Revealed to the Little Ones ~ A Reflection on the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ze 9:9-10
Ps 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14
Rom 8:9, 11/13
Mt 11:25-30

In today's first reading, a prophecy about a Messiah is given to the prophet Zechariah. It is a joyful and hopeful prophecy as God describes the savior to come. He will be a king; but not the kind of king that people will expect.

This future King will forgo the usual trappings of kingship. He will not base his Kingdom on political intrigue or victorious campaigns. Instead, he will be a just and humble savior who will turn away from the weapons of war and proclaim peace to the nations.

In Matthew's Gospel, we see the embodiment of this Savior in the person of Jesus, who invites all who labor and are burdened to come to him and he will give them rest. "Learn from me," Jesus tells us (Mt 11:25 ff); for he is the same meek and humble one that the prophecy of Zechariah describes.

Jesus tells us that the high and mighty of the world will not understand this type of kingship. Instead, God will reveal everything to the "little ones" - those who in their humility are willing to take on the Lord's yoke. These are the ones who live in hope, and trust in their Savior.

They are the ones who open themselves to the life of the Spirit of God that dwells in them, as Paul describes in the Letter to the Romans (Ro 8:9).

We are filled with praise and thankfulness in knowing that our heavenly Father cares so deeply for us. We depend on him because he is our provider and the love we give him, we are to give freely and willingly.

"The Lord is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The Lord lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down."

Ps 145:13-14

Image at St. Andrew Catholic Church