Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel: Matthew 11: 16-19

Jesus said to the crowds:
“To what shall I compare this generation? 
It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another,
‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance,
we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ 
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said,
‘He is possessed by a demon.’ 
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said,
‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ 
But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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There’s an old saying about faith: “To those who have it, no explanation is necessary. To those who don’t, no explanation is enough.”

Faith takes root in the hearts of people who want to believe. 

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This is the essence of what Jesus is saying in today’s Gospel. “To what shall I compare this generation?” he says. 

They are like inconvincible skeptics; no person, no explanation, no miracle will be enough.

John the Baptist came to them preaching fire and brimstone. He lived in the desert, fasted, and clothed himself in camel’s hair. His message was of repentance. 

But the people criticized him for being too strict.

Then Jesus came living amongst the crowds, dining with tax collectors and sinners, even turning water into wine. 

The same people who criticized John the Baptist for being too strict criticize Jesus for being too lax. No display of faith – either from John or from Jesus – was enough. Some simply didn’t want to believe.

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I can’t help but see something of our own modern world in that. Sometimes we can explain our faith until we’re blue in the face, but people just shrug their shoulders.

For those with faith, no explanation is necessary. For some without it, no explanation is enough.

Let’s pray for those who struggle to believe, that somehow God would spark a desire in them to change – and see the goodness of God, present in so many.

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Image credits: (1) Christian images, Amazon.com (2) Britannica (3) Pinterest

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Gospel (Luke 1:26-38):

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Have you ever watched an eagle soar in the sky?

It’s simply awesome. 

It’s majestic. It’s free.

But if you trim its feathers, then instantly it’s grounded, making it unable to fly. 

You might say, clipping a bird’s wings prevents it from becoming fully alive.

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In the Gospel, it feels like Mary’s wings have been clipped.

She’s grounded in fear. 

Imagine her sitting comfortably on the sofa during an otherwise ordinary night. Maybe she was watching something like The Real Housewives of Nazareth when suddenly the angel Gabriel appears to her and says: 

“Behold, Mary you will conceive in your womb and bear a son…and of his kingdom there will be no end!”

“Excuse, me!” She must’ve thought. “Can you say that in my good ear?” 

After all, Mary wonders, “Who’s this angel anyway? Where is he from? And how can I become pregnant? I’ve had no relations with a man! … And how will I tell Joseph? He’ll never believe me!”

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Suddenly, her future seems uncertain, as if her plans have been thrown out the window. She’s too terrified to consider what this all means.

Her wings have been clipped. 

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Perhaps some of us have had a similar sense of fear.

Think about how you may have felt after receiving a malignant diagnosis. Or how your heart ached when your child went off to college, leaving you with an empty nest. Or the day you were laid off after working for the same company for thirty years.

Like Mary, sometimes our lives take unexpected turns, leaving us grounded in fear.

But Mary’s faith enabled her to overcome that fear, embracing a future yet to be written. “Let it be done to me according to your word,” she says.

With hindsight, we know what a blessed future it will be.

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As we turn to face 2023, the Gospel invites us to embrace yet another year, trusting that God is with us, just as he was with Mary.

No matter what stage of life we’re in – whether we’re newly baptized, teenagers, newlyweds, parents, grandparents, seniors, or somewhere in between, God has a plan.

As it’s written in the Psalms, “The Lord watches over the footsteps of his faithful ones.”

With faith – not fear – we’ll become fully alive.

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Image credits: (1) Radio Angelus (2) Leonardo DaVinci, Annunciation (3) Twitter

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Matthew 11:28-30:

Jesus said to the crowds:
“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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In Jesus’ time, farmers paired oxen together using an apparatus called a yoke. The two oxen plowed the fields together.

A stronger, more experienced ox was always paired with a younger ox to teach it how to plow. The yoke also pushed the younger ox forward, who otherwise might’ve given up when his muscles fatigued in the heat of the mid-day sun.

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Jesus likens himself to this stronger, more experienced ox who offers to plow through the fields of life with us. 

This is the good news! Jesus never gives up. He never tires. He’s used to the mid-day heat; he’s knows every field; he’s been through it all before. 

He’s plowed through the fields of suffering; the fields of poverty; the fields of friendship; even the fields of betrayal and death.

He’s plowed through them all and come out victoriously.

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What he offers us today is his wisdom, his experience, and his strength.

“Come to me, all you who are heavy burdened,” Jesus says, “and I will give you rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden light.”

Let him be that strong, experienced ox who strengthens us when the heat seems unbearable.

With Jesus by our side, we can plow through every field we encounter in life.

It’s just a matter of joining our yoke – our lives – to his.

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Image credits: (1) identitySPECIALIST (2) Yoked, Life is the Stories You Can Tell (3) Celebratingweakness.com