1st Reading – Zechariah 9:9-10
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.
Zechariah was a prophet to the Israelites after their return from the Babylonian exile. He was called by God in 520 BC, the second year of the reign of Darius. He probably lived until very near the time the new Temple was finished.
It is practically impossible for Christians to read this passage and not think of these words as a direct reference to Jesus Christ. Although Matthew and John both integrate this passage into their accounts of Jesus entering Jerusalem before his passion (Matthew 21:5, John 12:15), neither is claiming that Zechariah foresaw “Palm Sunday.” Rather, in light of the events surrounding Jesus, Zechariah’s words were seen to have a level of meaning not previously understood.
Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion, shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem!
There is no distinction to be made between Zion and Jerusalem; both names refer to the city itself.
In ancient times, cities were often symbolically portrayed as female, which stemmed from the idea that they nurtured and provided shelter to their inhabitants, much like a mother cares for her children. The designation “daughter” echoes this sense of intimacy.
See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he,
At the time of this prophecy, the Israelites had no king. They were back in the Holy Land but living under Persian rule. Zechariah offers the people a message of hope, pointing to the coming of a king — a messiah who will bring about a reign of peace, justice, and salvation.
This king is just (saddíq), which means he does the will of God perfectly.
The king himself is also saved (nôšā). Nôšā is passive, which suggests that the king has the ability to save others because he himself has been saved by God.
meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass.
The king is meek (ānî) because he has little reason to be proud. Any victory he has wrought has been given to him by God.
He enters Jerusalem on a donkey, symbolizing humility and peace, as opposed to riding on a horse which symbolizes war and conquest.
He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; the warrior’s bow shall be banished,
Chariots, horses, and bows are instruments of war and military might, which are banned by this new king. Conflict and aggression are replaced by peace and harmony.
Ephraim is a poetic reference to the northern kingdom of Israel (the geographical area was originally settled by the tribe of Ephraim, which at one time was the largest tribe of Israel).
Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, represents the southern kingdom.
Referencing both kingdoms indicates totality and reconciliation.
and he shall proclaim peace to the nations.
The king’s proclamation of peace extends beyond the newly united Israelite people, to all nations.
Though this is a vision of the future, the verbs used throughout are prophetic perfect, a literary technique used in the Bible that describes future events that are so certain to happen that they are referred to in the past tense as if they already happened.
In other words, in God’s time, the future is already present.
His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
The extent of this king’s rule and influence is vast. “The River” is probably the Euphrates.
The peaceful rule of this king will extend far beyond Judah into the rest of the inhabited world. The description of the extent of his reign reflects the scope of the ideal realm of the messianic king (see Psalm 72:8).
2nd Reading – Romans 8:9, 11-13
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.
This week we continue our lengthy study of Romans.
Today’s reading speaks to the identity and life we have in Christ, empowered by the transformative work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Brothers and sisters: You are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
Paul contrasts living in the flesh and living in the Spirit. When he speaks of living “in the flesh,” he isn’t referring to any specific behavior, but rather to the limitations and inclinations of our human nature that can sometimes lead us away from God.
On the other hand, living “in the spirit” means living in a way that is attuned to God.
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
The word translated as “if only” can also be translated “if, in reality.”
Note the mutual indwelling: the baptized Christian is not only “in the Spirit,” the Spirit also dwells within us.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
Without the Spirit, we cannot truly claim to belong to Christ.
The mention of “Spirit of God” and “Spirit of Christ” in reference to the same Holy Spirit shows that the Spirit comes from both the Father and the Son.
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.
Paul speaks to the hope of resurrection and transformation. Just as God raised Jesus from the dead through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can have confidence that the same Spirit will also bring life to our mortal bodies.
Christians are under the same sentence of death as everyone else, as a consequence of original sin. However, sin and death are not the ultimate victors.
“But he who raised Christ up from the dead will raise us up also if we do His will and walk in His commandments and love what He loved, keeping ourselves from all unrighteousness, covetousness, love of money, evil speaking, false witness, not rendering blow for blow, or cursing for cursing, but being mindful of what the Lord said in His teaching.” [Saint Polycarp of Smyrna (ca. 135 AD), The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians 2]
Consequently, brothers, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
As believers, we have a new allegiance and a higher calling that requires us to reject the ways of the flesh and embrace the life-giving guidance of the Spirit.
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.
Following the path of the flesh leads to spiritual death and separation from God. However, if we, through the power of the Spirit, actively and purposefully put to death the sinful deeds of our bodies, we will experience true life — now and for eternity.
“It is right and clear that we are not obliged to follow Adam, who lived according to the flesh, and who by being the first to sin left us an inheritance of sin (see Genesis 3:13-19). On the contrary, we ought rather to obey the law of Christ who, as was demonstrated above, has redeemed us spiritually from death. We are debtors to Him who has washed our spirits, which had been sullied by carnal sins, in baptism, who has justified us and who has made us children of God (see Galatians 3:24-26)” [The Ambrosiaster (between 366-384 AD), Commentaries on Thirteen Pauline Epistles]
Gospel – Matthew 11:25-30
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.”
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus invites all who are burdened and weary to come to him for rest — echoing the message of hope and comfort from our first reading.
At that time Jesus said in reply, “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
Jesus begins with a typical Jewish blessing formula that acknowledges God’s universal sovereignty. However, Jesus makes a very unusual modification by addressing God as “Father.”
for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones.
Once again, scripture shows how God turns the expectations of the world upside down.
The profound truths and mysteries of God are not revealed to the worldly wise, those who regard themselves as quite self-sufficient. Instead, they are revealed to “the little ones” (nēpios, which means “immature”) — those who are unpretentious, reliant on others, and therefore open and receptive to the wisdom and revelation of God.
Jesus is not saying that God chooses to reveal himself to some and not to others. God’s self-revelation and invitation are offered to all, but it is only accepted by some.
Jesus is also not connecting faith with ignorance; he is connecting faith with humility, which consists of simplicity, openness, and trust. These happen to be the kinds of virtues we often observe in children, “the little ones.”
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
The gracious will of God and the ways of the world are clearly at odds.
God’s beloved Son, the messiah about whom Zechariah prophesied and for whom the educated Jewish leadership have been waiting for generations, has been recognized only by a few disciples from the peasant class.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
Note how much Jesus emphasizes calling God his “Father” — the word Father appears five times in just four sentences.
Scripture scholars suggest that the word translated here as “Father” would have been Abba in Aramaic, the language in which Jesus prayed. Abba implies much more intimacy than Father; the equivalent in English would be Daddy.
No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son
In the Wisdom tradition, which Jesus drew upon in his teachings, to know another person implies intimate knowledge of that person.
By describing this profound and intimate relationship with God the Father, Jesus is formally revealing his divinity. Only God can know Jesus (the Son) because only God has experiential knowledge of him. Correspondingly, only he can really know God because only he has experiential knowledge of God.
Insight into Jesus’ divine attributes, his unique relationship with God, and his divine authority and power is known as high christology.
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”
Jesus himself states that he alone is the way individuals can come to know God.
This would have been shocking to his audience, in light of the Jewish belief that God was fully revealed in the Law and the Prophets.
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
Jesus has been speaking to a group that includes both disciples and others who were interested in Jesus’ teachings.
His teaching shifts; he now extends an invitation to anyone who is willing to respond, as we all find things difficult in one way or another, at one time or another.
This is the heart of Jesus’ message; a call to a personal relationship.
and I will give you rest.
In responding to this call, we find solace and relief.
“Jesus says now and always, ‘come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest’. His attitude towards us is one of invitation, knowledge and compassion; indeed, it is one of offering, promise, friendship, goodness, remedy of our ailments; he is our comforter; indeed, our nourishment, our bread, giving us energy and life” (Pope Paul VI, Homily on Corpus Christi, 13 June 1974).
Take my yoke upon you
A yoke was a wooden collar placed on the back of an ox pulling a plow. It was custom-fitted so that it wouldn’t chafe or bruise the neck of the valuable animal. In practicing his carpentry trade, Jesus would have undoubtedly made some yokes.
The background for Jesus’ invitation to take his yoke is a passage from Sirach. In Sirach, Wisdom resides in the law of Moses (Sirach 24:22). As the book ends, Sirach extends an invitation to submit oneself to Wisdom:
Come aside to me, you untutored,
and take up lodging in the house of instruction;
How long will you be deprived of wisdom’s food,
how long will you endure such bitter thirst…?
Submit your neck to her yoke,
that your mind may accept her teaching (Sirach 51: 23-24,26).
and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart;
This echoes our first reading, which calls forth a meek leader for the people who will bring justice. Once again, Jesus has fulfilled the words of the prophets. All of God’s promises to his people have been fulfilled in Christ.
and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
Compared to the burden the Law had become, accepting the responsibilities that come with following Jesus (his yoke) is easy. Like the yokes for the oxen, this divine yoke is custom-made to fit the needs and abilities of each of us whom he invites to wear it.
Love makes every burden light. If Jesus’ hearers will conform themselves to this model and take on his yoke, their souls will find rest and they will be blessed with the revelation of God.
This shift from “keep the law” to “come to me” is a significant one. The Pharisees weighed the people down with an endless series of petty regulations (Acts 15:10), yet these responsibilities brought no peace to their souls.
A religion that is limited to rigidly observing legalistic norms, devoid of a personal relationship with the Creator, is empty.
“Any other burden oppresses and crushes you, but Christ’s actually takes weight off you. Any other burden weighs down, but Christ’s gives you wings. If you take a bird’s wings away, you might seem to be taking weight off it, but the more weight you take off, the more you tie it down to the earth. There it is on the ground, and you wanted to relieve it of a weight; give it back the weight of its wings and you will see how it flies” (Saint Augustine, Sermons, 126).
“All you who go about tormented, afflicted and burdened with the burden of your cares and desires, go forth from them, come to me, and I will refresh you and you shall find for your souls the rest which your desires take from you” (Saint John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel, book 1, chap. 7, 4)
Connections and Themes
The nature of God. There is absolutely no way we can comprehend God. We have only fragments and glimpses and hints of his unfathomable nature, which we try to piece together into something our human minds can understand.
Today’s gospel reading shows Jesus acknowledging God’s supreme authority, followed immediately by the statement that all things have been handed over to him by God. He then goes on to describe his intimate relationship with the Father, emphasizing that no one truly knows the Son except the Father, and vice versa. This highlights the unique and profound connection between Jesus and God: they are clearly distinct persons, but they commune in a way that is divine and consubstantial, as we say in the Creed each Sunday.
Paul speaks of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity who is clearly divine but distinct from God the Father and Jesus the Son. Paul refers to the Holy Spirit as both the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ, implying the shared connection between the three divine Persons. It is this Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead, and who dwells in us.
The only certainty we can gather from all this is that we are dealing with something far beyond our comprehension.
The grace of God in our lives. We are not completely lost in the unknown. The grace of the triune God touches our lives in ways that we can perceive and in other ways that require faith. The most tangible expression of God’s presence is found in Jesus himself. He was a real person, with a physical body, who walked on our earth, breathed its air, and shared in its human experiences. Through his words and actions, we catch a glimpse of who God is. His life reveals selfless love, unwavering compassion, all-embracing acceptance, and a deep concern for human needs. In Jesus, the divine qualities described in today’s responsorial psalm (Psalm 145) come to life. He embodies grace, mercy, kindness, compassion, faithfulness, and care for those who are burdened.
God has revealed Himself to us through Jesus. While Jesus was a tangible presence in history, accepting him as the manifestation of God requires faith, just as it did in his time. But if we hold onto this faith, we will believe that the Spirit of Jesus dwells within us, guiding our lives to follow the example of Jesus. This Spirit empowers us to open our hearts to everyone, to forgive those who have hurt us, and to live in harmony with the Spirit’s guidance. With this faith, we can experience the fullness of life in the Spirit, living in alignment with God’s purposes.
Learn from Me. The overriding disposition of these readings is humility. Jesus, the human manifestation of the divine, is meek and humble. This tells us something else about God. It tells us that high station does not result in pride. On the contrary, Jesus is humble; the king depicted in the reading from Zechariah is humble; the true disciple is called to be humble.
A second disposition is placed before us: grateful praise. We turn again to the responsorial psalm, and we praise and bless God; we extol God’s holy name.
In Jesus we have known the tender touch of God, and we are grateful.
Sunday Readings 