14th Sunday of Year A

COMMENTARY
COMMENTARY

Brant Pitre

Mass Readings Explained

CALENDAR

BLOG

St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study Commentary

INDEX

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A

Sources Include in PDF: 

  • The Jerome Biblical Commentary
  • The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, and 
  • The Navarre Bible, 
  • Church History by Laux (TAN Books), 
  • Introduction to the Bible by Laux (TAN Books), 
  • A Guide to the Bible by Fuentes (Four Courts Press),
  • Sharing Our Biblical Story by Russell for background information. Quotations from The Faith of the Early Fathers (3 volumes) by Jergens and Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (many volumes) edited by Odum.

Kieran J.
O’Mahony, OSA

Hearers of the Word

INDEX

ALL 3 READINGS (PDF)

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Fr. George Corrigan, OFM

RECENT

YEAR A – 2017

MATTHEW

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DOWNLOAD COMMENTARY (PDF)

Fr. Francis Martin

The Word Proclaimed Institute

DAILY REFLECTIONS

VIDEO ARCHIVE (CYCLE A)

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14th Sunday of Year A

WIKI CONNECTIONS

Gospel Connections

Mt 11:25-30

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14th Sunday of Year A

1st Reading Connections

Zec 9:9-10

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14th Sunday of Year A

2nd Reading Connections

Rom 8:9, 11-13

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14th Sunday of Year A

Responsorial Connections

Ps 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14

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14th Sunday of Year A

BIBLE STUDY

Catholic Sunday Scriptures in Context

Fr. Paul Galetto, O.S.A. briefly unpacks the history and context of the Sunday readings.

ARCHIVE

St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

HOME PAGE

SUNDAY BIBLE REFLECTIONS

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Matt
Zemanek

St. Timothy Catholic Church, Laguna Niguel, CA

ARCHIVE

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This week’s study is on Matthew, chapter 11, verses 25-30, the Gospel reading for Sunday, July 9th, 2023, The Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A.

0:00 – Welcome
0:57 – Opening Prayer
2:23 – Introduction
4:35 – Gospel Reading
8:21 – Teaching
18:20 – Q & A
45:08 – Closing prayer

14th Sunday
Year A

Wikipedia
Connections

Catholic Answers

Fr. Larry
Young

MATTHEW
JOHN
OT INTRO
NT INTRO

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Steve
Thomason

A Cartoonist Guide to the Bible

BOOKSHELF

MATTHEW
JOHN
LUKE
ACTS

14th Sunday of Year A

BIBLE STUDY

AGAPE BIBLE STUDY

Michal
Hunt

CALENDAR

BIBLE STUDIES

DOCUMENTS

CHARTS

KNOWLEDGE

The Kingdom of the Promised Davidic Messiah

God’s holy prophets promised the fulfillment of the eternal covenant Yahweh made with the House of David in the promised coming of a Davidic Messiah whose rule was to extend over all nations. 

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Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2014; revised 2023 Agape Bible Study; used with permission

1st Reading

First Reading

In our reading, Zechariah gives an oracle prophesying the future triumphant appearance of the humble Messianic king as He enters Jerusalem.  He will not come as a conquering warrior riding in a chariot or on a warhorse.  Instead, he will come in peace, meekly riding on the colt of an ass.  Each of the Gospel writers takes up this prophetic description of the Messiah entering Jerusalem and proclaims its fulfillment in Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  They either directly quote the Zechariah passage or relate how Jesus rode into the city as described in the prophecy (Mt 21:1-5; Mk 11:1-10; Lk 19:29-38; Jn 12:15).  Jesus is the humble Davidic Messiah prophesied by Zechariah.  He is the blessed One promised by the psalmist who comes in the "name of the Lord" (Ps 118:26) to establish peace (Zec 9:10a) and whose dominion will be over all nations and peoples of the earth (Zec 9:10b; also see Dan 7:14).

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Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2014; revised 2023 Agape Bible Study; used with permission

2nd Reading

Life in the Spirit

In the Second Reading, St. Paul writes that Jesus' "Law of love" gives the promise of a new spiritual life.  Unlike life in the flesh, "life in the spirit" promises an eternal "rest" in fellowship with God.  It is a guarantee of spiritual life that has a present and future reality.  However, by living in the Spirit of Christ, Christians can look forward to being alive in the future in a way that makes the present reality a pale counterfeit kind of living.   

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Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2014; revised 2023 Agape Bible Study; used with permission

Gospel

Jesus' Prayer of Thanksgiving and His Invitation

In the Gospel reading, Jesus offers a prayer of praise to God the Father and an invitation to humanity to take up His gentle yoke to find "rest" in Him.  Jesus fulfilled Zechariah's vision of the Davidic Messianic King when He rode into the city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Gospel Reading).  The crowds recognized the Messianic significance of Jesus of Nazareth riding into the holy city just as the prophet Zechariah described and called out to Him, "Hosanna!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the king of Israel" (Jn 12:13; also Lk 19:38).  Jesus was meek and humble, like Moses (Num 12:3; Mt 11:29).  Moses brought the Law of God to the covenant people of Israel, and Jesus is the new Lawgiver, bringing a new Kingdom and a new Law of love that is an easier burden for the people to bear than the rigid commands the Israelites carried under the yoke of the old Mosaic Law.  But Jesus is not only the new Moses; he is also the new David, the promised anointed king of an eternal covenant.  In the sacrifice of the Mass, like the crowd on Palm Sunday, we also call out "Hosanna/Save us, to God in the highest," as we acknowledge Jesus as our Savior and eternal King.

Only one other prophet in the Old Testament is called "meek," and that is Moses (Num 12:3).  Jesus is not only the new Moses, but He is the one who is greater than Moses.  Moses was God's friend (Ex 34:12, 17), but Jesus is the Son of God (Mt 3:17).  Jesus' invitation to bear His "yoke" recalls one of the reoccurring images of the Old Testament prophets for the people in covenant union with God: the image of domesticated animals.  Domesticated animals like oxen either respond obediently or resist the "yoke" of their master, just as the covenant people either respond in obedience to the commands of Yahweh or stubbornly resist (see the complete chart "Symbolic Images of the Old Testament Prophets" in the chart section).

Image 
Part I
Covenant relationship
Part II
Rebellion
Part III
Redemptive Judgment
Part IV
Restoration Fulfilled
Animals
Domesticated animals obedient to the Master's yoke
Resist the yoke;
run away and become wild
Ravaged by wild
beasts/birds of prey
Rescued by
their Master
Examples in Scripture
Mic 4:13;
Is 40:10-11; 65:25;
Ez 34:15-16
Ex 32:9; 33:3, 5; 34:9;
Dt 9:6, 13;
Is 50:6; 53:6;
Jer 5:5d-6; 8:6b-7; 23:1-2;
Ez 19:1-9
Is 50:7;
Jer 8:15-17; 50:6-7;
Hos 8:1-14; 13:6-8
Mt 11:28-30;
Jn 1:29, 36; 10:1-18;
Heb 3:20;
Rev 5:6, 13; 7:9-17; 14:1-10; 19:2-9; 21:9-23; 22:1-3

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Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2014; revised 2023 Agape Bible Study; used with permission