In the time of our first reading today the Israelites were under foreign rule. Israel had been a great nation but had been defeated by their enemies. They were saddened in this situation. Through the prophet Zechariah the Lord tells them, “Rejoice heartily…shout for joy.” What reason do they have to rejoice? Why should they “shout for joy“?

Because the Lord is promising them a new king who will come to them. He won’t be proud or arrogant. He will be meek. He won’t arrive on a warrior’s horse. He will arrive “riding on an ass.” He will “proclaim peace to the nations.” His kingdom will reach “to the ends of the earth.“

What saddens you? What labors and burdens do you face?

Knowing our labors and burdens, Jesus says to each of us, “Come to me.” Do we recognize the profound meaning of this? This is not a simple offer of earthly help. Jesus is inviting us to a deep relationship with him.

Do you come to Jesus with an open heart? “The wise and the learned” do not because they think they know everything. God reveals himself to us when we become like the little ones and open our hearts to him.

We can choose to live in the flesh or the Spirit. If we choose to live in the flesh, meaning we focus on earthly things, then we will face our labors and burdens without help from God. If we choose to live in the Spirit, we hand our labors and burdens over to God. Then Jesus will give us rest. If we choose to live in the flesh, we will die in the flesh. If we choose to live in the Spirit, we will find rest in eternal life.

To help us Jesus places a yoke on us.

What? A yoke? Isn’t that what is used on farm animals to pull the plow? How does that give us rest?

Yes, a yoke is placed on the animals to pull the plow. Do you realize that a yoke actually makes it easier for the animal to do its work? When two or more animals are in the yoke together, it makes it easier for them to work together.

So, what is the yoke that the Lord places on us? It is the commandments and all that Jesus teaches us. How does this help us? Doesn’t this just add to our burden? It’s hard to keep the commandments.

We seek Jesus as the way and the truth and the life. The commandments are tools to help us in this. The commandments guide in how to live. Keeping the commandments makes for a good society. We cut ourselves off from the life that Jesus offers us if we kill, steal, or give into physical sexual desires.

Jesus says, “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.“

Many people saw Jesus only as another prophet. Some came to know him as the Messiah. The Father knew who Jesus truly is, the Son of God. The people would come to know Jesus as the Son of God only in his Crucifixion and Resurrection.

Jesus knows the Father because He has seen the Father in Heaven. Jesus chooses to reveal the Father to us. When we accept the yoke that the Lord has given us, in God’s grace, we come to know the life that Jesus offers.

Only then do we say from the depths of our hearts, “I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.“

Peace,

Fr. Jeff