Suffering with Jesus and Being Comforted 14^th Sunday Ordinary Time Year A

Zechariah 9:9-10 Psalm 145 Romans 8:9, 11-13 Matthew 11:25-30

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus invites us to “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 yoke Jesus is referring to was a wooden frame fastened over the necks of typically two animals that rested upon their shoulders. The frame was then attached to a plow or a cart which the two animals pulled forward.

         By inviting us to take his yoke upon our shoulders and learn from him, Jesus is saying, do not carry your sufferings alone; do not carry your burdens all by yourself. Instead, with Jesus, and never alone, we are to accept the responsibilities that life presents to us and are to accept the sufferings that come with the responsibilities.

         All responsibilities that we accept necessarily entail sufferings. For example, the responsibilities of a parent with young children may include sleepless nights and the difficult role of disciplining children. The responsibilities of a priest may also include sleepless nights due to serving those in need, such as the sick and dying in hospitals and homes.  

         If we try to grin and bear the suffering that our responsibilities entail without bringing our hardships to another person, especially to Jesus, and ask him to help bear our disappointments, then what we suffer may lead us to becoming discouraged, which then may lead to doubting that we are capable of fulfilling our responsibilities, which then may lead to resentment, and even, hopefully not, despair.

         When we invite Jesus into our lives, the sufferings of life become lighter. Why? – because we are relating our disappointments in ordinary life and day-to-day occurrences to Jesus. A way to relate our disappointments and heartaches to Jesus is to share our heart with his heart, to share with Jesus what we experience in an unvarnished manner. Recently, I was sitting in an airport chapel which, unusually, has the Blessed Sacrament, Jesus’s sacramental presence. To my left was a young man who began crying. After a few minutes, it seemed evident that peace was descending upon him, and he rose, strengthened, and left the chapel. He had just shared his burdens with God, and Jesus, our divine Savior, helped the young man to carry his burden by lightening its weight.

         Saint Paul’s assures us that our God is “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction”. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) When we bring our disappointments to Jesus, we then will, writes Saint Paul, “share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings [and] through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” (2 Corinthians 1:5)

         Lord Jesus, we believe that Our Father in heaven is a God of consolation and of comfort who never wanted you to suffer and never wants us to suffer. However, so deeply respectful of our free will, you, Lord Jesus, as the Son of God, entered our world of suffering to transform suffering. In your life, our suffering becomes transformed so that instead of becoming more and more bitter, we become ever more loving, understanding, and merciful as God the Father is.

         Today, may we reject suffering alone, bearing our burdens alone and choose, with the help of divine grace, to suffer with another, with Jesus, who loves us in truth and will, therefore, never abandon us, will always be available to us, to listen to us, to comfort us and guide us.

May God Bless You – Father Peter