Daily Reading
First Reading
Isaiah 10:5-7, 13b-16
Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger—
the club in their hands is my fury!
Against a godless nation I send him,
and against the people of my wrath I command him,
to take spoil and seize plunder,
and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
But this is not what he intends,
nor does he have this in mind;
but it is in his heart to destroy,
and to cut off nations not a few.
For he says:
By the strength of my hand I have done it,
and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;
I have removed the boundaries of peoples,
and have plundered their treasures;
like a bull I have brought down those who sat on thrones.
My hand has found, like a nest,
the wealth of the peoples;
and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken,
so I have gathered all the earth;
and there was none that moved a wing,
or opened its mouth, or chirped.”
Shall the ax vaunt itself over the one who wields it,
or the saw magnify itself against the one who handles it?
As if a rod should raise the one who lifts it up,
or as if a staff should lift the one who is not wood!
Therefore the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts,
will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors,
and under his glory a burning will be kindled,
like the burning of fire.
Psalm
Psalm 94:5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 14-15
They crush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
They kill the widow and the stranger,
they murder the orphan,
and they say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
Understand, O dullest of the people;
fools, when will you be wise?
He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
He who disciplines the nations,
he who teaches knowledge to humankind,
does he not chastise?
For the Lord will not forsake his people;
he will not abandon his heritage;
for justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.
Gospel Reading
Matthew 11:25-27
At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Reflection
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals his intimate relationship with his 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.”
There is something absolutely remarkable and peculiar about Jesus. Like Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and David, he is sent by God. So far, so ordinary. However, this sent one is, at the same time, God. For he speaks and acts consistently in the very person of God: “Unless you love me . . .” “My son, your sins are forgiven . . .” “You have heard it said, but I say . . .” “Heaven and earth shall pass away . . .”
There seems to be one who is, in one sense, other than the one who sent him and, in another sense, the same as the one who sent him. This one comes forth from the Father not as a creature but as an image and perfect reflection, the Logos or Word by which the Father understands himself.
These two “persons,” the Father and the Son, look at one another from all eternity and sigh forth their love for one another. This mutual breathing-forth is the Holy Spirit.