Zechariah 9.9-12

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
    Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
    triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
    and the warhorse from Jerusalem;
and the battle-bow shall be cut off,
    and he shall command peace to the nations;
his dominion shall be from sea to sea,
    and from the River to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
    I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
    today I declare that I will restore to you double.

 

REFLECTION

There are three (3) Zechariahs in the bible. One killed in the 9th Century BCE by King Joash. this is the one Jesus refers to in Matthew 23:35 and Luke 11:51. Another is John the Baptist's father and then this one, who lived around 6 Century BCE and came back from the exile. The first half of his prophecies are apocalyptic and the second half, which this section comes from is about the Messianic prophecy. Here we have the prophecy which is associated with Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

There are many promises to the people of what Messiah will do, but Jesus did not do them. Is it for the time of his return, or has he done it already?

I have come to believe that it is not a worldly activity, but the renewing of our mind and looking away from the worldly things and focusing on the Godly things. Jesus comes to turn us away from the world and the sin. It is here that God's way is achieved. As we see the world for the sin that it is, we turn away and live into God's life and grace, and presence. The powerful lose power, the rich are not able to prosper from our work. In Jesus we are free no matter what our life situation. 

 

Psalm 145.8-14

8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate:

slow to anger and of great goodness.

9 The Lord is loving to every one of us:

and his mercy is over all his works.

10 All creation praises you, O Lord:

and your faithful servants bless your name.

11 They speak of the glory of your kingdom:

and tell of your great might,

12 That the whole earth may know your mighty acts:

and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom:

and your dominion endures through all generations.

14 The Lord upholds all those who stumble:

and raises up those that are bowed down.

 

 

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Romans 7.14-25

14 For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin. 15 I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. 17 But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, 23 but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.

 

REFLECTION 

 Paul shares his struggle to live by his faith and giving in to temptation and sin. There is a war in him and it is not one he has control in. Where he tries, he fails. He acknowledges that in the end he sees that his mind is for God, but his body is for sin. It is only through Jesus that he can choose the better way.

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Matthew 11.15-30

15 Let anyone with ears listen!
16 ‘But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market-places and calling to one another,
17 “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
    we wailed, and you did not mourn.”
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon”;
19 the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.’ 20 Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done, because they did not repent. 21 ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, on the day of judgement it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that on the day of judgement it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.’ 25 At that time Jesus said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

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REFLECTION

We see Jesus talk about the people like children who ask for things, but when they get them they are never happy. He looks at John the baptist and himself and how they were different and yet the people found fault with both. 

He goes on to criticize towns for their lack of acceptance and dares to compare them with places that were destroyed for their behaviour.

he moves to a time of prayer and again focuses on the two groups, those who accept and those who reject. 

Finally, Jesus calls to those who are weighed down and burdened and offers them rest. The same message runs through the whole reading who will accept and reject God's grace. It would be great to say it is different people, but it is more an internal fight. We may think we accept, but if we do not like the way it comes, we may reject it. Like Paul, we can find ourselves wanting one thing but doing another. Like Paul and Jesus' last statement, the answer lies not in us, but in Jesus. 

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