Scripture:
Isaiah 10:5-7, 13b-16
Matthew 11:25-27
Reflection:
Today’s tidbit of a gospel contains a very important message, one we cannot afford to overlook or dismiss. Jesus breaks forth in exuberant praise of God because God chose to reveal the ways of God—indeed, the very mysteries of God—not to the “wise and learned,” but “to the childlike.” What is it about children that makes them particularly fitted to receive the revelations of God in ways that the “wise and the learned” cannot?
Children are open, trusting, curious, and eager to learn, which are all essential qualities to a life of faith. Children are not reluctant to follow even if they aren’t completely sure where a journey might take them, which pretty well describes a life of discipleship, a life marked by following, imitating, and learning from Christ. Perhaps most importantly, unlike people who look for reasons not to believe, children are filled with a natural sense of wonder that makes them eager to believe even if (and perhaps especially if) something sounds too good to believe. In fact, with children if it sounds too good to believe, all the better.
But isn’t that Christianity in a nutshell? Isn’t Christianity the revelation of something that seems far too good to believe—totally preposterous—but is nonetheless true? Isn’t the gospel “good news” precisely because its message of God’s undying love, of God’s unconditional mercy and forgiveness, of God’s promise of healing, wholeness, and everlasting life (all of which sounds far too good to believe), the key to understanding everything and the reason for our hope? That is why no matter how far along we may be on our journey, we should never stop being a child.
Paul J. Wadell is Professor Emeritus of Theology & Religious Studies at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, and a member of the Passionist Family.