Homily OT (A) 14th Sunday - My Yoke Is Easy

The Restful Yoke

Core Message:

FOR THE MIND: What do I want them to KNOW?

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FOR THE HEART: What do I want them to FEEL?

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I. Introduction

Subtitle

My intro goes here

II. Body

Subtitle

Point 1 goes here

III. Conclusion

Subtitle

My conclusion goes here

Readings

Sunday, July 9, 2017 | Ordinary Time

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year A | Roman Missal | Lectionary

First Reading Zechariah 9:9–10

Response Psalm 145:1

Psalm Psalm 145:1–2, 8–11, 13–14

Second Reading Romans 8:9, 11–13

Gospel Acclamation Matthew 11:25

Gospel Matthew 11:25–30

Index of Readings

First Reading

Zechariah 9:9–10

9 Exult greatly, O daughter Zion!

Shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem!

Behold: your king is coming to you,

a just savior is he,

Humble, and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

10 He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim,

and the horse from Jerusalem;

The warrior’s bow will be banished,

and he will proclaim peace to the nations.

His dominion will be from sea to sea,

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Response

Psalm 145:1

1 Praise. Of David.

I will extol you, my God and king;

I will bless your name forever and ever.

Psalm

Psalm 145:1–2, 8–11, 13–14

1 Praise. Of David.

I will extol you, my God and king;

I will bless your name forever and ever.

2 Every day I will bless you;

I will praise your name forever and ever.

8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in mercy.

9 The Lord is good to all,

compassionate toward all your works.

10 All your works give you thanks, Lord

and your faithful bless you.

11 They speak of the glory of your reign

and tell of your mighty works,

13 Your reign is a reign for all ages,

your dominion for all generations.

The Lord is trustworthy in all his words,

and loving in all his works.

14 The Lord supports all who are falling

and raises up all who are bowed down.

Second Reading

Romans 8:9, 11–13

9 But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

11 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. 12 Consequently, brothers, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Gospel Acclamation

Matthew 11:25

“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.

Gospel

Matthew 11:25–30

25 At that time Jesus said in reply, “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. 26 Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father. 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 him.

28 “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Missal

FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Entrance Antiphon [Cf. Ps 48 (47):10–11]

Your merciful love, O God,

we have received in the midst of your temple.

Your praise, O God, like your name,

reaches the ends of the earth;

your right hand is filled with saving justice.

Collect

O God, who in the abasement of your Son

have raised up a fallen world,

fill your faithful with holy joy,

for on those you have rescued from slavery to sin

you bestow eternal gladness.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Prayer over the Offerings

May this oblation dedicated to your name

purify us, O Lord,

and day by day bring our conduct

closer to the life of heaven.

Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon [Ps 34 (33):9]

Taste and see that the Lord is good;

blessed the man who seeks refuge in him.

Or: [Mt 11:28]

Come to me, all who labor and are burdened,

and I will refresh you, says the Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Grant, we pray, O Lord,

that, having been replenished by such great gifts,

we may gain the prize of salvation

and never cease to praise you.

Through Christ our Lord.

CCC

CCC articles go here

Notes

Hahn

Jesus is portrayed in today’s Gospel as a new and greater Moses.

Moses, the meekest man on earth (see Numbers 12:3), was God’s friend (see Exodus 34:12,17). Only he knew God “face to face” (see Deuteronomy 34:10). And Moses gave Israel the yoke of the Law, through which God first revealed himself and how we are to live (see Jeremiah 2:20; 5:5).

Jesus too is meek and humble. But He is more than God’s friend. He is the Son who alone knows the Father. He is more also than a law-giver, presenting himself today as the yoke of a new Law, and as the revealed Wisdom of God.

As Wisdom, Jesus was present before creation as the firstborn of God, the Father and Lord of heaven and earth (see Proverbs 8:22; Wisdom 9:9). And He gives knowledge of the holy things of the kingdom of God (see Wisdom 10:10).

In the gracious will of the Father, Jesus reveals these things only to the “childlike”—those who humble themselves before Him as little children (see Sirach 2:17). These alone can recognize and receive Jesus as the just savior and meek king promised to daughter Zion, Israel, in today’s First Reading.

We too are called to childlike faith in the Father’s goodness, as sons and daughters of the new kingdom, the Church.

We are to live by the Spirit we received in baptism (see Galatians 5:16), putting to death our old ways of thinking and acting, as Paul exhorts in today’s Epistle. Our “yoke” is to be His new law of love (see John 13:34), by which we enter into the “rest” of His kingdom.

As we sing in today’s Psalm, we joyously await the day when we will praise His name forever in the kingdom that lasts for all ages. This is the sabbath rest promised by Jesus—first anticipated by Moses (see Exodus 20:8-11), but which still awaits the people of God (see Hebrews 4:9).