Homily 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A I Homily 5 July 2026 Year A

5 July Zechariah 9:9-10; Romans 8:9, 11-13; Matthew 11:25-30


My dear friends today we celebrate the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A. The readings of today invite us to discover a God who comes to us not with power or force, but with humility, gentleness, and love. They also challenge us to lay down the burdens we place on ourselves and to find true freedom by allowing Christ to lead our lives through His Spirit.

The prophet Zechariah ministered to the people of Judah after they returned from exile in Babylon. Although they had come back to their homeland, life was still difficult. Into this situation, Zechariah gave a message of hope: "Your king is coming to you." This promised King is very different from the rulers of the world. Earthly kings usually display power through armies, horses, and weapons. But Zechariah describes a King who is righteous, victorious, and humble, riding on a donkey instead of a war horse. The donkey is a sign that He comes in peace, not to conquer by force but to save through love and humility. His kingdom will not be built on violence but on justice and peace. He will remove the weapons of war and proclaim peace not only to Israel but to all nations. His reign will extend "from sea to sea," showing the universal reach of God's kingdom. Christians see this prophecy fulfilled in Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. This humble King is the very same Jesus who, in today's Gospel, invites each one of us to Come to Him. Zechariah's prophecy challenges us to examine our own expectations of God. We often look for dramatic displays of power, quick solutions, or worldly success. Yet God chooses the way of humility, service, and sacrificial love. To welcome Christ as King means allowing His peace to reign in our hearts and learning His way of gentleness. As His disciples, we are called to become signs of that same kingdom—rejecting violence, seeking reconciliation, and serving others with humble hearts.

If Zechariah shows us the kind of King God sends, St Paul in the letter to the Romans tells us how we are able to follow this King—not by our own strength but by the power of the Holy Spirit. He reminds Christians that they are no longer meant to live according to the "flesh" but according to the Spirit of God. Here, the word flesh does not simply mean our physical body. Rather, it refers to a way of life that is centered on selfish desires, sin, and living apart from God. In contrast, living by the Spirit means allowing the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts, choices, and actions.

Paul says that those who belong to Christ have the Spirit of God dwelling within them. This is one of the greatest gifts of the Christian life. The same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead now lives in every believer. Just as God raised Christ to new life, He is also at work in us, giving us the strength to overcome sin, grow in holiness, and live with hope. This new life is not something we achieve by our own efforts but is God's gift, received through faith and nurtured by daily cooperation with His grace. Paul also reminds us that we have a choice. We can continue to follow our selfish desires, which lead to spiritual death, or we can allow the Spirit to help us put to death sinful habits and attitudes. This is not about earning God's love but about responding to the new life He has already given us. This passage invites us to ask ourselves: Who is guiding my life? Are my decisions shaped by selfishness, pride, and comfort, or by the Holy Spirit's call to love, forgive, and serve? Every day, the Spirit gently leads us closer to Christ. When we listen to His voice and cooperate with His grace, we experience the true freedom and abundant life that God desires for all His children.

I remember going on a trek with a group of young people. Wanting to be prepared, I carried not one, but three bottles of water in my backpack. It seemed like a wise decision at the start. But as the climb became steeper, I realized that the extra weight was slowing me down. Every step became harder. Finally, I had to let go of the extra bottles if I wanted to continue the journey. Sometimes, life is like that. We carry burdens that we think we need, only to discover that they keep us from moving forward. We carry burdens that God never asked us to carry.

In today's Gospel, Jesus’s prayer highlights the distinction between the wise and little children. At first, his prayer sounds paradoxical. Why would God hide the truth from the wise? Jesus is not condemning intelligence or learning. Rather, He is speaking about those who are so confident in their own knowledge that they leave no room for God. They are the ones who think they have everything figured out in life. The "little children" on the other hand are those who approach God with humility, openness, and trust. Jesus' prayer also reveals the deep and intimate relationship between the Father and the Son.  To know Jesus is to know the Father. Through Him we discover a God who is loving, merciful, and always seeking a relationship with His children.

Jesus then extends one of the most beautiful invitations in the Gospels: "Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest." During a recent retreat I realized that there were moments in my life when I found myself constantly wanting to do more and achieve more and eventually, I found myself tired and drained out. Did God really want this of me? I realized that much of my burden did not come from God's mission but from my own desire to prove myself, to feel valued through my work, and to seek appreciation from others. Those expectations became a heavy yoke that I placed upon myself. A yoke as you would know, is a wooden beam that joins two oxen together so that they walk in the same direction.

In the gospel, Jesus offers a different yoke. When we take on the yoke of Jesus, we allow Him to walk beside us. His yoke is light not because discipleship is easy, but because we are no longer alone. We stop trying to control everything and begin trusting His grace. Some of us carry the burden of always having to be successful. Some carry the burden of pretending everything is fine. Some carry resentment from something that happened years ago. These burdens are far heavier than the yoke Christ asks us to bear. This Gospel invites us to ask ourselves: What burden am I carrying that Jesus never asked me to carry? Perhaps it is the need to always succeed, or a hurt or a pain from a past experience. When we surrender our self-made burdens and walk with Christ, we discover the rest that our hearts have been searching for all along.

 The King who rides a donkey is not asking us to prove ourselves. He simply says, "Come to me." If we dare to let go of the burdens we have chosen for ourselves, we will discover that His yoke is lighter than ours and that the rest He promises is real. As disciples, we are called not only to welcome this King but also to imitate His humility, choosing peace over power and service over status. May God bless us all.