Matthew 11:25-30
Lead in #1: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and learned you have revealed them to little ones.” (Matthew 11:25) Arrogance can blind us, and humble trust can open us to see what the arrogant cannot see.
Prompt #1: Reflect on a time when arrogance blinded you to a truth that, through the school of hard knocks, you later came to see.
Lead in #2: In Matthew 11 when Jesus says in effect, “Come to me and you’ll recover your life”, it makes us think. It’s not just the alcoholic who’s in recovery. It’s all of us who are in recovery.
Prompt #2: If that’s true, what are you in recovery from and what role does God have in your recovery?
Lead in #3: Jesus tells us, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” (Matthew 11:29) A yoke is shaped so it can attach to two oxen. Working together, they can pull twice the load. Yoked with Jesus, the load will be that much easier to pull than if you were to do it alone.
Prompt #3: Reflect on a time when you attempted to do it alone, forgetting to let Jesus help you shoulder the load.
Prompt #4: If there were one challenge in your life that you need to let Jesus help you shoulder the load, what would that be?
Lead in #4: “My yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Matthew 11:30) In the spirit of Jesus, as his disciples it is our mission to lighten the burden of others and raise up “those who are bowed low.” (Mary’s Magnificat)
Prompt #5: If there were one person to whom you are being called to lighten their burden, who would that be? How will you do that?
Lead in #5: The prophet Zechariah uses startling imagery to describe the arrival of Israel’s new king. (Zechariah 9:9) The king would not be mounted on a horse. Horses were used by powerful kings to wage war. No, Israel’s king would arrive on a donkey, a work animal used by farmers. In modern language, we might say that Israel would recognize their king when he arrives not in a tank, but in a small pickup truck. Zechariah’s imagery tells us a lot about where Christ’s power is found. It is not by the power of might, but by the power of love that victory will be brought to our broken world.
Prompt #6: Where have you seen the power of love triumph over the power of ambition and greed?
Prompt #7: Reflect on a time in your own life when you struggled between choosing the humility of love over the ego’s need to win at all.