7-3-23 - Hidden From the Wise

You can listen to this reflection here.

Summertime – and the living is easy… or should be. I'll try to make Water Daily a little shorter and sweeter. We'll even focus only on one chunk this week's Gospel, the part which contains Jesus’ beautiful invitation to “come to me, all ye who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Perfect for a holiday week, right?

In the section before this, Jesus inveighs against the faithlessness of his critics, chiefly the Pharisees and their ilk. He is also angered by the fickleness and lack of faith he finds among his own people relative to what he finds in Gentiles. Forget the scholars, he says – give me the simple-hearted: At that time Jesus 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.”

Sometimes knowledge can get in the way of our understanding; expectations cloud our ability to see the surprising; familiarity obscure the fullness of revelation. People envy those who have a “simple faith,” an ability to say “yes” to the story of God’s revelation in Christ, and to participate in that story. Blessed are the simple-hearted – for they are often better at living by the Spirit.

And yet the Gospel is also given for those of us who think too much - we just make it harder for ourselves. In the final analysis, analysis will not yield full understanding, any more than playing with the food on our plate will get us fed. The Good News is a gift to be taken and received, ingested, allowed to play in our minds, hearts and spirits.

Is the life of faith simple or complex for you? How do you most fully connect with God – through your mind or your emotions or both?

If your analytical self gets in your way spiritually, you might try on a prayer practice of inviting Jesus to make his presence known, and just be with him, letting your feelings become known. And if you tend to shy away from theological thinking, you might try a bible study and let your mind play.

Thanks be to God, even the most “wise and intelligent” among us are also invited to be “infants” in Christ, to learn to rely fully on the One who made us, loves us and renews us. He will not leave us hungry.

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