From the responsorial psalm: “For the LORD will not cast off his people, nor abandon his inheritance; But judgment shall again be with justice, and all the upright of heart shall follow it. The Lord will not abandon his people.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 11:25-27)
At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”
Spoken through Isaiah, the words of the LORD describe the cunning of the Assyrian kings: “By my own power I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I am shrewd.” Jesus turns that on its head by revealing his relationship to the Father. Wisdom does not lie in worldly cleverness or self-proclaimed genius but in childlike reliance on God. And Jesus exclaims this joyfully, recognizing that behind this is the Father’s love: “Yes, Father, such as been your gracious will.” In full knowledge of the divinity they share as distinct persons of the trinity, God the Father and the Son have a relationship unlike any human bond of father and son. Yet, that boundless love and its mystery—greater even than the love a child receives from father and mother—is opened up to all of us, to “anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”
God, help me trust that the love with which you love me is all-knowing and unending. Entire lifetimes fail to reveal full knowledge of others, the depth and breadth of their soul, no matter how close they are to us. Yet, you know me completely as you and your Son know each other completely. In awe as I look up at this mystery, I can admit only childlike understanding. Along with that, give me the grace to see the joy that comes along with not knowing and simply trusting, just as I trusted my parents to care for me when I was a child. Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,” says the Gospel acclamation, “you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.