Scripture Scribbles: July 9, 2023
the Gospel
Matthew 11:25-30
At that time Jesus exclaimed:
"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 little ones.
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."
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
the devotion
I smiled when I started to read Matthew 11 this week. I smiled as I would responding to a friend in conversation when they begin to recall something familiar and you start to nod in recognition … We all do it, don’t we? That, “ah yes, this story… yes, I’m familiar with this one… “ And off I go, excited to reflect upon a familiar verse. This is one that I felt “introduced” to at a time of frustration, and which, after reading it, brought me consolation.
At that time, I was feeling excitement for the faith and I wanted so badly to share, but when I did, it was not received with any enthusiasm, more of a “that’s nice…for you…” I found myself frustrated and decided, “I’ll stop sharing, I need to stop talking about my faith so much!” Then the very next thought was, “No! Dig deeper, read, pray, don’t stop!” I went home and opened my Bible. This was not yet a familiar thing for me to do (to be honest, I still feel VERY new at it) but I opened to Matthew 11…I wish I remembered why, was it that day’s readings? Was it a random “open”, a Bible roulette type of moment? I don’t remember, but nevertheless, there was my answer: ”you have revealed these things to the little ones.”
Ok I’m not so little, my kids aren’t even little anymore, but when it comes to this faith of ours, I’m a rookie, a baby, all this stuff is brand new!! Although I inherited my faith from birth, my eyes weren’t open…until they were. I am a child, a little one, who wants to be led by our Heavenly Father.
I remember my thoughts went to Saint Thérèse, the little child, and relating to her. How it was humility and littleness that were foundational in her spirituality. That comforts me. That reminds me of another verse from Matthew…(of course I must search it on my phone) Matthew 18:3 “unless you become like a child you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Enter the Kingdom of Heaven! That's the goal, that’s our end game, to enter the kingdom! So what does this mean? He reveals Himself NOT to the wise and learned but to the little ones. Realizing we must have childlike trust in the God who created us. A child, a child who trusts their father. I have this vision of our children as babies with their heads on my husband's shoulder as he carried them in his arms, sleeping peacefully, relaxed, and in total trust. Total surrender. These words have so much meaning in our faith life, trust, surrender, and if we allow the scriptures to guide us, the instructions are all right in front of our eyes! “Come to me.”
So if you’re feeling any desire to dig into your faith, trust that this desire is from God and it is actually Him, our Heavenly Father revealing himself to you!
Today’s devotion is written by Beth Brennan
