原文|Bishop Barron
翻译|Carrie
 

Friends, in our Gospel today, the king says, “come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” He is identifying every person who feels put upon by the world: economic worries, physical suffering, deep injustice, the death of a husband or wife, or the fear of your own death. You surely know what he’s referring to—we all do.

 

What is the answer? The answer is submitting to his kingship. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” We are meant to imagine ourselves as pack animals. It seems rather demeaning, but this is what submission to Christ’s lordship looks like: we serve his purposes and go where he wants us to go.

 

Is Christ commanding your life in every detail? Is he the Lord of your family life? Of your recreational life? Of your professional life? Of your sexuality? Of your friendships? Are you totally given over to him, under his lordship?

 

I know that this is starting to sound oppressive, but remember, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” When we surrender to the path of love which he has laid out for us, our lives become infinitely lighter, easier, more joyful, for we are moving with the divine purpose.

 

 

Friends, in today’s Gospel, people ask Jesus why he and his disciples do not fast when John and his disciples do. Jesus’ answer is wonderful: “How can the guests at a wedding fast while the groom is still with them?” Could you imagine people fasting at a wedding banquet? It would be ridiculous!

 

Jesus also says, “No one pours new wine into old wineskins….” The new wine is the Gospel. The receptacle for this wine must be conformed to it, not the other way around.

 

To take in the Good News, we can’t be living in the cramped space of our sinful souls. We can’t have an “expect the worst” attitude. Instead, we repent, or change the minds that we have. Another way to get at this is to say that like is known by like. If God is love, then only a soul that is on fire with love will properly take him in.

 

Friends, our Gospel for today is the simple but magnificent story of the conversion of Matthew. I urge you to read it and meditate upon it this week, for it’s about you. The Bible says that Jesus told Matthew, “Follow me.” The call of Jesus is meant to get into your mind, and then past your mind into your body, and then through your body into your life into your most practical decisions.

 

And then we hear that “Matthew got up and followed him.” The verb used here in the Greek is the same verb used to describe the resurrection of Jesus from the dead: Matthew rose. Conversion means a transition into a higher life, arising from a preoccupation with the goods of the world and a reorientation to the things of God.

 

Then we hear what happened after Matthew’s conversion: “And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples.” This deeply annoys the Pharisees, who ask of Jesus’ disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” The answer is that Jesus loves sinners, and he doesn’t require perfection before he approaches them.