In today’s Gospel we not only see Jesus at prayer but we hear the words of his prayer: “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth…” Jesus, the Son of God, gives praise to his heavenly Father, the Creator and Ruler of heaven and earth. Jesus gives praise to God for revealing “hidden things” to the childlike. Ultimately what is revealed is the one true God. Jesus is the one who reveals the one true God: “No one knows who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” Jesus wishes to reveal the Father to everyone. Will we accept what Jesus wants to show us?
It takes humility or being “childlike” to accept Jesus’ revelation of the one true God. If we think we have everything figured out, if we think we know exactly who God is, and exactly how and where God works then we lack the humility to accept the new and surprising revelation in Jesus Christ: “No one knows who the Father is except the Son.”
How does Jesus reveal God to us? First of all, through his “advent” or birth: “Mary wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7). Jesus reveals the “hidden things” of God through his earthly ministry of healing and teaching, associating with tax collectors and sinners, and finally through his passion, death, and resurrection. Jesus’ way of humility and service shows us the one true God. This true image of God should be a challenge to my own image of God. I tend to create God in my own image and likeness. Jesus challenges me to see the true image of God as he washes the feet of his disciples and as he suffers and dies on the cross.
Let us join our prayer with the prayer of Jesus and give praise to our God and Father: “I give you praise, 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.” Let us pray that we may be childlike and humble so that we may see what Jesus wants to show us, the one true God. Amen!
Image: “jesus-praying” by ThiênLong is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.