Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Exodus 3:1-6.9-12; Matthew 11:25-27)
In the first reading God tells Moses, “Come no nearer…the
place where you stand is holy ground.” Where Jesus stands in today’s gospel is also
“holy ground.” Yet he invites the poor and oppressed to join him. He wants these chosen people to know the “rest”
that the Son shares with the Father.
Their rest is not merely an afternoon nap that energizes one
to finish the day. It is, rather, the
relationship of love in which the Father gives over everything to the Son, the
Son receives it and then gives it back to Father. Such a mutually fulfilling exchange produces
rest, peace, and joy. It belies the
wisdom of the world where people are told not to give but to take as much as
they can. Such a mindset supposedly
makes one happy but actually ends in distress.
Imbued as we are in a market culture, we have difficulty
accepting Jesus’ invitation. We come to
think of ourselves as “accomplished” when we own a big home and car. We must recognize that our richest possession
is the love of God that we cannot earn.
It is given to us as we die and rise with Christ in Baptism.
