Word Wide Open: The Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) - 7/9/23

First Reading (Zechariah 9:9-10)

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Zechariah.

Thus says the LORD:

Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion,

shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem!

See, your king shall come to you;

a just savior is he,

meek, and riding on an ass,

on a colt, the foal of an ass.

He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim,

and the horse from Jerusalem;

the warrior's bow shall be banished,

and he shall proclaim peace to the nations.

His dominion shall be from sea to sea,

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? Why was Jesus a shocking figure to the Jewish people?

Second Reading (Romans 8:9, 11-13)

A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans. 

Brothers and sisters:

You are not in the flesh;

on the contrary, you are in the spirit,

if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. 

Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 

If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,

the one who raised Christ from the dead

will give life to your mortal bodies also,

through his Spirit that dwells in you.

Consequently, brothers and sisters,

we are not debtors to the flesh,

to live according to the flesh. 

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die,

but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body,

you will live.

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions:  Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? What does it mean to live in the flesh vs. living in the spirit? Why does living by the flesh bring death?

Gospel (Matthew 11:25-30)

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew.

At that time Jesus exclaimed: 

"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,

for although you have hidden these things

from the wise and the learned

you have revealed them to little ones.

Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.

All things have been handed over to me by my Father. 

No one knows the Son except the Father,

and no one knows the Father except the Son

and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I am meek and humble of heart;

and you will find rest for yourselves. 

For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

The Gospel of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this Gospel reading? What are the things the Lord reveals to the little ones? How does Jesus provide rest in our lives? How can the cross be light?