GOSPEL READING:
Matthew 11:25-2725 At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to infants; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
Meditation: Do you want to know the mind and thoughts of
God? Jesus thanks the Father in heaven for revealing to his
disciples the wisdom and knowledge of God. What does Jesus' prayer
tell us about God and about ourselves? First, it tells us that God
is both Father and Lord of earth as well as heaven. He is both
Creator and Author of all that he has made, the first origin of
everything and transcendent authority, and at the same time he
shows loving care and goodness toward all his children. All
fatherhood and motherhood is derived from him (Ephesians 3:14-15).
Pride and inordinate love of self
Jesus' prayer also contains a warning that pride can keep us from
the love and knowledge of God. What makes us ignorant and blind to
the things of God? Certainly intellectual pride, coldness of
heart, and stubbornness of will shut out God and his kingdom of
peace, joy, and righteousness. Pride is the root of all vice and
the strongest influence propelling us to sin. It first vanquishes
the heart, making it cold and indifferent towards God. It also
closes the mind to God's truth and wisdom for our lives. What is
pride? It is the inordinate love of oneself at the expense of
others and the exaggerated estimation of one's own learning and
importance.
Simplicity of heart
Jesus contrasts intellectual pride with child-like simplicity and
humility. The simple of heart are like "infants" in the sense that
they see purely without pretense and acknowledge their dependence
and trust in the one who is greater, wiser, and more trustworthy.
They seek one thing - the "summum bonum" or "greatest good," who
is God himself. Simplicity of heart is wedded with humility, the
queen of virtues, because humility inclines the heart towards
grace and truth. Just as pride is the root of every sin and evil,
so humility is the only soil in which the grace of God can take
root. It alone takes the right attitude before God and allows him,
as God, to do all. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to
the humble (Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6). Only the humble in
heart can receive true wisdom and understanding of God and his
ways. Do you submit to God's word with simple trust and humility?
Jesus reveals the Father to us
Jesus makes a claim which no one would have dared to make - he is
the perfect revelation of God. One of the greatest truths of the
Christian faith is that we can know the living God. Our knowledge
of God is not simply limited to knowing something about God, but
we can know God personally. The essence of Christianity, and what
makes it distinct from Judaism and other religions, is the
knowledge of God as our Father. Jesus makes it possible
for each of us to personally know God as our Father. To see Jesus
is to see what God is like.
In Jesus we see the perfect love of God - a God who cares
intensely and who yearns over men and women, loving them to the
point of laying down his life for them upon the Cross. Jesus is
the perfect revelation of God - a God who loves us completely,
unconditionally, and perfectly. Jesus also promises that God the
Father will hear our prayers when we pray in his name. That is why
Jesus taught his followers to pray with confidence, Our Father
who art in heaven ..give us this day our daily bread.
Do you pray to your Father in heaven with joy and confidence in
his love and care for you?
Lord Jesus, give me the child-like simplicity and purity of faith to gaze upon your face with joy and confidence in your all-merciful love. Remove every doubt, fear, and proud thought which would hinder me from receiving your word with trust and humble submission.
Psalm 103:1-8
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The LORD works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Revealed to babes, by Epiphanius the Latin (late 5th century)
"And he revealed these things to children. To which children? Not
those who are children in age but to those who are children in
respect to sin and wickedness. To them Jesus revealed how to seek
the blessings of paradise and the things to come in the kingdom of
heaven, because thus it was well pleasing before God that 'they
should come from the east and the west and that they should lie
down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but
that the sons of this worldly kingdom should be cast into the
outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth
(Matthew 8:11-12).'" (excerpt from INTERPRETATION
OF THE GOSPELS 26)
