July 4th, 1999 |
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Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Matt 11/25-30 |
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| Background: In today's Gospel St. Matthew continues his "logical" organization of the words and deeds of Jesus by topics or by similarity of words. The related topics in this passage are the expression of Jesus' concern for little children and His love for us as members of His family. The latter passage in which He says that His yoke is easy and His burden is light does not seem to fit the reality of our lives. The yoke is often hard and the burden is heavy. Jesus obviously means that if we can identify with the love of God which he experiences life will look very different. Alas, it is so hard to do that. |
read the padre |
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Story: Once upon a time there was a king who was a very good king. Unfortunately, one of his ancestors had been a wicked king and terrorized his subjects, giving all the kings after him a bad name. As a result the people of that kingdom always feared their king, even this very good king. The king fretted about this because, like most people, he would rather be loved then feared. This king had three daughters and they kept telling the king that they loved him. One day the king had a great idea. He would send one of his daughters out among the people doing good deeds and then the people would know that their king was good. The daughters thought this was a great idea and all three wanted to go. However, the king thought it would be best that only one go. The eldest said that since she was the eldest, she should go. So she went. She was a take charge, tell everybody what to do type of person. When people didn't listen to her, she grew even bossier. Though she had the best intentions, her airs reinforced the people's view of the royals. The second daughter said she was sure she could fulfil her father's dream of being loved by the people. She would start a school to teach good citizenship. So she went forth determined to teach the people what they must do to live full lives, including how they should love their king. This daughter was a bit haughty, and brought along her servants and her guards to protect her wherever she went. Her entourage was enough to frighten most of the citizens. The few who came to her school were turned off by her haughtiness. They continued to fear the king. Finally the third daughter, who the others considered a meek little child, offered to try to convince the people that her father loved them. She disguised herself and went to live among the people. She spent her days and nights helping the needy people of the kingdom. She did so much good that soon some people in the kingdom joined her in helping others. After several years, the king became ill and the daughter had to return to care for him. It was then that the people of the kingdom discovered that this meek and humble girl was from the royal family. They also saw how much she loved her father. They decided that if someone like her loved the king, he must be a good man. From that day on, the people of the kingdom loved their king and his descendents. |
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