Introit

 

Kyrie

 

Gloria

 

Collect

O God, who in the abasement of your Son
have raised up a fallen world,
fill your faithful with holy joy,
for on those you have rescued from slavery to sin
you bestow eternal gladness.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (RM)

O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP)

Almighty God, your Son Jesus Christ has taught us that what we do for the least of your children we do also for him. Give us the will to serve others as he was the servant of all, who gave up his life and died for us, but lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (BCW)

First Reading (Zechariah. 9:9-10)

Thus says the LORD:
Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion,
   shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king shall come to you;
   a just savior is he,
   meek, and riding on an ass,
   on a colt, the foal of an ass.
He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim,
   and the horse from Jerusalem;
   the warrior’s bow shall be banished,
   and he shall proclaim peace to the nations.
His dominion shall be from sea to sea,
   and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Responsorial Psalm (145:1-2,8-9,10-11,13-14)

R/. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.

 

I will extol you, O my God and King,
   and I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you,
   and I will praise your name forever and ever.

The LORD is gracious and merciful,
   slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
   and compassionate toward all his works.

Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
   and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
   and speak of your might.

The LORD is faithful in all his words
   and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
   and raises up all who are bowed down.

Second Reading (Romans 8:9,11-13)

Brothers and sisters:
You are not in the flesh;
   on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
   if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
   the one who raised Christ from the dead
   will give life to your mortal bodies also,
   through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Consequently, brothers and sisters,
   we are not debtors to the flesh,
   to live according to the flesh.
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die,
   but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body,
   you will live.

Verse Before the Gospel

Gospel (Matthew 11:25-20)

At that time Jesus exclaimed:
“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.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
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.”

“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.”

Catena Nova

I am the Creator and I love my work. I am the sculptor and I care for what I have made.  If I thought of my dignity, I should not rescue fallen humankind. If I failed to treat its incurable sickness with fitting remedies, it would never recover its strength. If I did not console it, it would die. If I did nothing but threaten it, it would perish. This is why I apply the salve of kindness to it where it lies.  Compassionately I bend down very low in order to raise it up.…  I do not make a show of words; I have left you the proof of my deeds. You can see that I am gentle and humble in heart from what I have become.  Consider my nature, reflect upon my dignity, and marvel at the condescension I have shown you. Think of where I came from, and of where I am as I speak to you.  Heaven is my throne, yet I talk to you standing on the earth! I am glorified on high, but because I am long-suffering. I am not angry with you, “for I am gentle and humble in heart.” (St. John Chrysostom)

Homily

 The Yoke’s On Us

            Have you perhaps heard of “Transcendental Christology?”  How about “the supernatural existential?”  Surely you know what “the immanent Trinity” is as distinct from the “economic Trinity?”  Or all about “prevenient grace” and “condign merit?”  OK, one last thing – an “eschatological reservation.”  No pun intended. (Don’t ask).

            Such esoteric items should be familiar to anyone who has been through seminary and taken the required slate of courses.  I mention them to highlight how far a distance we can travel from Jesus’ saying, No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son. 

            Yet these are all attempts to make sure we're among those who have insider information about God.   The thicket of language used down through the centuries to prove we have it right, that we are the guardians of that revelation, that ocean of ink spilled in its defense, well, it makes you wonder how such matters could possibly be hidden from the wise and the learned . . . and revealed to little ones (cf. G).  Sounds like unlettered fisherman from Galilee are better suited to teach religion than those who usually occupy endowed chairs of theology at prestigious universities.   

            Alas, I am one of those theologian types, so I’m the last person to knock serious reflection on the faith, sounding and probing its depths to find suitable language for all kinds of audiences. Believe it or not, we have a vocation and a mission is crucial to the church.  This past week Pope Francis appointed a new head of the Vatican department that oversees doctrine, a fellow Argentine, Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández.  He accompanied the appointment with an unusual cover letter, as if to let everyone know his role is to be, in his words, "something very different" from many of his predecessors — reaching all the way back to the Inquisition!  

            Instead, the pope encourages "conversation with our present situation, which is in many ways unprecedented in the history of humanity" recognizing that the church “grow[s] in her interpretation of the revealed word and in her understanding of truth” without this implying the imposition of a single way of expressing it."  He goes on to acknowledge how there are, "Differing currents of thought in philosophy, theology, and pastoral practice, [which] if open to being reconciled by the Spirit in respect and love, can enable the Church to grow. This harmonious growth will preserve Christian doctrine more effectively than any control mechanism."

            Francis then affirms how, "We need a way of thinking which can convincingly present a God who loves, who forgives, who saves, who liberates, who promotes people and calls them to fraternal service.  This happens if  the message has to concentrate on the essentials, on what is most beautiful, most grand, most appealing and at the same time most necessary… and the greatest danger occurs when secondary issues end up overshadowing the central ones (July 1, 2023).

            This is all to the good. Yet, I know all the learning in the world and all the best language to express the faith doesn’t mean you’ve found God.  As I said, the gospel first made inroads among those considered “foolish” -- like fishermen,  tax collectors, pagans and prostitutes.  A ragtag bunch at whom the intelligentsia — then and now — likely look down their upturned noses.

           Which suits God just fine: God, the enemy of human pretense.  God, who gave Zechariah the vision of a Savior, riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass, coming to banish things like chariots . . . horses . . . and warriors’ bows (I).  In other words, a Savior who rejects human displays of power.  A Savior who enters Jerusalem on a beast of burden, preferring public transporta­tion to chauffeured limousines.  And rather than ask other people to make his life more comfort­able, he tells them, Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest (G).  Strange God, this Savior.  While everyone else maneuvers for fame and fortune, hoping to make their own burden lighter, the Savior puts the yoke on his own shoulders, even when it turns out to be a Roman cross.

           And that’s the secret hidden from the wise and the learned: the secret to finding rest for ourselves -- a secret well-hidden in a society like ours.  For we go after things we think will make our yoke easy and our burden light, but in the end only make life more difficult, leaving us heavy-laden.  Living on credit beyond our means, believing the more we have and the sooner we have it, the happier we’ll be, that’s a siren song masquerading as the American Dream.  Till we’re crushed by the weight of everything from a mortgage payment on a home we can’t afford, to a federal deficit whose weight may yet drive us into the ground.  And we’ll be left wearing an awfully heavy yoke.  While Jesus simply asks us to learn from [him], for [he] is meek and humble of heart (G).

          But it’s not an easy lesson to learn, is it?  The world stage features lots of characters who are learning the hard way.  Just ask Vladimir Putin.  It’s a pretty steep learning curve, this meek and humble stuff, isn’t it?

          Which is why Paul reminds us how we are not debtors to the flesh…if only the Spirit of God dwells in [us] (II).  For we’re in debt to someone else who shows us a different way to live and to love. Where intellectual prowess, influence and power, wealth and status, amount to little. And should we have those things-- we Americans fortunate enough to live in this land whose independence we celebrated this past week -- we must use them according to the spirit, and not according to the flesh (cf. II).  That is, the Spirit of Christ, whose way is meek and humble, gracious and merciful, good to all and compas­sionate, who lifts up all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down (RP).  Who lives and reigns with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.  Amen.  

Intercessions (Joe Milner; The Sunday Website)

Offertory Hymn

Come to me, O weary traveler,

Come to me with your distress;

Come to me, you heavy burdened,

Come to me and find your rest.

Do not fear, my yoke is easy;

Do not fear, my burden’s light;

Do not fear the path before you;

Do not run from me in fright.

Take my yoke and leave your troubles;

Take my yoke and come with me.

Take my yoke, I am beside you;

Take and learn humility.

Rest in me, O weary traveler;

Rest in me and do not fear.

Rest in me, my heart is gentle;

Rest and cast away your care.

Communion Antiphon

 

Closing Hymn (John Michael Talbot)

 

All who are weary come unto Me
All who find life a burden
I will refresh you
Your soul will find rest
For My yoke is easy
And My burden is light

Take my yoke on your shoulders and learn
For I am gentle and humble
I will refresh you
Your soul will find rest…