You have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants

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. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

- Matthew 11:25-30

Yesterday's passage has Jesus condemning the towns where there has been an exercise, a revelation, of great power and yet the message of the nearness of the kingdom has been rejected. He has upbraided "this generation" that has failed to see and to hear what has been done in their midst. Here, he continues "on the flip side," so to speak. Jesus gives thanks to the Father for those who have seen and heard, for those for whom the revelation of the kingdom has indeed been accepted and understood. Even more deeply and specifically, Jesus says thanks to the Father because his message, his kingdom and his power, has been revealed to and accepted not by the wise and educated, but by "infants" - by those who are "the least among us." This is a great paradox, a statement about the life of the world and the interaction of spiritual reality. We need a different sense of perception for this kingdom, for this spiritual intelligence, than we do for conventional education and intellectual understanding. Or, perhaps it is more accurate to say that we need an additional sense: all of our faculties work hand in hand.

My study bible points out that in this prayer of thanksgiving, it is implied that the Father alone is the source of knowledge, and he alone opens the hearts of men to receive it. He communicates in a hidden way to responsive hearts. The paradox is that the veiled reality of the kingdom is perceived by the "simpler" (or should we say more straightforward?) people, including sinners and as we have seen, so many who are cast out or marginally of the society; and not the more spiritually educated or sophisticated. Jesus also continues, in this discourse, to express his Sonship with the Father, and the relationship that is established and how it works in revelation of spiritual truth. My study bible has the following interesting note: "The Son reveals only as much as we have the capacity to receive." If we are to take seriously yesterday's condemnation of the cities where this message has been rejected, and the implied responsibility revelation confers on each of us, then it must be that revelation is limited to the extent of our capability to receive, to perceive and to understand. Rejection must clearly be an act of will: therefore our paradox, in which the simple and meek accept and understand, and the more wise and intelligent fail, is one that is just. No one is turned away or without the capacity to receive, to understand. It is a question of a deep internal choice at some level.

Jesus speaks finally of the intensity and personal level of this learning process: ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ We are each to come to him. Whatever our problems, whatever questions and concerns our lives hold: he will take these burdens from us, lift them off our shoulders, and give us rest. Instead of these burdens, we will put his yoke upon our shoulders: we open our hearts, our spiritual eyes and ears for teaching. This master is "gentle and humble in heart" - his teaching is not harsh and demanding, but kind and loving. In his kingdom, we recall that "he who would be greatest among us" must also be the servant of all. This is the tone of his teaching and his relationship to us. In him and his teaching we will find not harshness, but rest for our souls. 'For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light:' what Jesus has to teach, the simple and gentle collar of our relationship with him rests easily upon us; he does not place burdens upon our shoulders, nor ask us to bear teachings that are too difficult for us to carry.

Where does this relationship begin for you? Can you learn from a prayer life, to have spiritual eyes and ears opened? To develop an awareness that is yet added to our capacity to grasp and to understand? Where does this start? Which part of ourselves can approach it as an infant, with inner eyes and ears open? What struggle and burdens can we give up in order to be find rest, to be kindly instructed and gently led through our lives? In what sense does meekness prepare us for acceptance? How does pride in our own knowledge keep us from accepting something else?