Sunday Homily – 09 July 2023

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Also Read: Mass Readings for 09 July 2023 Mass Reading Reflection for 09 July 2023

Gospel: Matthew 11: 25-30

This Sunday Jesus is inviting us, “Come to me!” It is a gentle invitation; no compulsion is attached. He did not attach any threat to it either. He did not mention punishment for those who rejected his invitation.

Jesus is poor when it comes to marketing. He did not offer any discount on his invitation. There are yokes and burdens attached to his invitation. Although the yoke is easy and the burden is light, they are sure to exist. But he offers good rest to those who accept his invitation. This invitation is not for everyone. The invitation is for those who labor and are burdened.

You are invited by Jesus! You are invited by Jesus if you labor and you are burdened. There is hardly anyone in the church who is not burdened for one or other reason. The children seem burdened since they don’t get enough of their parents. They often don’t get enough attention, care, and love as they expect. They are sad and burdened by that.

The young are burdened by expectations. Students are burdened by assignments and vast portions of study material to finish before graduating. Some carry the yoke of not getting a job, while others can’t meet both ends together with their job. Then there are those who suffer from doing the same boring job over and over again for months and years together. Thus, if unemployment is a heavy yoke, work is a burden for the employed.

There are people who are single and suffer from loneliness. Then there are those who are married and suffer because of their spouses and children. To many, their children are the cause of their suffering. But there are those who suffer terribly for not having the offspring they desired badly.

Not having enough to eat is a heavy yoke upon many. And there are those who suffer from eating too much. Many are burdened by ill health, while the healthy are anxious about losing their health another day.

The poor are burdened for not having enough money to meet the basic needs for themselves and their dependents; while there are the rich who live in the fear of losing their wealth one day.

The causes are different, but there is hardly anyone who is not laden with a burden. If you think you are burdened with anything on earth, the invitation is for you, “Come to me!” It is not an ordinary invitation; it is an invitation by Jesus.

With His arms stretched wide, Jesus is inviting you today, “Come to me!” He has never disappointed anyone who accepted His invitation. Once we respond to His invitation, our burdens become His burden; our labor turns out to be His labor too. Not that our labor or burden vanish, but that Jesus becomes our partner in carrying our burdens.

With Jesus every burden is light, and every yoke is easy. Don’t leave the church without taking Jesus with you! He really wants to come with you! He wants to share your yokes and burdens.

Amen.