Homily – 14th Sunday – Year A – Fr Jerry Browne (National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies #Southafrica #eSwatini #Swaziland #Botswana)
There are times in life when it feels as though we are carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders. It may be illness, the breakdown of an important relationship, financial uncertainty, or simply the relentless pressure of trying to hold everything together. Sometimes the burden is visible, often hidden behind a smile. Most of us know what it is to feel weary.
Over these past days, our own city (Gqeberha – Port Elizabeth) has witnessed another kind of burden. Hundreds of migrants and refugees have fled their homes because of fear and violence. Families have been displaced overnight, forced to leave behind their possessions, their livelihoods, and their sense of security. Their burden is immediate and visible.
Then there is the burden many of those people carry in silence: the trauma of rejection, the loneliness of displacement, the fear of violence, the loss of security, and the painful feeling of no longer belonging. These are wounds no one can see – wounds that run deep, wounds that take a long time to heal.
It is precisely into that hidden place of the human heart that Jesus speaks in today’s Gospel: ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest”, (Matthew 11:25–30).
Those words would have been a tremendous relief to His first listeners. Many ordinary people were already struggling with the demands of daily life. Added to that was the crushing weight of countless religious regulations imposed by some of the religious leaders, giving people a sense that they could never be good enough for God. Faith had become a burden rather than a source of freedom.
Jesus offers something radically different. He doesn’t abolish God’s law; He reveals its heart. The way to God is not found in endless rules but in a relationship rooted in love. Love of God. Love of neighbour. When love becomes the guiding principle in our lives, everything else begins to find its proper place. Then, Jesus then invites us to take His yoke upon us.
A “yoke” is a wooden crossbar used to join two animals (like oxen) together so they can pull heavy loads. The two animals were yoked together so that the burden could be shared.
That image tells us something beautiful about the Christian life. Jesus never asks us to carry our burdens alone. He places Himself beside us. He walks with us. His strength becomes our strength. His peace steadies us when life feels overwhelming.
Over these past few days, I have seen this Gospel come alive. While fear, insecurity, and violence forced many families from their homes, I also witnessed an extraordinary outpouring of love.
Parishioners, volunteers, people of different faith traditions, and none, and complete strangers opened their hearts with generosity and compassion. Meals were prepared, shelter was offered, tears were shared, and burdens were carried together. In those simple acts of kindness, Christ was present, walking beside His people through the hands and hearts of others.
Somehow, as Christians this is the only response that makes sense. When we have found rest in Christ, we are called to become a source of rest for others. We become people who lighten burdens instead of adding to them. We speak words that heal rather than wound. We forgive instead of condemning. We welcome rather than exclude. We notice those who have been pushed to the margins and help carry the weight they can no longer bear alone.
Saint Paul reminds us in the second reading that the Spirit of God lives within us (Romans 8:9, 11–13). The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, is the Spirit that is given to us. Through the Spirit, there is nothing that we can’t accomplish. The Spirit gives us the strength to live differently – to choose mercy over judgement, generosity over selfishness, and love over fear.
As we gather around the Lord’s table today, perhaps His invitation to us is wonderfully simple. What burden do I need to place into His hands?
And whose burden is He asking me to help carry? How can I become a source of His gentleness and peace for someone who is weary?
May we have the courage to come to Christ with open hearts, to find rest in His love, and then to become that same love for a world that is longing for hope.
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Please consider praying a decade of the rosary on a daily basis for the evangelising Mission of the Church and the Pope’s intentions.
The the pope’s prayer intention for the month of July is for respect for human life.
Let us pray for the respect and protection of human life in all its stages, recognizing it as a gift from God.
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Blessed Pauline Jaricot, Pray for us. 🙏🏼🙏🏼
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Batswana Catholics Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference Diocese of Francistown Catholic Diocese of Mthatha Catholic Diocese of Mthatha Catholic Diocese Of Kroonstad Catholic Diocese of Kimberley Youth & Young Adults Ministry Catholic Institute of Education Catholic Diocese of Port Elizabeth Catholic Diocese of Manzini #hope #love #faith #catholic #homily #Burnout