July 5, 2020: 14th Sunday in Ordinary time
Zechariah 9: 9-10; Romans 8: 9, 11-13; Matthew 11: 25-30
To be powerful, to be the leader, to be dominant, to be in command, to be the super power, to be economic world leaders… these are the dreams people always grow with and crave for. The world advocates it as “normal” ambition of “normal” persons. How would you look at a priest, for example, who when he comes to any Religious community, invariably would go to the kitchen and eat his meal with the cooking staff who prepare the meals for the community? Or if you come across a person, a multi-millionaire in fact, who runs an orphanage and every time sits with his orphans to have his meals everyday. Not imaginary, these are choices, choices for the weak, the meek, the humble, the powerless and it is here that there is real power!
The choice of Yahweh in the Old Testament was for such people. God was, God of the poor, the God of the oppressed, the God of the suffering. The concept of ‘Anawim Yahweh’, that the prophets speak of: the vulnerable, the suffering, the poor, the bowed-down, the people in submission – the Lord stands by them; they are the privileged people of God. The definitive choice of God is seen absolutely in the choice that God makes, to become a human person, go through all that a human person goes through and accept death, even death on the cross (cf. Phil 2). The First reading says the Lord comes not on great splendid chariot or with the power of the horses or powerful weapons. The Lord comes on a colt! “Learn of me for I am meek and humble of heart!”
The Word today present us with three challenges, in order to be considered worthy people of God:
The first is, the challenge to create a counter culture: the people of the Reign are called to be prophets who challenge the present order. The Lord repeatedly instructed during the past week through prophet Amos: Do not be conformed to the world! Challenge the culture that justifies domination and subjugation. Challenge the world that idolises wealth and power and prominence. Do not succumb to the culture of craving for power.
A Counter culture is the most indicative reality of the Reign of God. It is the critical stand point that evaluates all that is considered normal and customary, appreciates what promotes the good of everyone and questions those which discriminate, divide, and deprive someone of their due! It could be in terms of economic, social, personal, emotional or whatever well being, in everything and in each of these, a person and every person in a society has the right to his or her due. That is what the Reign of God is all about: harmony, brotherhood and sisterhood and peaceful living together. In a culture that opposes all these, Reign of God has to be identified, without doubt, as the counter culture.
The second is, to challenge one’s own ego: the more you do away with your ego, the more you give space to the spirit of the Lord within you, says the first reading today. It is very logical, the less space I give to my ego, the more space I can give to the other; the more space I give the other, the more space I am able to set apart for God.
An Egoless personality is that kind of a person who knows who he or she is, rejoices in one’s own gifts and talents, acknowledges one’s own limits and shortcomings, and does all that is possible to live one’s life to the full, without absolutising oneself in relation to the other, without making oneself the centre of everything, and without manipulating everything and everyone around towards one’s own good and well being. A person with an egocentric attitude, cannot see the other or the other’s needs, nor the way out of a self-centred perspective of the world and the entire reality. How much we have given into the craze for power, popularity and pleasure! Are they not filling myself with myself? How will there be place for God there?
The third challenge is to create a society that is meek, humble and peaceful. The Lord promises, all those who are tired and heavy laden, ‘come to me and I shall give you rest’. But in the very next verse, he says: take my yoke upon you and learn of me – and you will find rest! The conditions placed for the real rest, is taking the yoke from the Lord and learning from the Lord to be humble and meek.
Meekness is not weakness. It is in meekness that a person is truly strong; it is the mighty weapon that Jesus has taught us to use to the best of results. Creating a peaceful world, creating a warless society, creating a just and egalitarian society, the change has to begin from within: having a heart that is founded on the balanced ground of the Lord; developing within, a spirit that is unscathed by jealousy and rancour; nurturing a soul that is sweet and filled with love! This sweetness, love, forgiveness, mercy and serenity is the real power of meekness!
Only this power of meekness can create a culture that is egoless, sensitive and peace-loving. As long as we look at meekness as an inability and vengeance as real power, as long as we look at our ambitions and goals as the absolute and persons and processes as secondary, as long as we keep our eyes fixed on the so-called victories and trophies and forget to see the hearts that we are trampling on, we cannot create a counter culture, that is we cannot make the Reign present, here and now! If we truly wish to be people of God, the people of the Reign, let us strive hard to rediscover in our daily living, the power of meekness!
Fr Antony Christy is a Salesian Priest from 2005, who has a Masters in Philosophy (specialisation in Religion) and a Masters in Theology (Specialisation in Catechetics). He is currently pursuing his doctoral research in Theology at Salesian Pontifical University, Rome. Walking with the Young towards a World of Peace and Dialogue is the passion that fires him.