At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” (Luke 10:21-22 NASB)
As my wife can attest, I have long struggled with pride. In general, I love what I think, and hold it in high esteem. I know I’m not alone in this, but I also know my Master has worked long and hard to lift me out of this visionless attitude. Over that last 20 years, I have learned so much from others, that the realization has dawned on me that my ideas are never entirely my own, and rarely complete. It’s true, I synthesize the ideas of others, and the new thesis I end up with requires the theses of others to morph into yet another, better idea.
I’m learning that I’m dependent. That’s very different from learning to become dependent. I’m learning that this isn’t a choice where my Master is concerned. I am dependent upon the insight and wisdom of others to learn about my Master. Any time I try to avoid dependence, I succeed in failing to learn about my Master. So, this blog is somewhat of a learning vehicle for me. It succeeds to the extent others contribute. So, the invitation is always open.
Fortunately for all involved, my Master sees fit to hide Himself to a degree from the “wise and intelligent” and reveals Himself to the infants. I think the more complex, the further afield from the truth we get. On the other hand, sometimes the complexities of the Creator of the universe are revealed, but again, often to “simple-folk”.
So in this passage, Jesus is overcome with joy in the Spirit to see the Father’s reversal. He sees these simple men, devoted to Him without really “getting it”, misunderstanding who He is, and ignorant of what they are all walking into in Jerusalem. He sees them rejoicing that they have experienced such power of God to do the miraculous. They rejoiced to see the Kingdom of God coming through them. And yet not one understood it. In a sense Jesus is saying, “Oh, if you only knew.”
And then Jesus declares something we expect to read (and do read) after the resurrection, at His ascension. Jesus declares His authority from the Father. He declares this authority to be complete, but specifically in knowledge of the relationship between the Father and the Son. I can’t help but trip up as I read. I run through this and have to go back and read again. Only the Father knows the Son. Only the Father knows the Son. And only the Son knows the Father, and those who whom the Son reveals Him. In other words, the knowledge of the Son isn’t shared like the knowledge of the Father.
Immediately, someone will probably think that this is completely off because the Son is right there, so of course they know the Son. But remember, they’re infants. Jesus’ point is that they don’t get it. We see that they really don’t understand who Jesus is, so no, they don’t know the Son. Only the Father really knows the Son. Jesus walks with these men in the knowledge that they do not know Him, even as He reveals the Father to them, they still don’t know the One revealing the Father. It’s lonely in a sense. It’s frustrating in another sense, yet here we see Jesus’ joy in it. He doesn’t have the expectation that they know Him. He holds no illusions about His followers, and isn’t disappointed with them.
So, I don’t have to know it all. I must be faithful to seek my Master all my time here He gives me on this plane of existence. But I will not truly know Him until I finally see Him face to face. It’s okay, that’s not a failure on my part, it’s how He designed it to work. It’s not a test, it’s how my Master creates community. And I am learning that I must have community. Only within community can I begin to explore the deep things of my Master. For I am simple folk, and I cannot understand on my own what my Master has to teach.
So basically, when you read but don’t comment, you wound me! Not really. This isn’t the only avenue I have to explore my Master within community. But to the degree that there is participation here, I grow and learn so much more than whatever drivel I pour into these entries.
Okay, rant over. What’s your view through the knothole?
Knothole Theology 