Come to Me, All You Who Labor and are Burdened

07-09-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi, V.C.

The account presented in today’s First Reading occurred approximately one century after the Israelites returned from exile and rebuilt their Temple. Prophet Zechariah offers words of hope and comfort to the people to strengthen their aspiration for the fulfillment of God’s promise of the coming of the Messiah. Zechariah prophesied the coming of an eschatological king who would return to Jerusalem to end the war and division, to proclaim peace to the nations. He describes the Messiah King as riding on a donkey as a demonstration of humility in contrast to the image of a warrior king on horseback. In the New Testament, we see the fulfillment of this prophecy when Jesus entered Jerusalem, riding on a donkey (Mt 21:5), a sign of a humble King who comes to bring peace on earth.

In the Gospel, Jesus invites us: “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.” This is an invitation to emulate His model of meekness and humbleness of heart.

Jesus’ model of a “Servant King,” in contrast to the powerful worldly kings, does not generally make sense to many people. This is why in the Gospel, Jesus says,: “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.” The “wise and learned” in this sense are those who rely on their personal intelligence to discern the mind of God and their ability to solve problems on their own. The “little ones” on the other hand, are those who are humble of heart, rely on God, and are willing to learn from Jesus.

Jesus invites us today to bring all of our worries, burdens, and crosses to him and He will show us how to handle them. Jesus did not promise us a trouble-free world, but rather that we would learn from Him how to carry our crosses and follow Him. Let us bring all our worries, pains, fears, and disappointments, as well as all our hopes, dreams, and plans, and present them to Jesus during the Mass this weekend. May God help to lighten our burdens and grant all our prayers. Amen.

Fr. James