Deuteronomy 7:6-11
1 John 4:7-16
Matthew 11:25-30
If the Lord set his HEART on you and chose you, it was not because you outnumbered other peoples: you were the least of all peoples. It was for LOVE of you and to keep the oath he swore to your fathers that the Lord brought you out with his mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
The Book of Deuteronomy is a favourite of mine. Commentators have drawn my attention to the fact that ‘heart’ is mentioned forty-one times. For the biblical writers the heart signifies the interior mystery of each person. It is here that love, trust and faithfulness have their roots. The heart of God is the place of deep mystery and of love. When God sets his heart on the people of Israel it was from a place of pure love. There is risk involved in this covenantal love.
In the First letter of John we hear echoes of the covenantal love outlined in the text from Deuteronomy. God’s choice of Israel calls a new community into being. For the writer of the First Letter of John the imperative to love has its roots in God’s initiative:
My dear people,
let us love one another
since love comes from God
and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
In the Gospel text from Matthew we hear some of the most consoling words in Scripture:
‘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.’
The imagery of the yoke prompts several different avenues of interpretation. Yokes were traditionally fitted to enable two oxen to work together. Some suggest that a younger ox was paired with an older ox so that the younger could learn from the older. This image has much potential. When we yoke ourselves to Christ we will learn gentleness and humbleness of Christ. Whatever our burden, Christ doesn’t say that he will take it away, but rather he will show us how to carry it. The yoke relied on two oxen being able to work together. In time the younger ox would be paired with another ox and so pass on the learning.
As I have worked with each of these texts I have heard resonances with the Rule of St Benedict. In his touchstone chapter on Good Zeal (Ch 72) St Benedict speaks in three different ways about love. To each other the monks are to show ‘the pure love of brothers’, to God ‘loving fear’ and to their abbot ‘unfeigned and humble love’. We can find each of these modes of love in the readings today.
Wherever we find ourselves today, whatever our circumstances, the invitation is the same: love one another.
How can you be a channel of God’s love today?