Matthew 11:25-30         ‘Come to me’

Matthew’s Gospel is written in the context of a patriarchal society where men counted, and women and children did not.  The social reality was that children had no voice.  They were invisible.  Yet, children are given high visibility in Matthew, and in today’s text Jesus puts ‘infants’ center stage as the ones who are great examples of humility and wisdom (18:3-5; 19:13-15; 21:15).  Jesus praises God for the grace of openness and humility he sees around him, for revealing ‘these things’ to ‘infants’.  There is a satisfying reversal of expectations here. You can search online for nuggets of wisdom from children, and the results will warm your heart: • ‘I like wind because it makes everything dance.’

• ‘As we walked on the beach for the first time my four-year-old yelled: “I love being in this world.”’
• ‘I asked my five-year-old how his day was, and he said, “It was awesome”. I asked him why, and he replied, “Because I wanted it to be!”

The challenge for each of us today is to rekindle a childlike sense of awe and wonder for our world, not to let our hearts become hardened like those of the ‘wise’ in the Gospel.

For Jesus, God’s grace is found in the humble, in those who are open to new possibilities, in those whose hearts are open.  We are invited to grow in greater awareness by seeing through the eyes of a child, rather than through the eyes of those who claim to have all the answers. Jesus desires freedom for each of us so that we can find rest in his love and tenderness and a wisdom for which the soul yearns.  In times when we feel exhausted or in despair the final lines of today’s Gospel is worth spending time with: “Come to me, all you that are weary … I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Copyright © Triona Doherty & Jane Mellett, 2022. The Deep End. A Journey with the Sunday Gospels in the Year of Matthew.

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“Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.  I will not lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.  Keep with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.                       – The Message