir of the universal kingdom of David and the universal kingdom of God. The two are ultimately one and the same. Just as David handed all things over to Solomon, who then rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to claim the throne; so God has handed all things over to Jesus (Ephesians 1:22), who is also the Son of David” (Bergsma, The Word of the Lord: Year A, 308). In his prayer to his Father, Jesus is alluding to the history of the Kingdom of David and especially the transition from King Solomon to his son, Rehoboam. When the people came to Rehoboam and asked him to lighten their burden, their taxes, and their forced labor, Rehoboam refused and only increased it. This led to the northern tribes separating from the two southern tribes. “In these verses of Matthew, Jesus the Son of David contrasts himself with some of the corrupt and abusive sons of David who preceded him, whose selfishness led to the breaking apart of God’s people. Jesus comes as the healer and consoler, the one to reunite “Ephraim” the north and “Jerusalem “the south” (Bergsma, The Word of the Lord: Year A, 309).
“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.” Matthew 11:28–30
In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks to those “who labor and are burdened” and invites them to carry the light and easy yoke that He will give them. In other words, Jesus is identifying the fact that the scribes and Pharisees had so distorted the Law of Moses that the practice of the Jewish faith had become a burden that was too difficult to carry. In contrast, Jesus’ New Law of grace was freeing, light, and easy.
When you consider Jesus’ many teachings, do you see them as easy to follow? Or do they seem to be too much at times? For example, Jesus said to “be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). This was not only an invitation, it was also a command and a requirement. So are Jesus’ teachings easy? Or are they overwhelming?
Of course, since Jesus Himself says that “my yoke is easy, and my burden light,” then we can be certain that they are. Jesus not only calls us to moral perfection, He also gives us the means by which we can obtain it. By analogy, say someone told you to move a boulder that weighed 2,000 pounds. Could you do that? You could if the person also gave you a large tractor to use for the task. In that case, it would be as easy as using the machine correctly. So it is with all that our Lord asks of us. When we find some moral obligation to be difficult or even overwhelming, then we are not relying upon the grace that God has given us to fulfill His command.
Reflect, today, upon Jesus’ gentle invitation to you to embrace the “yoke” of perfection. Do not see it as too much. Rather, see it as a joyous invitation from our Lord. Ponder the fact that God not only calls you to the heights of holiness, He also provides you with the means to obtain it. Have faith in His almighty power and open yourself to it more fully so that You will be able to do anything and everything our Lord asks of you with ease and joy.
My gentle Lord, You place upon my shoulders Your own yoke to carry. I say “Yes” to all that You ask of me, and I thank You for bestowing Your mercy upon me. Please remove every yoke from me that is not from You, so that I can follow You with the joy of the light burden of Your grace. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord, each day, I experience my own smallness, insufficiencies, and shortcomings. Still, I know that you are the One who accomplishes every good thing in my life and that I can do nothing on my own. Therefore, Lord, I cast my worries to you and renew my faith, hope, and love in your infinite goodness. Lord, grant me the humble knowledge that you are working in me and I am in your hands.
1. Faith to the Little Ones: Every day, we experience, in some form or another, our smallness. Whether it is our lack of attention at work, laughing at something that makes us look insensitive, or simply not meeting up to our own exaggerated expectations of ourselves, we fall far short of seeming “wise and learned” by the world’s standards. However, Christ says that the Father has hidden “these things”–spiritual truths–from the wise and the learned and revealed them to the childlike. Why is that? Precisely because God and a proud soul–a soul who touts its own wisdom and learning–are like oil and water. They cannot mix. A small soul can allow God’s greatness to overshadow it and thus be able to receive spiritual wisdom.
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