Daily Catholic Lectio. Mon, 14 October ’24. Yoke of slavery

Daily Catholic Lectio

Mon, 14 October ‘24

XXVIII Week in Ordinary Time, Monday

Galatians 4:22-24, 26-27, 31-5:1. Luke 11:29-32

Yoke of slavery

Saint Paul, writing to the Galatians, exhorts them (first reading): For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. Paul uses an agrarian metaphor. A ‘yoke’ binds the bulls to the cart. Yoke symbolises burden, bondage, and compulsion.

The people in Galatia took upon themselves the yoke of a ‘new’ gospel preached by a different group other than Paul; they also took upon themselves the yoke of the Law, setting aside the faith in the person of Jesus. In this context, he exhorts them to be persons of freedom.

We too carry the yoke of slavery: we work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, like slaves; in the end, what is left is despair and exhaustion; in relationships, we are like slaves trying to please others; in the end, what is left is expectation and disappointment; in our spiritual lives, we forget that we are sons and daughters of God and try to please God through our pious practices like slaves.

How do we let go of the yoke of slavery in spiritual life?

Paul gives us the answer by setting before us two allegories: ‘Hagar’ and ‘Sarah.’

Hagar brings forth Ishmael for Abraham. Hagar in fact joins Abraham in the state of ‘I can do this’ (‘I can bring forth a child’).

Sarah brings forth Isaac for Abraham. For Sarah, this was possible because ‘God can do this.’

When we live with the mindset of ‘I can,’ ‘I alone can’ we remain slaves.

When we move to the mindset of ‘God can,’ God alone can’ we become free.

Surrender is a sign of freedom, not slavery.

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus offers his audience the signs of Jonah and Solomon. He asserts that he is greater than Jonah and Solomon.

How is Jesus greater than Jonah? Jonah obeyed God only the second time; but Jesus obeyed his Father from the beginning; Jonah’s message of conversion was not accompanied by wonders; Jesus not only preached but also worked miracles; Jonah’s message was self-orientated; Jesus’ message was directed to the people.

How is Jesus greater than Solomon? Solomon asked God for wisdom; Jesus himself is God’s wisdom; Solomon later was led into idolatry; Jesus remained faithful to God till the end; Solomon built the temple of God; Jesus is God’s Temple among us.

However, Jesus’ message did not attract his audience, as the messages of Jonah and Solomon attracted theirs. Jesus’ contemporaries were slaves to their own hardness of hearts and stereotypes.

#

The ‘pilgrims of hope’ strive to get rid of the yoke of slavery. (Jubilee 2025 AD, bite 224)

Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi

Archdiocese of Madurai

Missionary of Mercy