There is a very welcome thread of joy and encouragement woven throughout the readings for this Sunday.
The First Reading is a foretelling of the joyous Kingdom over which Jesus will reign, and a prophecy of his triumphant entrance into Jerusalem before his death and resurrection. His way is a way of simplicity and humility, bringing peace to all nations.
Today’s Psalm is at the heart of Jewish worship, and is recited three times a day. It joyfully declares that God our King rules the whole of creation with compassion and love; he is faithful and lifts up all those who are bowed down.
In Paul’s letter to the Romans, we are reminded that we are not fully alive until we wake up to the reality of Christ’s Spirit living within us (Second Reading).
It is in this same Spirit that Jesus declares in the Gospel – that he is one with the Father, and that all things have been entrusted to him. He invites all those who are overburdened to come to him, for his yoke is easy, his burden light.
The Spirit of Christ living within us gives us hope, that even in the midst of the trials of our times, Jesus is with us, sharing in our suffering, carrying us in ways that we may not yet even recognise. Let us pray that we, as the body of Christ in the world today, will have the courage and strength to carry compassionately all those who feel weighed down by the effects of the recent pandemic