Arulvakku

19.06.2020 — Chosen for divine revelation

Sacred Heart of Jesus, Friday – 19th June 2020 — Gospel: Mt 11,25-30

Chosen for divine revelation

The divine revelation in Jesus is made known to the infants, who are the chosen ones here. They are not regarded as wise or important. They are the poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful, the persecuted, all whom Jesus calls blessed (5,3-12). It is God’s gracious will to act in ways that amaze human wisdom (11,26) so that these “infants” may see what the “wise” cannot. They will see that Jesus is sent by the Father and reveals the Father (11,27), which is a personal revelation. As Jesus intimately knows the Father, the chosen ones are called to build their intimacy with God in order to receive God’s plan and will personally. This declaration that the Father and the Son know each other in an exclusive fashion traces back to the relationship between God and Moses (Ex 33). There God knows Moses and Moses prays that he might know God. In that progressive relationship, we also find the promise of rest (Ex 33,14 “I will give you rest”). In assuming himself to be “humble” (11,29), Jesus is taking up the chief characteristic of Moses (Num 12,3). In speaking of his “yoke” (11,29), Jesus is using a term often applied to the law given through Moses. Thus, in this section, Matthew presents Jesus as the second redeemer, just like Moses, the first. And the chosen ones in their intimacy with the divine receive personal revelation.