THE Gospel of this Sunday says: On that occasion Jesus said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I praise you, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to simple people. Yes, Father, this is what pleased you. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all you who work hard and carry heavy burdens, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart and you will find rest. For my yoke is good, and my burden is light.”
Jesus’ prayer impressed the disciples. In this text it is a short prayer, prompted by the most recent events; events and daily life are also a source of prayer.
You have hidden these things. Intelligent people are not excluded from the faith, of course, but it is the glory of God that faith should not seem to be the privilege of the wise and the intelligent; human wisdom never gives what is essential and often hides it. There were in Palestine at the time some wise people and many others who pretended to be so, but they were rarely seen among the disciples of Jesus.
Everything has been entrusted to me. God does what is needed for people to have always and in all places thousands of ways of knowing him. In this life it is only through Jesus that we have the revelation of the Father.
Must we translate “learn from me for I am…” or “learn from me that I am…”? The humility of Jesus reveals to us the humility of God who never seeks to put us down or intimidate us, but instead always wants to raise us to him. Such humility does not prevent him from being God, and he may exact everything from being God, and he may exact everything from us because he does not use external force: his influence reaches to the depths of our heart. See Luke 10:21.
Come to me: I will not relieve you of your load but by placing my yoke on you, I give you the means of carrying the load.
Jesus plays with the two words, yoke and load, for the Jews used to call “load” the divine teachings imparted to people, and yoke the balancing of the teachers’ sentences, which should be learned by heart.
Jesus, the patient and humble teacher, enables us to see the mercy of God in our lives and in our own cross. He shows us the love of God even in the requirements of the Law. Only God is Good; and good is the authority of Christ.
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