First reading Zechariah 9:9-10
See now, your king comes humbly to you
The Lord says this:
Rejoice heart and soul, daughter of Zion!
Shout with gladness, daughter of Jerusalem!
See now, your king comes to you;
he is victorious, he is triumphant,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
He will banish chariots from Ephraim
and horses from Jerusalem;
the bow of war will be banished.
He will proclaim peace for the nations.
His empire shall stretch from sea to sea,
from the River to the ends of the earth.
Responsorial Psalm 144(145):1-2,8-11,13b-14
I will bless your name forever, my king and My God.
I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless you name forever and ever.
I will bless you day after day,
and praise your name forever and ever.
The Lord is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy.
How good is the Lord to all,
compassionate to all his creatures.
All your works shall thank you, O Lord,
and all your faithful ones bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign,
And declare your mighty deeds.
The Lord is faithful in all his words,
and holy in all his deeds.
The Lord supports all who fall,
and raises up all who are bowed down.
Second reading Romans 8:9,11-13
If by the Spirit you put an end to the misdeeds of the body, you will live
Your interests are not in the unspiritual, but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you possessed the Spirit of Christ you would not belong to him, and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.
So then, my brothers, there is no necessity for us to obey our unspiritual selves or to live unspiritual lives. If you do live in that way, you are doomed to die; but if by the Spirit you put an end to the misdeeds of the body you will live.
Gospel Matthew 11:25-30
You have hidden these things from the wise and revealed them to little children
Jesus exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’
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Come to me, and I will give you rest
In the first reading, the prophet Zechariah urges us to “Rejoice heart and soul, daughter of Zion! Shout with gladness, daughter of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you…” These words of the prophet call us to rejoice because God Himself approaches us. He is neither distant nor indifferent; instead, He consistently seeks to draw near, offering peace to our weary and restless hearts.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus echoes the same invitation: “Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.” His rest begins when we stop pretending that we can manage life on our own strength. It happens when we stop striving to be “enough” for others and for society’s expectations, and when we accept the limits of our control over things we cannot change, such as the future, other people, and the outcomes of our efforts. Jesus promises that He will be with us and help bear the weight of our burdens. Today, let us turn to Jesus and receive the rest that we are truly searching for.
Reflective questions:
What burden do I want to bring to Jesus, and what rest do I most desire today?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year A” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD
