Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

In this Gospel passage, Jesus praises the Father for revealing things to the childlike rather than the wise and learned. The passage emphasizes the importance of revelation and shares personal experiences of revelation. It explains how revelation brings the reality of God and the things of God to life in us, allowing us to experience joy, awe, and a deep sense of peace. The speaker encourages Jesus to bring this revelation to life in them through scripture, sacraments, and personal prayer. Greetings, friends. What a joy to share the Gospel with you on this Wednesday of the 15th week in Ordinary Time. Our Gospel comes from Matthew chapter 11, verses 25 through 27. At that time Jesus said, I give praise to you, 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. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him. I'd like to reflect with you on this reality of revelation. Twice you might have noticed in this passage Jesus speaks of revelation. First he says, you, meaning his Father, have revealed them to the childlike. And then at the end, no one knows the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him. For some reason, as I read this now, I am put in touch with an experience I had many years ago. It was while I was a student studying theology. I had a really remarkable professor at that time, Father Paul. He was trying to explain in class one day this reality of revelation. Most of us, he said, when we think of revelation, we think of something like Scripture or the teachings of the church. Now certainly they contain revelation, but they are not revelation itself. He then shared a couple of experiences from his own life. He was sitting one day in the university chapel with, of all people, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who happened to be visiting the city at that time. At one point, Mother Teresa, sitting just straight across from Father Paul, looked him straight in the eyes and said to him, slowly, precisely, Father Paul, God is love. God is love. Now Father Paul commented, obviously joking to those of us in class, you know, I had heard that before. And yet that day, Father Paul insisted, when Mother Teresa said it, I knew it. I knew it in a fresh, new way. Then he added, revelation, waves of revelation were pouring over me as she spoke those words. Why? What was Father Paul getting at? Well, something obviously, perceptively living in a person, brings that reality she is speaking of to life in the one she is speaking to, revelation. Father Paul then shared a story from his time as a prison chaplain in South Africa. If I remember right, it was South Africa. He gave to a man, totally unchurched, a small copy of the New Testament. He saw that man again about a week later. In a hushed voice, the man asked Father Paul, have you read this? Referring, of course, to the New Testament. Father Paul, shaking his head slightly, said, well, yes, yes, as a matter of fact, I have. The man said, there is a story in here about a man who takes his father's money, totally dissing him, wastes it, and loses it all. When he went back to his dad, his dad took him back, he even threw him a party. Father Paul looked at those of us in class, and he said, what I was seeing on his face as he told me the story of the prodigal son was revelation, waves of revelation unfolding within his spirit. In this case, something in Scripture was coming to life in that man, and Father Paul could see it. Do you see this, friends? Revelation is the reality of God and the things of God coming to life and living in us. God and the things of God no longer ideas, something outside of us, an interesting historical event perhaps, or, God forbid, wishful thinking. God and God's actions coming to life in us, awakening in us recognition, joy, awe, and wonder, the deep sense of presence and peace. Revelation, waves of revelation. This is the great reality that causes Jesus to turn to his father in praise in this gospel we share today. This is the gift so precious, so alive, so dear that one must rejoice in receiving it and in watching it come to life in another. Jesus and the father of Jesus no longer out there somewhere, but present here in personal friendship and affection. That, my friends, is revelation, indeed, waves of revelation. Lord Jesus Christ, bring your revelation to life in me. As I read scripture, when I am present at the celebration of the sacraments, in my daily personal prayer, reveal, communicate to me the living reality of God the Father. Friends, thank you so much. It is a joy to celebrate the gospel, to share the gospel with you.