First Reading – Zechariah 9:9-10 ©
Responsorial Psalm – Psalm
144(145):1-2, 8-11, 13b-14 ©
Second Reading – Romans 8:9, 11-13 ©
Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 11:25
The Gospel According to Matthew 11:25
- 30 ©
(NJB)
Listen!
God. the
creator of the universe, God is not a god of war or victory in battle.
God is not
the God of nations and tribes or churches, God is the God of all people.
When we
express our understanding of God’s universality, we are not expressing our
belief in God’s dominion over all things, or the hope that when God comes a’conquering,
God will destroy the enemies of Zion, and bring the rest of everyone to heel.
God is the
God of all people, wherever they are, whoever they are, whether they know it or
not, God always have been and God always
will be.
Be mindful.
What is
good and true in the prophet’s words are these:
God desires
that we be at peace with ourselves and one another, God desires this above all
other things.
Do not make
the same mistake as the psalmist, do not go about proclaiming that God is a
king.
God is
present in all times and places, including the deepest recesses of the human
heart, God is the creator and sustainer of all things..
Remember:
God does
not intervene in human events. God’s influence over us is indirect. God does
not push buttons or pull levers or make choices for people. God does not
interfere with human freedom, God’s power does not obviate freewill.
When you contemplate
the power of God, contemplate all the ways of God’s love and divine mercy,
contemplate the humility of Jesus as he carried the cross.
Know this:
The Apostle
misses an important point and in so doing he makes a grievous error.
The spirit
of God lives in all people…do not doubt it.
We are all
God’s children, and God loves every single one of us. Everyone is a child of
God, from the most disciplined and devout, to the most reckless and devilish.
The spirit
of Jesus lives in all people. Jesus is our friend and brother. We are related
to Jesus in the same way that we are related to each other, each of us to every
other, our relationship to Jesus is an ontological reality, one that we cannot
undo, no matter how hard we might try.
Our
relationships to God and Jesus are constitutional elements and determinative
factors in the nature of our being, as all of our relationships are, no matter
how remote or distant from us in time and space they might be.
Consider the Gospel reading for today.
God
has hidden nothing from us.
The
teachings of Jesus cannot be treated like a shell game, though they often are,
and have been since the beginning, as Matthew’s Gospel illustrates.
The
way of Jesus is not a long can, neither is it a bait and switch, it is a simple
teaching that cannot be controlled or owned by any one group of people.
Pay
attention to the second paragraph in today’s reading, there is truth, but the
first paragraph presents a lie.
Because
we are created in the divine image, because we carry a seed of the word inside
us, knowledge and understanding of the truth is available to us, it is in the
open for anyone to see.
The
wise and the powerful, the learned and the clever, the weak and the meek,
everyone has access to the same truth, to the knowledge of God, of justice, of
hope and love.
When
you are reading today’s Gospel consider this:
Who
are the wise and powerful?
Who
are the learned and the clever?
Who
are the faithful and childlike?
In
every generation, you will see a new group labeling the elder group as out of
touch, blind, privileged, in the dark, corrupt, and because we are talking
about human beings the criticism is almost certainly valid, but it is not
necessarily true.
This
is a cycle seemingly without end, and the truth remains the same: we are called
to love justice, be merciful and do good. We are called to serve God through
the service we provide to one another: our families, our friends, our neighbors,
the stranger, even our enemies. We are called to walk through the world, all
the days of our lives, with a spirit of humility.
Just
because a person is wise and powerful, learned and clever, or a child of the
church, does not mean they recognize the truth when they see it, or act upon it
when they do.
It
is not your station in society, it is not how other people regard you, it is
not the titles you have earned or the ways that you have been marginalized that
give the tell on how you will fulfill your calling to follow Jesus and the
way. What matters is what is in your heart, what matters is your
willingness to trust in the content of your hope, that is the essence of faith.
First
Reading – Zechariah 9:9-10 ©
See
Now, your King Comes Humbly to You
The
Lord says this:
Rejoice
heart and soul, daughter of Zion!
Shout
with gladness, daughter of Jerusalem!
See
now, your king comes to you; he is victorious, he is triumphant, humble and
riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
He
will banish chariots from Ephraim and horses from Jerusalem; the bow of war will
be banished.
He
will proclaim peace for the nations.
His
empire shall stretch from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.
Responsorial
Psalm – Psalm 144(145):1-2, 8-11, 13b-14 ©
I
will bless your name for ever, O God my King.
Alleluia!
I
will give you glory, O God my king,
I will bless your name for ever.
I
will bless you day after day
and praise your name for ever.
I
will bless your name for ever, O God my King.
The
Lord is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
How
good is the Lord to all,
compassionate to all his creatures.
I
will bless your name for ever, O God my King.
All
your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,
and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They
shall speak of the glory of your reign
and declare your might, O God.
I
will bless your name for ever, O God my King.
The
Lord is faithful in all his words
and loving in all his deeds.
The
Lord supports all who fall
and raises all who are bowed down.
I
will bless your name for ever, O God my King.
Alleluia!
Second Reading – Romans 8:9, 11-13 ©
If
by the Spirit You Put an End to the Misdeeds of the Body, you Will Live
Your
interests are not in the unspiritual, but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of
God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you possessed the Spirit of
Christ you would not belong to him, and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus
from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will
give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.
So
then, my brothers, there is no necessity for us to obey our unspiritual selves
or to live unspiritual lives. If you do live in that way, you are doomed to
die; but if by the Spirit you put an end to the misdeeds of the body you will
live.
Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 11:25
Alleluia,
alleluia!
Blessed
are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to
mere children.
Alleluia!
The Gospel According to Matthew 11:25
- 30 ©
You
Have Hidden these Things from the Wise and Revealed them to Little Children
Jesus
exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these
things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children.
Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been
entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just
as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to
reveal him.
‘Come
to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.
Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’
The Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary
Time (Year A)
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