Meditation Minute

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

“You have revealed them to the childlike.”

Gospel Reading: Matthew 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."

Why would God hide things from adults and reveal them to the babes? Think of the time when you were very young, maybe even before you were in school. You believed in God and Jesus and all His miracles without question. You believed the stories and were amazed at the wonder and awe expressed by Jesus in his works on earth. I can remember sitting there listening to my religion teacher teaching us about Jesus and never once did I doubt the things that I was told. A child is simple and tends to think in a simple way. This simplicity allows Jesus to be revealed to a child in his full glory. A child is naturally humble with no consuming pride which prevents them from seeing God as our creator, Lord and master. The questions and the comments that young children ask are from their innocence and reveal to them the greatness of the Father in Heaven. Yet as we grow in world knowledge and understanding, we somehow let this new found intelligence cloud our vision of God. We begin to rationalize his existence and justify his being. We try to use science to confirm his miracles instead of just simply accepting Jesus as who he is. We want the physical evidence to explain the unknown.

We are all called to have a childlike belief in the Father and the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Not only does a babe express unconditional belief in our Father in heaven, they also express unconditional love. The clearest example of this is a child’s loves for their parents. This love is unbounded and without limitations or conditions. Jesus Christ expressed this same unconditional love when he walked on the earth saving us from our sins and lastly when he died on the cross to defeat evil. Jesus expressed love perfected and without blemish. Jesus tries to reveal himself to us through his miracles and his teachings. We must become childlike in our belief to fully grasp the unconditional love that was expressed by Christ for us. We must humble ourselves. It does no good to brag about our intelligence if this intelligence keeps the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit from being fully revealed to us.

A Simple Prayer

Lord I ask for childlike belief and understanding so that I can see you in your true glory.

May this childlike expression of love fill me with a deeper relationship with you.

Yours in Christ

Michael Marcon