Reading
Matthew 11:28-30
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Comment
After proclaiming the beatitude of the humble, to whom Christ and his Kingdom are revealed, Jesus - in the Gospel of Matthew. - exhorts the weary and oppressed to come to him. These, paradoxically, will find refreshment by placing the Lord's yoke upon themselves. But how is it possible to be freed from oppression by submitting and binding oneself?
Unfortunately, this is the impression that many today have of faith: simply a religion, or a set of rules to be respected, often with difficulty. The risk of a legalistic Christianity is to replicate the oppression generated by the way of explaining the law of the scribes and Pharisees, of whom Jesus affirms: "«They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them»"(Mt 23:4).
Jesus invites obedience to his word, which gives refreshment because it gives salvation, through justification and sanctification. The life of the believer is more than a religion: it is an experience of communion with God. And since God is the creator of everything and the one who governs everything, to be "subject to him" means to reign with him, in him.
True religion is far from individualistic arbitrariness and from sterile precepts; it is an experience of liberation and joyful participation in the divine work.
Jesus frees us from all that burdens us along the way to salvation; even from those useless weights that we ourselves have often carried on our shoulders. As to his apostles he tells us: "«Come ... rest a little»" (Mk 6:31).
Prayer
Guide us, o Lord, towards the freedom of the children of God; so that through meekness and humility we can reign with you and find refreshment. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
