Don't Suffer Alone!

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

St. Mary of Assumption Church, Whittier, CA

Sunday, July 9, 2017

Today’s Gospel (Matthew 11:25-30) begins with Jesus’ prayer of praise to the Father for revealing to little ones what he has hidden and kept away from the so called wise and learned. But who are the wise and learned? From the Bible, we know that these are the scribes, pharisees, religious and political leaders of Jesus’ time who callously rejected the salvation Jesus so clearly lays before them. They are folks who, due to their intellectual pride, deny themselves the gift of God’s grace. They are those who would mock biblical passages like “Blessed are the meek…” “Blessed are the poor…” “Love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you” as utter nonsense. For these egotists, hedonists, the “wise and learned,” the message of Jesus will never make much sense. The “wise and learned” are those who, after hearing the message of Jesus would say, “It was nice talking to you,” or “We will hear you concerning this topic another time” (Acts 17:32b). 

But this Gospel is not about them. It’s not about the proud and arrogant who do not want to receive the good-news of Jesus. It’s not about the know-it-all. It’s rather about the little ones, that is, his own disciples “to whom the Son wishes to reveal himself and the Father,” and those who are burdened. By the calculation of the world, the little ones are losers and unintelligent, but not so by divine calculation. As a mater of fact, Jesus calls them “blessed by the Father” (Matthew 25:34). Little ones are blessed because they know that “The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength” (1 Corinthians 1:25)  as such, they lean on God totally. Little ones know that God can confound conventional wisdom, and that apart from God, no one knows it all. They know that pleasure is illusory; that the things we own can actually own us; that power not rooted in Christ can breed corruption; and that fame is always an unfaithful spouse. Little ones are those who yield to the Lord’s solemn invitation: 

“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” (Matthew 11:28-30).

You know, whenever a loved one passes away, we often pray and ask that God will grant them eternal rest. Wherever their names appear, it is usually accompanied by the abbreviation R.I.P. which means “Rest in peace.” Our concept of rest for a departed relative is living and spending eternal life in the presence of God and being wrapped in God’s loving embrace. But in today’s Gospel, Jesus assures those who labor and are burdened that he will give them rest when they come to him, indicating that rest is not only an after earthly life gift. Life on earth does not have to be all about labor, toil, exertion, sweat and burden. Rest can be attained right here. Rest is possible right here. Rest is achievable right here. Do not make your life all about labor, toil, and burden. Jesus promises rest to those who come to him. This rest is a taste of eternal life. It’s a joyful refreshment even in the midst of the storms of life. It’s a secure communion and relationship with God and God’s people. Jesus’ rest is not a delusion or a figment of imagination or a hallucinatory feel-good experience. The rest that the Lord promises is not an opium. It does not make you forget about your problems and life’s troubles. It’s rather an assurance, blessed assurance that God knows about our problems, and that God is going to help us deal with them. It comes from the belief that we are not carrying our burdens alone. It comes from our unyielding faith that God would not allow the problems of life to swallow us up, that in God’s time, God will intervene. God will step in. And guess what? When God steps in, miracles happen. 

Friends, Jesus never promised us a burden free life. What he said is: Take my yoke upon you and learn from me… For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. We are definitely going to carry something that we do not want, something that inconveniences us. But Jesus promises to lighten them and to give us his rest. Like I said before, this rest comes from the knowledge that God knows. God knows what he is doing! God will do something! God will intervene! “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end, he will stand upon the earth” (Job 19:25)  to deliver and save me. Coming to Jesus does not and will not add even a feather-weight burden on anyone. On the contrary, coming to him lightens every human burden. He says that his yoke is easy unlike the heavy burdens placed on people who ignore him. 

Are you burdened by sickness, come to him!

Are you burdened by family problems, come to him!

Are you burdened by addiction and failures, come to him!

Are you burdened by any burden, come to him!

Are you burdened by financial issues, come to him!

Are you burdened by emotional, social and spiritual issues, come to him!

Don't suffer alone!