Let’s spend some time looking at these words, taking into account the whole Gospel reading. First of all, Christ declares that the Father has hidden these things from the wise, and revealed them to infants. Here, with the word “infants,” “Christ refers primarily not to children, but to those who, with childlike faith, accept humbly Christ and his teachings” (The Didache Bible, Jeffrey Cole ed., pg. 1280, 2021). You can be intelligent and educated, and miss the great gift of God’s providence that surrounds us on a daily basis. On the other hand, those who approach the Father with the trust of a child, are those ones who can claim the Father’s blessing. What is the enemy of a childlike faith? Constant anxiety, fretting, worrying, and fear of the future. The Christ child, who St. Joseph carries, invites us to approach Him, and through Him, the God the Father, with the faith of a little one.
Our Lord ends the Gospel with the saying, “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Other translations have my yoke is “easy to bear,” and the Polish and Italian translations of Scripture say that “my yoke is sweet.” I think that we all know the reality of yokes and burdens that are too heavy. St. Gregory the Great says, “A cruel yoke and hard weight of servitude it is to be subject to the things of time…to cling to failing things, to seek to stand in things that stand not, to desire things that pass away, but to be unwilling to pass away with them” (Catena Aurea, vol. 1, pg. 356). In other words, it is a cruel yoke to seek ultimate meaning in things that pass away: people’s opinion of ourselves, material riches, our looks, even our talents. We are but pilgrims on this earth, and all these things will pass away, even the things that looked so firm and unchanging: our farms, homesteads, residences, lands, and bank accounts. The more we seek to attach ourselves to these things, the harsher our burden will be. Christ asks us, instead, to take His yoke: Jesus knows the Father, and the Father knows Him, and Christ will lead us to the Father. Of course, there is a yoke, there is a burden. Sometimes it may seem, that God demands so much of us, burdens us with so much, as Christians: obey the 10 Commandments, obey the moral law, worship every Sunday, pray daily, frequently make use of the sacraments, especially Confession. There are many expectations of a Christian. In return for this, God gives us His burden and His yoke. These do give us something to carry, however, this burden is easy, and even sweet. Those of you who spend yourselves in the service of others know that, even after a difficult day, there are times of profound peace and consolation. That is the sweetness of Christ’s yoke coming through. Those who are self-absorbed, will have difficulty experiencing this sweet yoke.
Part of the yoke and burden of life, are life’s constant changes. In my time here at St. Hedwig’s, most of the pastors of nearby parishes have changed, at least once. The College chaplain has changed multiple times. We changed our diocesan bishop once already, when Bishop Mulhall had left us for Kingston, back in 2019. And now, we are changing our Bishop again: after three years in the Diocese of Pembroke, Bishop Guy has been named as the Archbishop of Moncton, New Brunswick. We will, again, be praying for the man that the Holy Spirit has anointed as the future Chief Shepherd of our diocese. Divine Providence has a plan for our parish and our families, even amidst these changes.
On this, the fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, our Gospel reading ends with these words from Our Lord: “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” We approach the Father with a child-like faith. We ask Mother Mary, the Mother of Divine Grace, to accompany us with Her powerful intercession.
(Fr. Paweł Ratajczak, OMI, July 9, 2023)