Homily for the 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A

As we leave behind now all the beautiful feasts celebrating the high points of our faith which culminated in Easter and Pentecost seasons, we return to the simplicity and directness of Jesus’ teachings. In what we call “Ordinary” time, we look at the daily life, mission and travels of Jesus as he preaches the Good News of the kingdom. We spend time listening again to the parables and centering our lives, not on the high points of Jesus’ life, but on the teachings themselves.  So while the time may be “Ordinary” in the sense that it not about the Extraordinary Feasts, it is what is central to our life as Christians and living the kingdom of God right here and now.

Our first reading today from the prophet Zechariah, a prophet who lived just after the return from the Babylonian captivity when there was great effort to rebuild the Temple at Jerusalem. What is strong in the writings of this prophet is the fortelling of a Messianic figure to come.  Like most Messianic writing, however, the thought was that this was to be a powerful earthly ruler who would rule not just Israel, but many lands and bring peace to the world. But God’s ways are not our ways, and the actual messiah who comes does do what Zechariah fortells, but in a very different way. The kingdom he rules is not of this world.  Notice that the reading today begins so joyfully: Rejoice greatly” and “Shout aloud” as the King comes triumphantly into Jerusalem. The King does not come in the traditional way, however, and instead of a magnificent entry on chariots and horses, he comes seated on a donkey which shows his humility in the sight of all. But nonetheless, he will be a great King and rule widely. This particular section seems to have great relevance to the life and mission of Christ that we begin again to look at today.

The second reading traditionally does not connect as well to the other two readings and often develops another theme as it does today. What we have read does connect to our past few weeks in that it is again about the gift of the Spirit, that sustaining force that keeps God’s presence here on earth with us. Because we are given the gift of the Spirit, we too are connected to Christ and to God.  We have God within us, and we are the means to spread God’s word and to live forever in God. The Spirit raises the flesh to a new life – a life of oneness with God and Christ where we too can have eternal life through the Spirit. We share in Jesus’ victory! This is a post-Resurrection theology and was far from Jesus’ mind when he was preaching and teaching the crowds.

As we see in the Gospel today, the message of Jesus was a simple one. Children can understand it, but the intellectuals can’t. It is not an intellectual message. It is a message of trust.  Israel, and especially the Pharisees, represent the intellectuals who have not understood.  The disciples represent the children who have trusted. In normal conditions, when we are children we tend to trust our parents implicitly. We don’t need to understand why, we just know that our parents love us and want the best for us. It is not an intellectual thing, but more emotional. Similarly, those who put their trust in God and in Jesus will fare better.  Knowledge is not necessary for faith and trust, though Jesus says we can know what he chooses to reveal about God. Thus Jesus can reveal to his disciples, his “children” many things that the learned men will never understand.

The end result of our childlike trust and faith in God is peace and rest and freedom from worry.  Are there many more words of Jesus more beautiful than: Come to me, all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”  And what are we to learn from Jesus: that he is “gentle and humble of heart.” This is the same image of the King that we had in the First Reading of Zechariah when the King comes into the city humbly on a donkey.

There is an irony to me today to think that Jesus says his yoke is easy.  A yoke is a burden. Plough animals had a yoke placed on them to pull wagons or till fields. We think of the yoke or the burden of religion as the laws that surround religion.  The Jews had over six hundred rules and regulations just as the Catholic Church has developed over the years, all of which are supposed to be the answer to how to please God.  But in reality, Jesus says his yoke is easy and his burden light. Jesus boils all the Law down to loving God and one’s neighbor. He simplifies it and makes it easy for a child to understand.  It is the intellectuals over the years who have sought to understand and in so doing have added rule upon rule and complicated religion to the point where it is a much heavier burden. Perhaps if we go back to Jesus with a simple, childlike trust, he will reveal to us what we need to know, and we will find rest for our weary souls.

I have told you many times that as humans we were born with an intellect and that we needed to use it – we are thinking animals. Jesus is not being ant-intellectual here, but is simply trying to show that leaders use intellectual reasoning and creation of rules as a way of control. Jesus will teach us what we need to know and that is why the words of Jesus, his message about living the ‘kingdom’ is what we need to learn and think about.  But most important, is that childlike trust in Jesus – that he will help us as he has promised and that the Spirit that Paul talks about in the Second reading is with us and raises us to something more.

Let us, like Zechariah says, rejoice and shout aloud that Jesus has come and shown us a way to peace and happiness, and all we need to do is to take up his yoke, his easy more simplified yoke, and be at rest.

And this is the really Good News of the Gospel today.



Fr. Ron Stephens, St. Andrew’s Parish Warrenton, VA

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