OMELIE / Omelie EN

09 lug 2023

09/07/2023 - 14th Sunday in O. T. - year A

09/07/2023 - 14^th Sunday in O. T. - year A

Reading 1 ZEC 9,9-10 Psalm 144 Reading 2 ROM 8,9.11-13 Gospel MT 11,25-30

Saint Paul continues to praise the work of the Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit which has been placed upon us too. Thanks to the Spirit we are no longer who we were before, we are not “fleshy” anymore, we are not busy only with material interests anymore, since our attention is not focused only on the things which will pass, which seduce and disappoint. If we were to continue like that, as we were doing before acquiring the faith, we would be destined only to die, and so to fear death. Thanks to the Spirit, in front of us there is a view of life, and full life, eternal.

The apostle is strongly advising us to let us be helped by the Spirit to «put to death the deeds of the body» in order to truly live. The deeds of the body to let die are those things that show our egocentrism, from selfishness to arrogance, from vainglory to the pleasures of the flesh, from ambition to attachment to money, from touchness to meanness. Without the help of the Spirit we will never be able to avoid all these behaviours which prevent us from showing our situation of children of God and walking towards holiness.

In fact, our God is a meek and good God, humble and chaste in His greatness. We would not be able to tell anything about Him, if Jesus, the Son had not made Him known to us. He is showing Him to us, and we can receive this revelation because we are small and poor, simple and humble. If we were arrogant and know-it-all, the knowledge of God would be impossible for us and above all the ability to communicate with Him.

This is what Jesus wants to tell us. He Himself has come to us, as the prophet says, meek and humble, on the mount of humble and simple people, those who know how to work hard and place no expectations on others.

He has come in this way to show us God’s true face. We are proud of this God, we are happy about Him, because He is a God who does not intimidate us, He is the God whom we can and want to look like to as children: He Himself thinks of us as beloved children. Jesus can in fact tell us: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest”.

And we, who are really laboured by the weight and the suffering of the sins of the world and are always weighted down by the delusion of our own sin, go willingly to meet Him. He is the king, king because He deserves all our trust, but He is a friendly king, who only wants the fullness of our joy. The prophet calls Him king, but He turns up meek and humble of heart.

We submit willingly to His authority: His yoke is easy. You have tried too, as I did, to obey Him by getting close to Him, Jesus, by calling upon Him in difficult moments, in those moments in which I did not know what to do, in the difficulties and the sufferings. And He has really given me rest and peace.

I will continue getting closer to Him and accompanying you too, when you will ask for help or you will show me your suffering. Nobody else is able to give life and peace to our heart!