Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A - Sunday, July 9, 2023 (EPISODE- 428)

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A - Sunday, July 9, 2023 (EPISODE- 428)

 

Readings for Sunday, July 9, 2023 - Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A
FIRST READING: Zech 9:9-10
Sunday, July 9, 2023. "I will praise your name forever, my king and my God"
SECOND READING: Rom 8:9, 11-13
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (cf. Matt 11:25). Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed are you, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth. You have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
GOSPEL: Matt 11:25-30

Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed. Stock Photo ID149824163: Jesus Chris monument on the way to Sant'Ana di Vinadio sanctuary high in the Alps with a plaque for the passengers that says: "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you relief" - Photo Contributor: supergenijalac.
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Please listen to the audio recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers, and homily), for Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A - Sunday, July 9, 2023, by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-fourteenth-sunday-in-ordinary-time-episode-428-year-a-2023  (EPISODE-428 )
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 There are so many wonderful readings and many of them we know so well,  yet every time we hear them again we can get something new from them – a deeper richness to their timeless message.

 

For example, just the other day I discovered something about this familiar passage of the Gospel, "my yoke is easy and my burden is light"….. The Greek word in the original text of this gospel uses the word for easy or gentle as "Chrestos"        which is astounding.  IT is so similar to the word Christos, meaning the Christ, the anointed one, the Messiah and King.

 

In the time of Our Lord, people expected that the Messiah was going to be a warrior King who would come with power and force and violently overthrow the occupying forces of the Roman Empire and establish a new Kingdom on earth.  They also believed that this Messiah or Christ would seek retribution upon anyone who had not lived up to God's law and bring down vengeance upon them. Then, along comes Jesus as the true messiah and he is not violent, forceful or military, but he is gentle and humble…  The Christos turns out to be Chrestos…   that is…  The Christ is gentle..  his burdens on us, easy.   Astounding and beautiful.   Our Lord says himself,  learn from him for he is gentle and humble…

 

Often when we describe a yoke….. or a burden….. these words create the impression of hardship and difficulty……… and yet… it is good to remind ourselves…… that a yoke was ultimately designed to be used in order to make the task easier….. to make it manageable… and tolerable…. // With a heavy task, a yoke allows a person or an animal to lift a weight and carry a weight in such a way that distributes the weight and makes it possible and tolerable… over an extended period of time……..

 

So, it is in that sense that Our Lord uses the image of a yoke and a burden…… He has frequently warned his disciples (and anyone who proposed to follow him as disciples) that there is a definite cost to discipleship……. //That the path would be far from easy….//  Following Christ does not promise us earthly success or freedom from hardship or persecution. Jesus gave no guarantee of a dream run…….. it is a task…...... a burden….. 

However…, it is a bit like that moving song…..  (based on an even older Scottish Legend)……   '"He''s not heavy…; he''s my brother.'"

 

The focus is not on the difficulty…, but the passion for the cause. The goal…… of  our mission is to spread God''s love to all the world… in word and action…… and this is a wonderful vocation…….. It is a beautiful burden. It is a wonderful duty and a superb task…. And… it is a task of love….. and in that sense ….. it makes the burden a light one….. and Christ always offers to bear for us the greater load….

 

Jesus also invites us to learn from him……. And, what we have to learn is that Jesus is loving in all his dealings….. and he is gentle….. and humble…… and just.   A true disciple must be humble and gentle and compassionate and loving.  How do we learn to be these things in a hard and tough world?  We watch and learn from Our Lord, whose actions and teachings were all about humility and justice and gentleness and compassion.

 

It makes me wonder…..many hardships and burdens come our way throughout life…. Some are avoidable, some seem unavoidable………. But to what extent are some burdens made all the more heavier (more unbearable) …by the opposite of gentleness and the opposite of humility…….. Jesus also seems to be offering to teach us…… a path of gentleness….. compassion and love….. and a path of true humility of spirit….. which can make many burdens so much lighter than they might otherwise be.  I think of things like natural disasters.   Some of them are seemingly unavoidable…  but isn't it true that even in unavoidable situations, there are many things that can be done to lighten people's suffering and ease their burdens and sadly there are many things that people can do to make peoples suffering even worse.  I am thinking of when a natural disaster strikes, people come out and help in any way they can. We see amazing heroism and assistance.. we see generosity and help at a time that nothing else can be done.  And isn't it also true that in times of disaster and suffering people can also be capable of making things so much worse…   we see looters and people taking advantage of those who are suffering…  we see people being thoughtless and selfish. This makes the suffering ten times worse.   Our Lord is seeking to make healing and love out of even the worst situations and God is at work trying to lighten the burdens of people in their lives, and we can too.

 

I think of an illustration. Imagine that two people are experiencing the exact same difficulty…; a major burden and hardship in their lives…. And picture these people have the exact same circumstances…… the only difference is that one of them is extremely proud…, unreasonably self-sufficient, and refusing to face even the truth of their difficulty and railing against every development and turn of bad fortune…. Whilst the other is gentle, humble…, accepting that which cannot be changed…and battling that which can be, and (not so much giving up, but rather surrendering to God's care in a spirit of humility) to the new situations and circumstances that this person now faces…. Could it not be said that the one who is proud and forceful might be putting on themselves an even greater, unbearable burden than the other? Perhaps in this sense, Jesus means us to learn from him… and open up to his vision and response to the world and its unpredictable and often capricious turns. …

 

A yoke is also something used to join two creatures together so that they act as one entity…

 

Was Jesus saying… "join yourself to me… and join your hopes and cares…, your fears and struggles to me…. And let me work with you as one…… and see what wonders will result….."

 

I love the meaning of this gospel today…. there is a deep and sturdy realism to the Gospel message Jesus offers us….. it is the perfect combination of idealism AND realism…… Jesus does not promise an easy ride…. But he does promise us that his WAY makes any burdens capable of being transformed by love and service. 

 

Our Christian joy and hope is not a joy borne out of denying the reality of the struggles and pains of life….. Rather, ours is a joy that says…: "We are at peace, we are at rest… and we continue to love… even with the tragedies and tensions of sin and pain……." This is a message the world needs to hear more than ever. This is the faith we unite in witnessing in our lives.

 

May God richly bless us and give us the joy, the rest and the relief that comes with this faith…, hope and love. 

 

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References:

Fr Paul W. Kelly

 

William Barclay - Commentary on Matthews Gospel.   

 

Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed. Stock Photo ID149824163: Jesus Chris monument on the way to Sant'Ana di Vinadio sanctuary high in the Alps with a plaque for the passengers that says: "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you relief" - Photo Contributor: supergenijalac.

"In Palestine ox-yokes were made of wood; the ox was brought, and the measurements were taken. The yoke was then roughed out, and the ox wigs brought back to have the yoke tried on. The yoke was carefully adjusted, so that it would fit well, and not gall the neck of the patient beast. The yoke was tailor-made to fit the ox.

There is a legend that Jesus made the best ox-yokes in all Galilee, and that from all over the country men came to him to buy the best yokes that skill could make. In those days, as now, shops had their signs above the door; and it has been suggested that the sign above the door of the carpenter's shop in Nazareth may well have been: "My yokes fit well." It may well be that Jesus is here using a picture from the carpenter's shop in Nazareth where he had worked throughout the silent years.

Jesus says, "My yoke fits well." What he means is: "The life I give you is not a burden to gall you; your task is made to measure to fit you." Whatever God sends us is made to fit our needs and our abilities exactly.

 

Jesus says, "My burden is light." As a Rabbi had it: "My burden is become my song." It is not that the burden is easy to carry; but it is laid on us in love; it is meant to be carried in love; and love makes even the heaviest burden light. When we remember the love of God, when we know that our burden is to love God and to love men, then the burden becomes a song. There is an old story which tells how a man came upon a little boy carrying a still smaller boy, who was lame, upon his back. "That's a heavy burden for you to carry," said the man. "That's no' a burden," came the answer. "That's my wee brother." The burden which is given in love and carried in love is always light."

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A (Sunday, July 9, 2023) (EPISODE- 428)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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{{Peace and Goodness to you all as we gather - Listening to God's Word.}}

Our God's love and mercy knows no bounds, and so let us recall our sins so as to worthily celebrate this Holy Sacrifice.
Lord Jesus, you healed the sick:Lord, have mercy//Lord Jesus, you forgave sinners:Christ, have mercy//Lord Jesus, you give us yourself to heal us and bring us strength: Lord, have mercy.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
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Ps 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14. "I will praise your name forever, my king and my God"

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (cf. Matt 11:25). Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed are you, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth. You have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
Memorial Acclamation
3. Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
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PREFACE: Sundays Ordinary IV
Eucharistic Prayer I

(theme variation: 1)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

 

{Peace and Goodness to you all as we gather - Listening to God's Word.)

 

(pre+post variation: v1-long)
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{heartfelt thanks to you all for uniting in prayer and reflectying upon God's goodness and care.}

Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.

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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com

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Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful - "Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993). (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

- "Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - in memory of William John Kelly - Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

"Quiet Time." Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

- "Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly. Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

Sound Engineering and editing - P.W. Kelly.

Microphones: - Shure MV5 Digital Condenser (USB)

Editing equipment:

NCH software - MixPad Masters v10.27. Multitrack Studio Recording Software
NCH – WavePad Audio Editing Software. Masters Edition v 17.42

Sound Processing: iZotope RX 6 Audio Editor v.6.10.4320

[Production - KER - 2023]
May God bless and keep you.
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