For St. Paul, those who remain closed in on themselves, prisoners of selfish and self-referential desires live under the dominion of the flesh. St. Benedict would say: he who remains a slave to his own voluntas, that is, a will that seeks only his own advantage and thus gets lost rather than finding that fulfillment to which he aspires. The Spirit, on the other hand, makes us live paths of exodus, of leaving oneself and of liberation, leading us in the right relationship with God and with others. In the passage parallel to the text of Matthew that we listen to today, Luke specifies that Jesus praises the Father exulting with joy in the Spirit (cf. Lk 10:21). The Spirit makes us stand authentically before the Father, like poor people who know they have to receive everything from him, and authentically before others, in a fraternity interwoven with meekness and humility, available to share the yoke of compassion that knows how to relieve fatigue and oppression and offer the rest of warm, welcoming, supportive relationships. The liberation that Jesus promises to tired and oppressed, the refreshment it offers consists in a different way of being before God, which frees us from the slavery of our closings, making us welcoming and hospitable. Jesus himself shapes the relationship with the brothers in his relationship with the Father. He can say “all of you come to me” because “everything” receives from the hands of the Father.

Commentary by Comunità di Dumenza

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves, Prinknash Abbey