Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel: Matthew 12: 1-8

Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath.
His disciples were hungry
and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,
“See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.”
He said to them, “Have you not read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry,
how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,
which neither he nor his companions
but only the priests could lawfully eat?
Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath
the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath
and are innocent?
I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.
If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned these innocent men.
For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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In Jesus’ day, strict adherents to Jewish Law followed more than 600 man-made rules. (A small change from the 10 Commandments first given to Moses by God!) 

Many of these rules applied to the Sabbath – in particular, what was and wasn’t permitted –reaching down into the granular. 

For example, it was not only forbidden to “work” on the Sabbath; you could not even think about work. 

Try doing that for a day – not even thinking about returning emails, phone calls, or text messages. At least for me, turning off my brain for that long seems impossible, though it would be welcome.

While the intention was to set boundaries around a day devoted entirely to the Lord, some followed the Law not out of love, but out of fear that God would punish them if they didn’t.

Is fear really the best foundation for encountering our Creator?

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In today’s Gospel, the disciples have violated the Sabbath by “working,” plucking grains of wheat to feed their empty stomachs. 

But the Lord defends them against the charge of the Pharisees, because the Pharisees prized legal perfection over satisfying basic human needs. 

Perhaps there’s a lesson in that for us today.

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Many religions are built upon a foundation of rules. Do this… don’t do that. While they can be helpful guidelines towards encountering the Divine, such rules must always lead us further along the path of love.

(Trying not to think about how hungry you are out of fear of breaking a man-made rule isn’t one of them).

Furthermore, it seems the Lord permits the breaking of rules if doing so eases human suffering. 

Charity will always be the supreme, unbreakable law.

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Image credits: (1) Cornell Law School (2) Learn Religions (3) M. Wiley Wilson, WordPress

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Gospel: Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus said:
“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.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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This is the second time in less than two weeks that we’re hearing today’s Gospel. “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Perhaps the Lord is repeating himself through these readings because there may have been something that we missed or need to hear again.

We’re all familiar with the image and the invitation that Jesus is extending. Imagine two oxen linked by a wooden yoke, charged with plowing the fields together. One of the two is older, stronger, and more experienced than the other.

Clearly, the stronger one is Jesus. We, relatively new to the world, are the weaker ones who can rely upon his help. 

On the surface, it’s a comforting invitation.

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However, this image can be much harder to digest for one who really needs to hear it. We only feel the need to yoke ourselves to Jesus when we’re overburdened by life.

And when bad things happen, how often do we blame God for it, asking, “Why?” As if all of the evil in the world is somehow his fault, for either causing it or allowing it to happen.

If this is our approach to God, then it becomes awfully difficult to yoke ourselves to him. Sometimes the yoke only fits when we choose to surrender our need for understanding, accepting God on God’s terms, instead.

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There’s a prayer I pray each morning called the Suscipe. It was written 500 years ago by a man named Ignatius. He begins with this note of surrender: “Take, LORD, receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding.”

He concludes, “Give me only your love and your grace. That is enough for me.”

Ignatius learned the art of yoking his heart with Christ through surrendering his need to understand his problems, his pain, and the world around him. While wisdom grew in his heart, more importantly, his burdens became lighter.

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“Come to me,” Jesus says, “all you who labor and are heavy burdened.” 

While he does not promise answers, he does promise rest. 

If I had to choose between the two, give me rest.

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Image credits: (1) (2) Wayfare, Faith Matters (3) Jesuit High School

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Gospel: Matthew 11:25-27

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 the childlike.
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.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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A number of studies have suggested that the primary reason why Catholics do not share their faith is out of fear.

There’s the fear of inability, the feeling that we do not know enough about our faith in order to explain it convincingly to others.

The fear of rejection. Deep down, aren’t we all afraid of being turned down? How much deeper does that fear run when we try sharing our faith, the deepest part of ourselves with others?

And the fear of failure. Such a fear leads to a variety of missed opportunities – not only in terms of relationships, our career, or life-experience, but also in bringing others to Jesus. 

How do we overcome these fears?

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While some may find it hard to understand Scripture, or difficult to explain its relevance to our daily lives, the best evangelists are the ones who simply live their faith. 

Think of people like Mother Teresa and Dorothy Day. They did nothing extraordinary in the world’s eyes – they clothed and fed the poor. Yet who has not been inspired by their example?

Or Saint John Vianney. He had to overcome multiple obstacles in order to be ordained a priest. He would’ve been the first person to tell you how difficult Latin and theology came to him.

Yet he transformed a large swath of Catholic Europe just by sitting in the confessional for 16 hours a day.

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While fear is something we all experience, some of the world’s greatest evangelists were ordinary people who changed people’s hearts, not by their eloquence or persuasive arguments, but by love.

They were the “childlike,” the innocent ones, whom Jesus blesses in today’s Gospel.

This is, perhaps, what God is asking from all of us today – to share the Good News by living simply and loving deeply. Be kind. Love your neighbor. God will do the rest.

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Image credits: (1) Instagram (2) I’m Listening to God, WordPress (3) Concordia Gospel Outreach