Gospel and Word of the Day - 17 July 2025

A reading from the Book of Exodus
3:13-20

Moses, hearing the voice of the LORD from the burning bush, said to him,
"When I go to the children of Israel and say to them,
'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,'
if they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?"
God replied, "I am who am."
Then he added, "This is what you shall tell the children of Israel:
I AM sent me to you."

God spoke further to Moses, "Thus shall you say to the children of Israel:
The LORD, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob,
has sent me to you.

"This is my name forever;
this my title for all generations.

"Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and tell them:
The LORD, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
has appeared to me and said:
I am concerned about you
and about the way you are being treated in Egypt;
so I have decided to lead you up out of the misery of Egypt
into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites,
Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites,
a land flowing with milk and honey.

"Thus they will heed your message.
Then you and the elders of Israel
shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him:
"The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent us word.
Permit us, then, to go a three-days' journey in the desert,
that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God.

"Yet I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go
unless he is forced.
I will stretch out my hand, therefore,
and smite Egypt by doing all kinds of wondrous deeds there.
After that he will send you away."

From the Gospel according to Matthew
11:28-30

Jesus said:
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

"The love with which Jesus has loved us is humble and has the character of service. 'The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many' (Mark 10:45). On the eve of His passion, before instituting the Eucharist, Jesus washes the feet of the apostles and says to them: 'I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you' (John 13:15). And on another occasion, He warns them: 'Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the servant of all' (Mark 10:43-44). In light of this model of humble availability that reaches its culmination in the definitive 'service' of the Cross, Jesus can invite the disciples: 'Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart' (Matthew 11:29). The love taught by Christ is expressed in mutual service, which leads to sacrificing for one another, and its ultimate validation lies in offering one's life 'for the brethren' (1 John 3:16). This is what St. Paul emphasizes when he writes that 'Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her' (Ephesians 5:25). [...] With this sacrifice, derived from His love for us, Jesus Christ completed His salvific mission. [...] This central truth of the new covenant also constitutes the fulfillment of the prophetic proclamation of Isaiah regarding the Servant of the Lord: 'He was pierced for our transgressions ... by His wounds we are healed' (Isaiah 53:5); 'He bore the sins of many' (Isaiah 53:12). It can be said that redemption was the hope of the entire Old Covenant." (St. John Paul II, General Audience, 31 August 1988)