RSV
From: Isaiah 10:5-7, 13b-16
Assyria condemned
[13b] ”I have removed the boundaries of peoples,
and have plundered their treasures;
like a bull I have brought down those who sat on thrones.
[14] My hand has found like a nest
the wealth of the peoples;
and as men gather eggs that have been forsaken
so I have gathered all the earth;
and there was none that moved a wing,
or opened the mouth, or chirped.”
[15] Shall the axe vaunt itself over him who hews with it,
or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?
As if a rod should wield him who lifts it,
or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!
[16] Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts,
will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors,
and under his glory a burning will be kindled,
like the burning of fire.
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Commentary:
10:5-19. The prophet sees the Assyrians’ doings as evidence of God’s control over the fate of nations: Assyria is the rod that the Lord uses to punish his people for their unfaithfulness (cf. vv. 5-6). The Catechism of the Catholic Church uses this passage from Isaiah, and others from Holy Scripture, to point out that “we see the Holy Spirit, the principal author of Sacred Scripture, often attributing actions to God without mentioning any secondary causes. This is not a ‘primitive mode of speech’, but a profound way of recalling God’s primacy and absolute Lordship over history and the world (cf. Is 10:5-15; 45:5-7; Deut 32:39; Sir 11:14)” (no. 304). However, Assyria went beyond its brief, by treating Judah the same way it did pagan nations: it did not realize that its strength was on loan from God, and it took pride in its own might: v. 9 carries a list of important cities captured by the Assyrians (vv. 7-I I). So, in due course, God will judge and humble their pride (vv. 12-18); Assyria will be reduced to a shadow of its former glory.
There is a call here to acknowledge that God is Lord of human affairs, and to be docile to his purposes (cf. vv. 15-16). The sin of pride is denounced, for it involves arrogating to oneself what belongs to God, and putting oneself in God’s place. Therefore, reading the spiritual meaning of the passage, Origen notices that it applies to every sinner: “Every evildoer makes an idol of what he desires, and serves his sin; by melting down the work of a craftsman’s hands and sculpting the idol in secret, he becomes subject to its curse. We make many idols in the depths of our hearts when we sin” (Homiliae in Isaiam, 8, 1).
RSV
From: Matthew 11:25-30
Jesus Thanks His Father
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Commentary:
25-26. The wise and understanding of this world, that is, those who rely on their own judgment, cannot accept the revelation which Christ has brought us. Supernatural outlook is always connected with humility. A humble person, who gives himself little importance, sees; a person who is full of self-esteem fails to perceive supernatural things.
27. Here Jesus formally reveals His divinity. Our knowledge of a person shows our intimacy with Him, according to the principle given by St. Paul: “For what person knows a man’s thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him?” (1 Corinthians 2:11). The Son knows the Father by the same knowledge as that by which the Father knows the Son. This identity of knowledge implies oneness of nature; that is to say, Jesus is God just as the Father is God.
28-30. Our Lord calls everyone to come to Him. We all find things difficult in one way or another. The history of souls bears out the truth of these words of Jesus. Only the Gospel can fully satisfy the thirst for truth and justice which sincere people feel. Only our Lord, our Master—and those to whom He passes on His power—can soothe the sinner by telling him, “Your sins are forgiven” (Matthew 9:2). In this connection Pope Paul VI teaches: “Jesus says now and always, `Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ His attitude towards us is one of invitation, knowledge and compassion; indeed, it is one of offering, promise, friendship, goodness, remedy of our ailments; He is our comforter; indeed, our nourishment, our bread, giving us energy and life” (”Homily on Corpus Christi”, 13 June 1974).
“Come to Me”: the Master is addressing the crowds who are following Him, “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). The Pharisees weighed them down with an endless series of petty regulations (cf. Acts 15:10), yet they brought no peace to their souls. Jesus tells these people, and us, about the kind of burden He imposes: “Any other burden oppresses and crushes you, but Christ’s actually takes weight off you. Any other burden weighs down, but Christ’s gives you wings. If you take a bird’s wings away, you might seem to be taking weight off it, but the more weight you take off, the more you tie it down to the earth. There it is on the ground, and you wanted to relieve it of a weight; give it back the weight of its wings and you will see how it flies” (St. Augustine, “Sermon” 126).
“All you who go about tormented, afflicted and burdened with the burden of your cares and desires, go forth from them, come to Me and I will refresh you and you shall find for your souls the rest which your desires take from you” (St. John of the Cross, “Ascent of Mount Carmel”, Book 1, Chapter 7, 4).