The Praise of the Father

Today's Reflections 

      

 

The Praise of the Father

Mt 11:25-27

[On one occasion,] ²⁵Jesus 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. ²⁶Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. ²⁷All 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 GIVE PRAISE TO YOU, FATHER. We know that Jesus is Son of God by the authority of his words and actions. Those who hear him cling to his words and exclaim, “Never before has anyone spoken like this one” (Jn 7:46). Jesus also does miracles—signs and wonders—and drives out demons. But Jesus clearly shows who he is by the way he prays. He does not pray like any ordinary human being, even the most holy. He prays as one having a unique relationship with God, precisely as Son. He prays as a Son prays to the Father.

The Gospel presents to us Jesus’ Jubelruf, a cry of praise and rejoicing. This manner of addressing and speaking about the heavenly Father is unusual in the Synoptic gospels. It is rather the style of the gospel of John. Commentators speak of this prayer as a “Johannine shower over the Matthean field.”

Here Jesus prays as the Son who alone knows the Father. And he rejoices in the gracious will of the Father who reveals the mysteries of his kingdom to the childlike. Faithful to the Father’s design, Jesus reveals the good news to the “little ones”: the humble, the poor, the sinners, and outcasts. He himself takes a childlike disposition: he is meek and humble of heart.

For us to know who God is, we must look at Jesus, the Son and the fullness of the Father’s revelation.

“I praise you, so wonderfully you made me;

wonderful are your works!” (Ps 139:14).