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 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.”
This morning Jesus invites us to
view things from below with the “childlike” in a very low place called the kingdom. Accustomed as they are to their own fragility, the childlike are well aware of their need for protection,
sustenance and nurture. Jesus invites us back to this place of immense
littleness, where with wonder and deep reverence, we will be one with him and
so truly children of the Father, learning over and over how to reverence each
other, reverence the earth as home and indeed all creation as kindred.
Photograph of Virgin and Child in the Abbey library by Virgiinia Raguin.