The other day I went running at 6 am. It was a beautiful summer morning. The sun had just risen and the birds were singing as I was passing through a green field. GLORIOUS! I knew I was surrounded by the presence of the Lord.
He was speaking to me and my heart was lifted up to Him. My being was filled with praise as songs of praise and verses of Psalms washed through my brain. Jesus wants to come to us and to touch us with His love! He wants to share moments like that frequently with us.
The Gospel of Saint Matthew describes this for us in Chapter 11 from which we hear today. He had been passing through towns and cities, proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven with powerful signs and wonders, healing the sick, and casting out demons. John the Baptist’s disciples had come to Him and He was praising John as a herald of this great moment of His own coming.
The outpouring of His Love and His Power was meant for them, as it is meant for us, to be a BEGINNING of deep conversion, of a journey of transformation of our hearts and through us, of our world. However He knew that many, though they had seen is what He was doing, remained stuck in their small worlds and their bad habits: maybe frozen by their fear or their self-centeredness. Maybe just following the crowd. He has to use these very strong words we hear today: Woe to you… and then He names various towns he has visited. It will go worse for you than for Sodom and Gomorrah… He does not come to condemn. He comes with love and the power to change but if we don’t receive His gifts, we condemn ourselves.
He came to us TO STAY FOREVER, in the sacraments, in prayer, in the Church, in our relationships, so that He can come into our homes. So we can open ourselves to His beauty all around us, So we realize that He Himself is the love we share with our children. So our Homes may be little churches. So our children will know He lives in their hearts.
In these strong words, the Lord is calling us to open up, to wake up!
In Matthew’s Gospel we hear that his next words are “I praise you Father for revealing these things to the children… Come to me you who are weary. I am gentle and humble. My yoke is easy and my burden light.”
