14th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
I am meek and humble in heart”
“Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ”, according to the great Fourth Century scholar, St Jerome. When the Word of God is proclaimed in our Churches, or when we read the Scriptures for ourselves, God speaks to us. We come to see Him more clearly, so that we may follow him more nearly. Nobody every outgrows the Scriptures; the Book widens and deepens with the years. In today’s Gospel extract, Jesus deepens our understanding of who He is. He is speaking to people whose religion was a thing of burdens, a forest of rules and regulations. He is offering them something different. He invites them to bring their cares and worries to Him since He is gentle and humble in heart. Gentleness is a beautiful virtue, which is often equated with weakness, but in reality, the opposite is true. St. Francis de Sales expressed this truth so well: “nothing is as strong as gentleness and nothing is as gentle as real strength”. Come to think of it all cruelty has its root in weakness. The most notorious dictators are essentially weak and insecure people. Gentleness is power under control. It’s a choice to be considerate, tender and gracious. To e gentle is to be close to the heart of God. The Scriptures tell us so.
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