FOR I AM GENTLE AND HUMBLE IN HEART

HOMILY FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

Deuteronomy 7:6-11        1 John 4:7-16        Matthew 11:25-30

The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a well-known and much-loved devotion of the Catholic Faith. Only 164 years ago, back in 1856, Pope Pius IX (‘Pio Nono’) established this feast as obligatory for the whole Church. It was to be celebrated nineteen days after the Feast of Pentecost, on the Friday after the close of the-then octave of Corpus Christi. In 1928, Pope Pius XI raised the feast to the highest possible rank, a Double of the First Class, and added an octave to it, putting its importance on a par with that of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost; but this octave was suppressed in the 1955 reforms of the General Roman Calendar. Since 2002 this feast has been identified as a special day of prayer for the sanctification of the clergy, which is why Pope Benedict XVI timetabled the ‘Year for Priests’ in 2009 to begin on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart.

In the physical heart of Jesus is the representation of His divine love for humanity. Our Lord’s heart unveils the absolute love of God for humanity. The First Reading talks about the love of God for the people of Israel by setting them apart and redeeming them, and situating them thereafter on good soil. The love of God for us ought to provoke us to respond eagerly with undying love for Him and for His Church. The Second Reading leads us to understand that a person who shows no love does not – cannot - know God. Why not? Because God is Love! Demonstrations of love are the proofs of our reciprocal love for God, because they mirror His love for us  … self-emptying instead of being selfish, being inclusive rather than partial or biased, being sincere rather than fake, forgiving rather than vengeful, fostering without expecting any reward, giving without counting the cost and tolerating without casting aspersions on people. Sacrificial love like this is Holy Charity, which purifies every person who exercises it because of their genuine love of God. When we exercise Holy Charity, we are striving to mould our hearts to be like the Sacrificial Heart of Jesus, which was pierced to restore our broken relationship with God and free us from the wages of sin and eternal death.

In today’s Gospel, Christ declares that He is gentle and humble in heart. To understand this properly, we need to know that the Hebrew notion of ‘heart’ differs from what is meant by ‘heart’ in English .  Physically, of course, ‘heart’ is the same (2Sam 18:14; Hos 13:8) in both languages, but in Hebrew ‘heart’ really refers to the “core” of a person’s being, including their personality, intelligence, decision-making capability, their memories, hopes and plans. In Hebrew, the heart is where man meets God – and of course, the ultimate encounter with God was (and is) in the human heart of the Son of God, Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Sacred and sacrificial Heart of Jesus endured suffering far beyond the comprehension of the human mind as a direct result of His overwhelming love for us -  poor wounded, flawed, fallen humanity – and all because of the longing of the relational, triune God for a restored relationship with us.

Within the Sacred Heart of Jesus lies the remedy as regards what we should do whenever the love we express rebounds and causes us pain. In such instances, the virtues of gentleness and humility help the human heart to bear suffering. Because of His gentle and humble Heart, Our Lord understands our pain only too well, and invites us to come to Him whenever we feel overburdened…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 of heart. The yoke of Christ is easy; His burden is light (Mt 11:30). The yoke refers to a wooden collar or beam fitted over the neck and shoulders in order to carry a couple of equally heavy items effectively. It is very important that a yoke be fitted properly to prevent blisters or rubbing the flesh raw. A yoke can be attached to a couple of working animals, such as horses or oxen, to enable them to work together in unison to pull a plough or a load. The yoke helps to distribute the weight of the burden or the resistance of the earth between them, and to make the work easier and less stressful for them than it would be if they had to do it without the support and discipline of the yoke.

By extension, the yoke can be said to apply to our life as Christians and to the tasks, burdens and resistance we encounter in life. The Greek word χρεστς (chrestos), which is usually translated in the Bible as ‘easy’, can also mean ‘well-fitting’. Christ is saying that His yoke, life and task can be fitted to each individual person, if only they will agree to take it on. So, we can say that the Christian life is fitted personally to each one of us. Other translations of chrestos include ‘bearable’ and ‘manageable’. Christ’s demand that our love for others be sacrificial is never on the level of something we cannot manage to bear. He does not lay on our shoulders burdens that are too heavy for us to bear. To bear the burdens of life we should have the humility to be yoked to Christ and to cast all our anxieties on God because He cares for us (1Pet 5:6-7). Finding the rest to which Christ invites us is conditional upon our acceptance of being yoked to Christ. And what does that involve? The yoke involves our total investment in loving God, as outlined in 1Jn 5:3-5: This is the love of God; to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is He that overcomes the world? Only He who believes that Jesus is The Son of God.

The heart of love for God, in tandem with our response to His sacrificial love for us in our own sacrificial love for our fellow man, are the keys for living out the Christian life. There is victory over earthly trials in such love. Suffering is eased through such love. Progress and maturity in the spiritual  life are assured through the exercise of such love. Sacred Heart of Jesus, thy kingdom come…Sacred Heart of Jesus, I believe in Your love for me. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in You. Amen. God bless you.