Revealed to infants
Luke 10:21-24
21 At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
23 Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
Jesus sent out 70 of his followers in pairs to declare the good news of the coming kingdom (Luke 10:1-12), now they have returned. Having heard their stories, Jesus responded with the words in the verses above.
First, note the Trinity reference – Jesus (the Son of God) rejoiced in the Holy Spirit praying to God the Father. Christians believe in God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Three in One and One in Three.
Second, the wise and the intelligent of this world often miss the deep truths of God, because with wisdom and intelligence pride and arrogance seep in. The wise and intelligent begin to believe they are special, better than, the ordinary people. To learn the hidden things of God requires the humility to say that we do not know, to admit that our knowledge is limited. Limited to the point that we need to begin learning all over again, just as an infant learns about the world from knowing nothing. To understand the hidden things of God means being able to be humble enough to start learning all over again.
Third, (vs. 23, 24) those who are humble enough to learn the ways of God, the ways of Jesus, will see the signs of the coming kingdom of God. They will see what people through the ages have longed to see, the signs that the reign of hope and peace, of compassion and grace are beginning to be seen in our world. For every time forgiveness triumphs over revenge and acts of care are shared with our opponents the reign of Jesus comes more into focus. We are called to live the life of humble learning, rejoicing at the signs of the reign of God around us.
PRAYER:
God of all knowledge, we rejoice that you give the knowledge of the truth to the humble, to those who are willing to admit they do not know. We rejoice that by the Holy Spirit you teach the truth to those who are willing to learn. In Jesus’ name. Amen.