Sunday, July 6, Scripture Reflection

Scripture: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, A, July 6,2008. Zecheriah 9:9-10.
Psalm 145:1-2.8-9.10-11.13-14. Romans 8:9.11-13. Matthew 11:25-30.
Lectionary # 101.

Images of God are always our human way of sensing God's presence in
our lives. The Scriptures give us many images of God and these help us to
correct and refine our own which often stem from childhood days and
sometimes keep us away from going deeper into the revelation God plans for
us each day. By taking the time to be open to the word of God we can learn
some new ways of imaging God. These images apply both to God as our Father
and Creator and to Jesus, our Lord, if we are Christians. Paul helps us to
understand the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our meditating and
pondering over what he says about God, Jesus, and the Spirit. For all of
the three great monotheistic religions there is always the belief in One
God and the greatest revelation on this is from Deuteronomy 6:4--- so well
known to Jesus and his People: "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the
Lord alone!" The verses that follow that revelatory text are all about how
to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind.
In imaging God from the Scriptures we will see that it is a creative
act on the part of those who have written and handed down the texts.
Zechariah is revealing an ideal picture of the king (Messiah) who will
come. The text becomes helpful for us Christians as we meditate on what
Jesus is revealing about himself and his relationship to the Father and to
us. Jesus speaks as Wisdom and the words of the second part of today's
Gospel are very similar to the words of Wisdom literature in the Bible. To
understand these revelatory words, especially the first part of today's
Gospel, we need to be as children listening and loving the words of their
Father or their elder brother or sister. Simplicity of heart, a spirit of
wonder,and then openness to the words of the Revealer or Loving Parent.
The words certainly are paradoxical and somewhat mystical. Here Matthew
resembles what John gives us in his Gospel for Jesus' intimacy with God his
Father. In Matthew's Gospel Jesus says, "I thank you, Father, Lord of
heaven and earth. because you have hidden these things from the wise and
intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such is
your gracious will." And for us Christians there is this profound
statement, "All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one
knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." (Matthew 11:27).
This revelation then is followed up by the consoling words of Jesus
about those who take up their daily burdens and learn from Jesus who is
kind, humble and meek of heart. To comprehend both the above and this last
part of the Gospel requires the simplicity of our faith, hope, and love of
God. It should be childlike and simple. We may then be able to realize
how Jesus is living out for us what the covenant says about God the Father
who is kind, gracious, and merciful.
Finally, it is Paul who shows us that we are to experience this as
adults who become childlike in openness to God. And as Paul tells us today,
t we need to remove from ourselves whatever is of the flesh and not of the
Spirit. Fr. Roland Faley tells us that by "flesh" Paul is referring to
that part of us that is unredeemed, weakened by sins and prone to follow
its promptings." ( R.Faley, Footprints on the Mountain, p.459).Amen.