Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A

MATTHEW 11:25-30
I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR US TO THINK ABOUT TODAY. FIRST, WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT – MAKING MONEY OR BEING DEVOTED TO YOUR FAMILY? MOST OF US WOULD AGREE THAT BEING DEVOTED TO YOUR FAMILY IS MORE IMPORTANT. BUT MOST OF US WHO ARE IN THE WORK FORCE SHOW BY OUR ACTIONS THAT WE DON'T REALLY MEAN IT. WE GIVE OUR BEST TIME AND ENERGY AND SOMETIMES EXTRA HOURS TO OUR CAREERS, TO MAKING MONEY. AND WHEN WE ARE TIRED AND OUR ENERGY IS LOW, WE GIVE THE DREGS OF OURSELVES TO OUR LOVED ONES. I'M SURE THAT'S NOT TRUE OF ALL OF US, OR EVEN IF IT IS, IT ISN'T TRUE ALL THE TIME; BUT I BET THOSE OF US WHO ARE SUCCESSFUL IN OUR JOBS KNOW THAT THIS IS TRUE ENOUGH THAT IT SHOULD BOTHER US.
HERE'S ANOTHER ONE – WHAT MATTERS MORE, THE APPROVAL OF STRANGERS OR THE APPROVAL OF OUR LOVED ONES? I CAN REMEMBER WHEN WE WOULD GET UPSET WITH OUR CHILDREN FOR DEMONSTRATING HIGH SPIRITS WHEN WE WERE OUT IN PUBLIC. OBVIOUSLY, THE APPROVAL OF STRANGERS MATTERED MORE. AND HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU COME HOME FROM WORK, WHERE YOU HID YOUR FRUSTRATION WITH YOUR CLUELESS BOSS OR UNCOOPERATIVE EMPLOYEE, AND THEN WHEN YOU GOT HOME, YOU TOOK IT OUT ON YOUR FAMILY? DOES THAT EVER HAPPEN TO YOU? IT DID, AND STILL DOES, TO ME NOW AND THEN. OUR ACTIONS SPEAK ABOUT WHAT MATTERS THE MOST TO US.
AND IF SOMEONE WERE TO ASK YOU WHAT YOU REALLY WANT OUT OF LIFE, MOST OF US WOULD SAY WE WANTED TO BE HAPPY. IN FACT, WHEN JOAN AND I WORK WITH ENGAGED COUPLES, YOU'D BE SURPRISED AT HOW OFTEN THAT IS GIVEN AS A REASON FOR GETTING MARRIED. BUT ARE YOU HAPPY? I THINK MOST OF US WOULD SAY THAT WE HAVE MOMENTS, BUT IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU KNOW YOU COULD BE HAPPIER.
THESE ARE ALL BURDENS. OUR LIVES ARE ALWAYS CONTRASTS BETWEEN WHAT IS AND WHAT WE KNOW SHOULD BE. WE ALL HAVE GOOD INTENTIONS, BUT LIFE KEEPS GETTING IN THE WAY OF CARRYING THEM OUT. WHAT PERSON CAN SAY “I SPENT TOO MUCH TIME WITH MY CHILDREN WHEN THEY WERE GROWING UP. I SHOULD HAVE KEPT THE HOUSE CLEANER. I SHOULD HAVE GONE TO WORK ON WEEKENDS AND EVENINGS MORE OFTEN.”
SO WE SHOULD STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES, RIGHT? WE SHOULD BE MORE SPONTANEOUS. WE SHOULD LIVE IN THE MOMENT. WE SHOULD SPEND MORE TIME GOLFING OR FISHING AND LESS TIME IN THE OFFICE. BUT I'M NOT GOING TO FOLLOW THAT ADVICE MUCH AND YOU AREN'T EITHER; WE ALL KNEW THOSE CLICHES AND AGREED WITH THEM, AND NOTHING REALLY CHANGED.
OUR PROBLEM IS NOT THAT WE DON'T SPEND ENOUGH TIME ENJOYING LIFE, OR THAT WE SPEND TOO MUCH TIME WORKING. THE REAL PROBLEM IS THAT WE AREN'T IN BALANCE. BALANCE MEANS THAT AT ANY MOMENT WE KNOW WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT, AND WE DO IT. IF WE ARE IN BALANCE, WE ARE AT REST. AND THAT'S WHAT JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT TODAY. THERE ISN'T ANY WAY WE CAN ACHIEVE THAT BALANCE WE NEED WITHOUT GOING TO HIM. IT'S LIKE THIS. HUMAN BEINGS WERE DESIGNED TO BE COMPLETELY FULFILLED ONLY WHEN THEY ARE FOLLOWING GOD'S PATH FOR THEM. SAINT AUGUSTINE SAID THAT OUR HEARTS ARE RESTLESS UNTIL THEY REST IN GOD. IF YOU READ HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY, YOU SEE HOW LONG AND HARD HE STRUGGLED BEFORE HE REALIZED THIS AND FINALLY SURRENDERED HIMSELF TO THIS INSIGHT. SAINT PAUL STARTED OUT AS A DEEPLY DEVOTED MAN – YOU COULD EVEN CALL HIM A RELIGIOUS FANATIC – WHO WANTED NOTHING MORE THAN TO PLEASE GOD – BUT IN HIS OWN WAY. AND WHEN HE WAS KNOCKED OFF THE HORSE AND BLINDED, HE HEARD JESUS SAY, “WHY DO YOU KICK AGAINST THE GOAD?” PAUL WAS NOT ALLOWING GOD TO LEAD HIM, AND I SUSPECT JESUS COULD ASK THE SAME QUESTION OF EACH OF US.
JESUS PROMISES REST, BUT THE CONDITION IS THAT WE ACCEPT HIS YOKE. FOR A LONG TIME THE PICTURE I HAD IN MY MIND WAS OF A HORSE PULLING A PLOW – I WAS THE HORSE, JESUS WAS DRIVING THE PLOW. BUT NOTICE THAT JESUS SAYS “MY YOKE IS EASY, MY BURDEN IS LIGHT”. MAYBE THE IMAGE SHOULD BE ONE OF THOSE DOUBLE YOKES FOR TWO HORSES. BECAUSE JESUS IS THE ONE PERSON WHO NEVER DEVIATED FROM THE PATH GOD WANTED HIM TO FOLLOW. WHEN YOU ARE FOLLOWING GOD'S PLAN, YOUR LIFE IS IN BALANCE, YOU KNOW YOU ARE DOING WHAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO, AND YOU HAVE A VERY CLEAR IDEA OF WHERE YOU ARE GOING. AND IT MAKES SENSE THAT IF WE ARE GOING TO FOLLOW GOD'S PLAN IN OUR LIVES, WE SHOULD BE IN HARNESS WITH THE ONE PERSON WHO KNOWS HOW TO DO THIS. HIS YOKE IS EASY, HIS BURDEN IS LIGHT, HE KNOWS WHAT IT IS TO BE AT REST.
JESUS LIVED A PERFECT LIFE. THINK OF HIS TEACHINGS. HE INSISTED OVER AND OVER AGAIN THAT GOD LOOKED AFTER US, THAT GOD LOVED US, AND THAT THE FATHER WOULD NEVER ABANDON US. HE LIVED HIS LIFE THAT WAY. AND ON THE CROSS, HIS LAST WORDS WERE WORDS OF TRUST “INTO THY HANDS I COMMEND MY SPIRIT”.
IF YOU GO INTO ANY OF THOSE BIG BOOK STORES, RELIGIOUS OR SECULAR, YOU CAN FIND A A SECTION FILLED WITH BOOKS TELLING YOU HOW TO IMPROVE YOURSELF, HOW TO LIVE YOUR LIFE BETTER. TITLES LIKE “BE A BETTER YOU” OR “THE SECRET TO TRUE HAPPINESS” HAVE SOLD MILLIONS AND MADE THEIR AUTHORS RICH. BUT THE ONLY PERSON THAT ACTUALLY KNOWS THE ANSWERS TO LIFE'S MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS DIDN'T WRITE A BOOK. YOU HAVE TO READ ABOUT HIS LIFE, STUDY WHAT HIS FOLLOWERS THOUGHT, AND SPEAK TO HIM BECAUSE AFTER HE LED HIS PERFECT LIFE, HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD AND PROMISED THAT HIS FRIENDS WOULD DO SO AS WELL, AND HE PROMISED THAT HE WOULD ALWAYS BE WITH US. HE IS PRESENT TO US WHEN WE SPEAK TO HIM, AND IF WE LISTEN, HE WILL SPEAK TO US.
YOU AND I ARE PROBABLY GOING TO GET FRUSTRATED WITH SOMETHING IN THE WORLD AND COME HOME AND TAKE IT OUT ON OUR LOVED ONES AT LEAST ONCE MORE. WE ARE GOING TO SPEND TOO MUCH TIME WORKING AND NOT ENOUGH TIME ENJOYING THE GOOD THINGS GOD GIVES US. WE ARE GOING TO PROMISE OURSELVES THAT THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT ONCE WE GET PAST THIS LATEST CRISIS IN OUR LIVES, AS WE'VE DONE SO OFTEN BEFORE.
BUT AT LEAST WE CAN GET STARTED. AT LEAST WE CAN SERIOUSLY SET ASIDE A LITTLE TIME TO READ THE STORY OF THE MAN WHO KNEW HOW TO LIVE A PERFECT LIFE. AT LEAST WE CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SACRAMENTS HE LEFT US TO GIVE US THE GRACE WE NEED. AT LEAST WE CAN TAKE MORE SERIOUSLY THE TEACHINGS OF THE CHURCH HE FOUNDED SO THAT WHAT HE TAUGHT WOULD ALWAYS BE NOT ONLY PRESERVED, BUT MADE TO FIT THE PRESENT TIME.
IF I REALLY WANT THE REST JESUS OFFERS, I HAVE TO GET IN TO HIS YOKE AND PULL ALONGSIDE HIM, NOT IN SOME DIRECTION OF MY CHOOSING. HE MAKES THE OFFER, HE GIVES THE MEANS, HE OFFERS TO SHOW US EVERYTHING. BUT HE LEAVES US FREE TO PUT IT OFF, TO KEEP ON DOING WHAT WE ARE DOING. WILL WE TAKE HIM UP ON HIS OFFER TODAY? OR WILL OUR TOMBSTONES SAY, “SOMEDAY I'M GOING TO GET AROUND TO WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.”