Is Jesus really going to take care of our problems?  Then why did He say: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.  Come to me all of you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest.  I am meek and humble of heart. You will find rest for yourselves.  My yoke is easy, My burden light.” 

Topics Presented 

	Was Jesus joking when He said: "My yoke is easy, My burden light.”
	Was Moses really the meekest of men?
	How can you be meek and/or humble, especially as Jesus meant it?

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	1st Reading
	Psalm
	2nd Reading
	Gospel
	Written Transcript of Homily
	Footnotes

This, for my money, is one of the most beautiful readings in the scriptures.

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me."

"Come to me all of you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest."

"I am meek and humble of heart. You will find rest for yourselves."

"My yoke is easy, My burden light.”

There are three words I think that we need to understand in the reading....

And simply notice.

When we hear this reading we have a picture of coming to the Lord....

And He is going to take care of our problems.

This is not what this reading says.

You see... art....  that portrays a person.... just kind of collapsing into the arms of the Lord.

And certainly that happens.... and the Lord receives us.

But that’s not what this passage is saying.

“Come to me all you who labor and burden and I will give you rest.”

How is He going to do that?

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.”

I have heard it said.... and it seems to be reflected into the scripture....

That “yoke and burden” in this context can refer to a Rabbi’s teaching.

We hear about the Pharisees who lay heavy burdens on the people.

It’s their teaching.....

That what Jesus teaches.... the way of life....

That He teaches us.... that’s His yoke.... a Rabbi’s yoke.

If I said I was taking the yoke of Rabbi such and such on me....

Well... that... that would mean I was submitting myself to his teaching.

Now we think of teachers... we think of modern schools.

You go to school, you come home at night and try to dodge as much work as you can.

It’s not that way that it is for Jews to this today.

And it certainly wasn’t that way at the time of Christ.

You went and you lived with your Rabbi.

The Rabbi was your whole life at that point.

He created the atmosphere in which you lived.

And it was a very personal and very intimate relationship.

So Jesus is talking about relationship here.

But the dimension of relationship isn’t just sort of friendship.

It’s disciple to teacher.

Remember... that Jesus commands us: "... to go make disciples of all nations."

"And you cannot be My disciple unless you take up your cross and follow Me."

He said to the twelve, “Come, follow Me.”

He was inviting them to discipleship.

And, as you all know, the word “disciple” means ‘student.”

So... He’s saying the way I will give you rest... is by making you my student.

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart.”

Meek and humble.

The word “meek” in the Greek text is praos and in it’s original meaning it’s used of horses.

If you have a team of horses who are pulling a wagon....

And one horse is more spirited and stronger than the other... 

Pretty soon that wagon will be in the ditch.

You want a well matched team of horses.

One that is not extreme in one direction....

One that is extreme in another direction.

Teachable.

Manageable.

How does that mean humble?

Well... humility.... is a kind of realism.

When we think of “humility” or rather, I’m sorry, meekness....

When we think of meekness....

We think of someone who is afraid of his own shadow.

The Bible says that Moses was the meekest of men.

You’ve all seen Moses.... as played by Charlton Heston....

He comes down the mountain and he smashes those tablets....

It’s really something....

Moses grounded up the golden calf and made the people who worshiped it to drink it.

This is a meek man.

How can such a man be meek?

In what sense?

I heard a story about a preacher....

A preacher told the story.... an old Pentecostal preacher.....

That.... he use to make people crazy.... he was a great preacher....

But, every once in a while, he preached a bad sermon.

And, every once in a while....

He preached a sermon that was clearly inspired by the Holy Spirit.

And when people would come out of the service and say to him:

“Reverend, that was a great sermon.”

And he’d say, “Wasn’t it though?”

He wasn’t bragging....

He just realized that everything he had came from God’s Holy Spirit.

A true artist, no matter what his art, is able to rejoice in beauty.

A really great artist can be as excited about another person's art as he is about his own.

You know.... you will find people.... who.... in any walk... in any calling....

Be it scholarship.... be it art.... be it business....

Who are angry at another person's success.

That it somehow diminishes them. 

The meek person is the person who is realistic.

Who knows when something great has been done....

And can appreciate the beauty of that thing that has been done.

He's able to enjoy his own art....

He's able to enjoy the art.... the success.... the fame of another.

The opposite of meekness is competition.

The person who is meek rejoices in the truth....

As St. Paul tells us in his first letter to the Corinthians.

Now.... the word humble of heart.....

The word "humble" in Greek is tapeinosis....

And what it really means is undistinguished.

Undistinguished. Unimportant.

When Mary praises God as she visits her cousin Elizabeth, she says:

"He has looked on the lowliness of His handmade.... of His slave.”

And the word she uses is this word.

She was nobody.

Mary.... in the eyes of the great and the powerful... was nobody.

And you know what?

In the way that the world teaches us.... everybody’s nobody!

Quick, who was the vice president in 1848?

Actually, there's someone in the congregation who could tell me that.

Quick, nobody?

Oh, in 1848 he was an important man!

And now.... who is he?

Nobody.

People who are great in the world....

People for whom we roll out the red carpet....

In a very little time.... they are simply the children whom their mother bore.

They are nobody.

History moves on.

And a new crop of people try to convince us that they are important.

But they are no more important than those who have gone before.

Lowliness is the recognition that we are, after all is said and done, just people.

The Blessed Mother... had you gone to Nazareth....

You would not have seen a glow around her house....

You would have had a hard time picking her out.

I remember the story of a great, great saint....

Who was a great mystic.... who could read souls.....

And a very important person came for spiritual direction....

And.... this very important person came into the monastery grounds....

And there were a bunch of monks who were digging a trench....

They were just.... covered with mud.

And this very important person looked at them.......

And asked.... where he could find the porters....

And went up to the porter of the monastery and said:

"I’m looking for Brother such and such...."

"Tell him that so and so has come to see him."

He said, “Ooh, Brother such and such is over digging in the trench.”

That’s meekness.

A good story of meekness that I....

Rather not meekness.... it’s more.... humility of heart.

Back at St. Thomas.... in the soup kitchen....

Frequently, the head of the Illinois Supreme Court used to come out and ladle soup. 

I use to get the biggest kick out of that.... she was just a....

There were just a lot of gray haired ladies who use to come and ladle out the soup.

And pass out the deserts.

And.... she was just one more of the gray haired ladies.

Now, what was particularly funny was....

That most of the people in the soup kitchen had done time in jail....

And I wonder what they would have thought....

Had they known that they had been waited on by the head of Illinois Supreme Court.

She was just an ordinary lady there.

Now when God looks at her... 

He will not see her law degrees....

He will not see that she was elected as a great Democrat politician...

To this prestigious and powerful place....

No.... He will see she was just an ordinary person who gave food to the poor.

That is to be lowly of heart.

Now the world tells us....

That if you don’t speak up for yourself....

If you don’t fight for yourself.... no one else is gonna.

It’s a dog eat dog world.

And our Rabbi tells us.... learn from Him because He is meek.

His way is.... don’t fight for yourself. 

Understand that you are who you are. 

And if the truth is not enough....

And if love is not enough....

Then nothing is enough.

The world says:

“If you don’t blow your own trumpet, who will?"

"You know.... you’re somebody special.”

Ya know? 

Well.... I’m special.... because God loves me.

But.... beyond that.... I am not very important.

I will die.... and I will be forgotten....

Except by God, who will remember me.

“Take My yoke upon you.... and learn from Me."

The rest that we look for is to lay down the burdens that we arrogate to yourself.

Competition, wealth, status..... having my own way, because, I want what I want.

The world tells us that these are values.

And they’re heavy burdens.

You see.... the burden that isn’t easy.... 

Rather the yoke that isn’t easy....

And the burden that isn’t light....

Is not the Lord's burden.

And these tasks....

These burdens that we impose on ourselves are not from God.

Because His burden is light.

His yoke easy.

St. Paul says, in the second reading, he says:

“If, by this spirit.... you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

How do you put to death the deeds of the body?

By coming to Jesus and learning from Him.

That’s how you do it.

You know... a couple of weeks ago....

I was ranting and raving that every Catholic has a moral obligation to study the Bible....

Doesn’t matter what way you study it.... just as long as you study it....

Because God wants to speak to you.

Now.... come to Jesus.

Don’t simply come for what He can give you.

Come to Jesus for what He can teach you.

And if His Word, living in your heart, transforms the way you think and act and even feel.... 

Then.... you have, by the Spirit, put to death the deeds of the body and you will live.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.