The 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 5.7.2020.
Lectionary Readings:
Zechariah 9 v 9-12. The lord promises to rescue the captives.
Romans 7 v 15-25a. The battle with sin.
Matthew 11 v 16-19, 25-30. “Come to me and rest”.
The Rescuer.
“I will come to your rescue and offer you hope”. (Zechariah 9 v 11-12a)
The old testament prophet was addressing the people of Jerusalem after their return from exile. The people are despondent, they are living in poverty and trying to rebuild the temple; but nothing is going right for them. Zechariah relays God’s message of hope for the future, a new king (v9) a new kingdom (v10) and the assurance of their rescue (v11).
In the passage from Romans, the apostle Paul is in the middle of a long explanation about the place of the Torah (The Law of Moses) in God’s rescue plan. He argues that the Torah is to be celebrated as God’s word, yes; it tells us what is right and wrong, yes; and how we should live in community, yes. But it fails to tell us how we, mere mortals, can achieve this, given that we are constantly battling against our stubborn desire to please ourselves first and foremost (v15,18).
Paul seems to sink into despondency in verse 24 “What a miserable person I am, who will rescue me?”; before thanking God for his saviour Jesus in verse 25. (Paul explains how God achieves this a few verses later; see Romans 8 v2.)
In the gospel reading, Matthew has Jesus reflecting on human nature – and the difficulty of pleasing some people. (v17). Some of us seem only to be happy when we are complaining.
Jesus challenges such thinking by suggesting that “Wisdom is shown to be right by what it does” (v19c). Jesus encourages the complainers to ponder the work and legacy of John the Baptist and Jesus himself.
Later in the second part of the gospel passage, Jesus explains why he has come, “To tell others about the Father, so that they can know him too.” (v27).
Jesus then invites us to unload our ‘burdens’ (heartaches, worries, guilt, remorse, sorrows, and fears) and rest with him. (v28).
Then to learn from him and to join him in his mission to rescue others, with the assurance of his love and company. (v29,30).
So, let us join Paul, in praising the one who rescues us and gives us hope.
Bible quotations are taken from the Contemporary English Version.
Thanks to Mike Peck for submitting these reflections