In Amos 9: 11-15, the prophet reveals the goal God has in mind in calling people to live by his word: “I mean to restore the fortunes of my people…. They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them, plant vineyards and drink their wine, dig gardens and eat their produce.” In other words, “The Lord speaks of peace to his people.” The Responsorial Psalm continues: “peace for his people and his friends and those who turn to him in their hearts.”

If we feel at times that God’s laws are burdensome, we have Jesus’ word for it that they are far less burdensome than life without them:

Come to me, all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (See Matthew 11: 28-30.)

If we find God’s laws burdensome, it is because we are not looking at their goal, at what they aim at. If we seek to identify the purpose of every law God gives us and observe each one in a way that achieves its purpose, we will find all of his laws life-giving, sources of joy and peace. Then we will say from experience, “The Lord speaks of peace to his people.”

In Matthew 9: 14-17, Jesus gives an example of this. The disciples of John the Baptizer were shocked because while they fasted and the Pharisees did too, Jesus’ disciples did not. And they may have been asking, without saying it, why Jesus himself did not fast. Fasting went with being holy. Holy people fasted.

Jesus answered by asking what the goal of fasting is. The purpose he proposed was to feel physical hunger in order to recognize, experience and express our soul’s hunger for God—and specifically for himself as the “bridegroom.” While Jesus was physically with his disciples, they felt no need to fast.

Jesus went on to say he was changing the nature of all religious acts. The “new wine” of his new Way required “new wine skins.” (Note: Christianity is just called “the Way” in Acts 9:2; 18: 25, 26; 19: 9, 23; 22:4; 24: 14, 22.) 

But since every nature is determined by its end, to change the nature of religion, Jesus had to change its purpose. Jesus redesigned religion to make himself, his own person—and God revealed through Jesus as Father and Spirit—the focus of every religious act we perform. The goal of every Christian law and observance is not “morality” or “asceticism” but personal union with God. The “ministry of light” keeps this focus in explaining every law.

Today’s Responsorial Psalm (85) gives us a key to God’s word: “The Lord speaks of peace to his people.”

Prayer Prompt: Do I express myself to God, consciously, in every religious act? What one change can I make today to improve in this area? 

— Fr. David M. Knight

View today’s Mass readings, Lectionary #382, on the USCCB website here

Fr. David M. Knight (1931-2021) was a priest of the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee, a prolific writer, and a highly sought after confessor, spiritual director, and retreat master. He authored more than 40 books and hundreds of articles that focus primarily on lay spirituality and life-long spiritual growth.