Tag: Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass Readings

First Reading: Zechariah 9:9-10
Responsorial: Psalm 145:1-2, 8-11, 13-14
Second Reading: Romans 8:9, 11-13
Gospel: Matthew 11:25-30

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070520.cfm
www.deaconrudysnotes.org

No, no, no! I’m going to do this my way! I don’t need anyone’s advice. What happens next? So, you get on the hamster wheel and run as fast as you can. You spend more than you earn. Why? Well, you say to yourself, “They wouldn’t have given me that credit card if they didn’t believe I could handle it!” So, you buy things – trendy things – expensive things. You lease a new car.

You make slightly more than minimum payments, and you think to yourself, “why are these minimums so high?” You start to feel a little bitter that your paycheck is gone within days. Don’t they know how much I’m worth? What little there was, was spent at the bar chillaxing with your buddies. It’ll be alright because you get paid in a couple of weeks.

Suddenly, the music stops and the hamster wheel comes to a screeching halt! Pandemic. Social distancing. Layoffs. Isolation.

How did we get here?

Painful as it has been and as its going to be as employers move to reorganize, and surely some will never reopen again, hopefully we’ve all taken a little time during this pandemic to re-evaluate how we live our lives.

For example, have we confused “nice to have” with “need to have”? All of this can seem so overwhelming!

But my brothers and sisters, I have good news! We don’t need to face uncertainty alone. As our psalmist reminds us, our, “Lord supports all those who are falling down,” (Psalm 145:14). In the Gospel today, Jesus tells us, “Come here to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I shall give you rest,” (Matthew 25:28).

Ok, you might be thinking, “Yeah, deacon, that’s a nice idea, but how exactly is the Lord going to help me?”

Well, I think we need to start with prayer. We need to look to God and tell him about all the pressures we’re carrying around. We need to turn our burdens over to the Lord. What does that mean?

I think it means that we need to be a lot more selective of the stuff we really need. That doesn’t mean we need to have a yard sale or throw our excess away immediately – this can be either physical stuff or emotional baggage. But it does mean that we need to detach ourselves from the things of this world.

Here’s one exercise we could try. Create a two-column list. Title one column “nice to have” and the other “need to have”. Now, start placing items in your home on one of these two lists. This might take some time, so I suggest you start with your clothes. This is really important – start with your own clothes and not your spouse’s/roommate’s/partner’s clothes. Trust me! They won’t appreciate you deciding for them what is important and what’s not.

As you’re going through your clothes, really ask yourself if you need everything you have. Do you really need 22 t-shirts? Do you really need 10 different types of sneakers? Do you really need 5 rain jackets? Do you really need all those different jeans and shirts that are stained or ripped that you’ve been saving for whenever you want to get to work on that “project”? Hey, maybe you do! No judgment! But as you go through your clothes, you might surprise yourself with how much you have and what you really no longer need.

Next, you could tackle your books, magazines, journals, etc. As you look at each one, ask yourself on which list should you place it: the nice to have or need to have list? When you finish that, start going through closets and drawers. Dig in to all that stuff! If this sounds familiar, then you know I’m taking a page from the Japanese minimalist Marie Kondo. <1> She has some excellent strategies that not only can help us declutter our lives, but from a spiritual perspective help us detach ourselves from all those things we thought we couldn’t live without.

You see, many of us, I think, don’t realize that we’ve been working to support things that we really don’t need – or for that matter things we really could live without. Once we understand that, then letting go becomes easier. This is an example of giving it up to Jesus. Let go of the burdens we decided we must carry. Jesus tells us in the Gospel, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy, and my burden light,” (Matthew 11:29-30).

Sometimes we think the path of the disciple is much too impossible to bear, so, we set out on our own path doing things our way, which is to say, the way the world tells us things should be. Yet all too often, we saddle ourselves with stuff and jobs and expenses that we don’t really need. Our self-imposed burden is very often heavier than the life of the disciple.

No, we probably can’t make the switch overnight, but we can begin by handing Jesus the stuff we don’t really need – from our emotional baggage to our excesses – and praying for the grace to let go and live a simpler, Christ-centered life. These are the first steps that we as recommitted disciples of the pandemic can take as we refocus our lives on what is important and begin the difficult task of cleaning up after the seemingly never ending party came to an end. That is to say, begin the process of paying down debt, saving money and getting rid of the excess we never really needed in the first place.

This won’t be easy. But it could be the beginning of a process of lifelong learning – learning about ourselves, learning more about discipleship, learning about ways we can be the hands and feet of Christ and empowered by the Eucharist and with the grace of the Holy Spirit begin to heal this broken world.

Homework! Nourished by the Word of God and the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect on the following questions which come to us from the bishops of the United States: <1>

1. Although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones. How can I grow in humility? How can I be a lifelong learner about my life?
2. 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. How do I come to know God better? How can I help others know God?
3. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light. What burdens do I need to turn over to the Lord? When have I felt God supporting me in a difficult time?

I think our homework will help us recommit to discipleship by helping us center our lives on Christ Jesus and rid ourselves of our emotional and materialistic burdens. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! Now go make disciples! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

Image Credit: Unknown. JPEG file.

Notes:
<1> For more information, see Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.
<2> Lectio Divina Of The Gospels, (Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2019), 180-181.

References:
1. Lectio Divina Of The Gospels. Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2019.
2. Hahn, Scott W. and Curtis Mitch. Romans. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academics, 2017.
3. Mitch, Curtis and Edward Sri. The Gospel of Matthew. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2010.
4. The Bible: A Study Bible freshly translated by Nicholas King. Buxhall, Suffolk UK: Kevin Mayhew, 2013.

Catechism References http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm:
1. Jesus reveals the Father, 151
2. The Father is revealed by the Son, 238-42
3. Jesus our model, 459
4. Knowledge of mysteries of Christ, communion in his mysteries, 514-21
5. Christ’s resurrection and ours, 658, 995
6. Names of the Spirit, 693
7. Law of the Spirit, 972
8. General resurrection, 988-91, 1002-4
9. Prayer of Jesus, 2603, 2701

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mass Readings http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070520.cfm
Lectionary: 100

Reading 1
Zechariah 9:9-10
Thus says the LORD:
Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion,
shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king shall come to you;
a just savior is he,
meek, and riding on an ass,
on a colt, the foal of an ass.
He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim,
and the horse from Jerusalem;
the warrior’s bow shall be banished,
and he shall proclaim peace to the nations.
His dominion shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Responsorial
Psalm 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14
R. (cf. 1) I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will extol you, O my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading 2
Romans 8:9, 11-13
Brothers and sisters:
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.
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.
Consequently, brothers and sisters,
we are not debtors to the flesh,
to live according to the flesh.
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.

Alleluia
CF. Matthew 11:25
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Matthew 11:25-30
At that time Jesus exclaimed:
“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 little ones.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
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.”

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