When Jesus says that his yoke is easy, he means that despite appearances (narrow gate, rough road) his way is exactly what we seek, precisely what our hearts hunger for. Saint Augustine , who tried every other avenue first, paraphrased Jesus famously when he observed in his Confessions, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee.”

Memorial of Saint Bonaventure

Isaiah 26:7-9, 12, 16-19

Psalm 102:13-14ab+15, 16-18, 19-21

M atthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Meditation by Dennis Hamm, S.J.

T he doctrine of the resurrection of the dead is a hope that dawned slowly and late in the Jewish tradition before Christ. Among Jesus’ peers, Sadducees, who held as revealed only what they could find in the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures, did not believe in life after death in any form. Pharisees, on the other hand, did teach the resurrection of the death and final judgment—as did Jesus (see Mark 12:18-27).

The final verse of today’s reading from Isaiah is an early hint of Israel’s faith in life beyond death:

            But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise: awake and sing, you who life in the dust. (Isaiah 26:19)

The focus here is on the restoration of Israel, under the figure of resurrection, which it presumes. See Ezekiel 37 for a similar use of resurrection as an image for restoration after exile.

While Jesus affirmed resurrection, most of his teaching focused on the way to fullness of life before death. And today’s reading shows him teaching that the way to the fullness of life called “rest” is, paradoxically, to shoulder his yoke and to carry his burden. Jesus is not saying, “Work hard and you’ll get the rest you deserve.” He is speaking paradoxically about the life of discipleship here and now, by asserting that his yoke is easy and his burden light.

Jesus borrows an image from his Jewish tradition when he uses the yoke image. Scribes spoke of the yoke of the Torah, implying that studying the sacred Law of Moses was a discipline, a task worth embracing. When Jesus says that his yoke is easy, he means that despite appearances (narrow gate, rough road) his way is exactly what we seek, precisely what our hearts hunger for.

Saint Augustine, who tried every other avenue first, paraphrased Jesus famously when he observed in his Confessions, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee.” In the end, we learn this way of Jesus, not by book learning (though that can be part of it) but by studying Jesus—as reflected in the Book, and as embodied in people of faith around us. If Jesus himself seems daunting, you can catch a powerful glimpse by meeting him in a saint—Bonaventure, say, or Augustine, or Dorothy Day or Mother Teresa, or maybe some as-yet-un-canonized person you know, who maybe even lives in your house.

Supplementary Reading

Your Seed Determines Your Harvest

Don't be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant - Galatians 6:7

H ave you ever looked at a large, old tree and wondered how long it has been there? It's amazing to think that at one point that gigantic tree was merely a tiny seed. In the same way, our words and actions are seeds. We will always reap a harvest on what we sow.

Think about the types of seeds you have been sowing. Are you sowing encouragement, hope, blessing, love? Then that's what you'll reap in the future. But if you've been sowing criticism, judgment and anger, you're probably already reaping a bad harvest. It's time to start changing your seed.

Today, I encourage you to pray and ask God to help you uproot any negative seeds you may have planted in the past and begin sowing good seeds for your future. As you stay obedient to the Word of God, you'll see those seeds grow. You'll rise up higher and enjoy the harvest of blessing God has promised you.

Father in heaven, I ask You to search my heart. Show me any bad seeds that need to be uprooted. Help me, by Your Spirit, to plant good seeds for my future. Use me for Your glory. In Jesus' Name. Amen. (Joel and Victoria Osteen)

For archive of previous Daily Meditation postings, please visit http://his-ways-better-than-our-ways.blogspot.com/

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GOD BLESS US ALL!

O Theos Na Mas Evlogisi!
PRAY as if everything depended on HIM. ACT as if everything depended on YOU.