Please read the passage before the commentary.
During Ordinary Time especially, the first reading, the one form the Old Testament, is chosen to shed light on the Gospel. In the Gospel today Jesus proclaims himself meek and humble of heart to give us rest.
Zechariah recognized among his people the memory or desire for a king. What would Zechariah offer them? A savior king who comes riding on a donkey, banishing weapons and vehicles of war.
The one who comes like a child is one who receives dominion over all the nations. He rides a colt, a Chevrolet or a Volkswagen, not a tank or a Humvee. He comes proclaiming peace, not war, and therefore his dominion will extend from sea to sea.
War brings death, destruction, pain and upheaval. War kills parents and children. People die, parents bury their children and children their parents. Sorrow fills the land.
Jesus, our king, comes in peace. With peace, flowers bloom, fields yield grain, the world rejoices. With peace, love reigns from sea to sea.
The Church proposes this vision of our king, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Church proposes this image to us as we celebrate the Fourth of July. The Church calls us to give praise to God the Father who has hidden these things from the learned and the clever and revealed them to those meek enough to accept the one who comes from the Father.
If we look for a new birth of freedom, we should take upon us the yoke of Jesus who is meek and humble of heart and in him find rest for ourselves.
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