“Nature is pleased with simplicity. And nature is no dummy”

“There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

Gospel Text: (MT 11:25-27)

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."

In the passage above, Jesus affirms that the Father reveals His answers and wisdom to those who are childlike.  Interestingly, He also states that the Father has “hidden these things from the wise and learned.”  So this begs the question…is it better to be “wise and learned” or “childlike?”  Obviously the answer is that it’s better to be childlike.

In particular, it’s good to be one who is open, curious, and willing to learn.  It’s good to look at life in the simplest of ways and to stick to the basics.  Sure, it’s good to grow in wisdom and knowledge of the things of God.  But true wisdom and knowledge always maintain a certain innocence and simplicity.  They maintain a basic goodness and acceptance of right and wrong.  Life does not have to be complicated, it needs to become exceptionally simple.

We have a strange illusion that mere time cancels sin. But mere time does nothing either to the fact or to the guilt of a sin.

Men do not differ much about what things they call evils; they differ enormously about what evils they will call excusable. -- G. K. Chesterton: (1874 –1936: was an English writer, poet & philosopher)

Gospel Text: (MT 11:20-24)

Jesus began to reproach the towns
where most of his mighty deeds had been done,
since they had not repented.
"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst
had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.
But I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.
And as for you, Capernaum:

Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the netherworld.

For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom,
it would have remained until this day.
But I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you."

This action of Jesus could at first be perceived as an emotional outburst of anger.  But that’s the key distinction.  Jesus did not rebuke them strongly because He was mad and lost control.  Rather, He rebuked them because they needed that rebuke to change. 

The same truth can be applied to our lives.  At times we change our lives and overcome sin as a result of the gentle invitation of Jesus to grace.  But, at other times, when sin is deep, we need a holy rebuke.  In this case we should hear these words of Jesus as if they were directed at us.  This may be the specific act of mercy we need in our lives.

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“We should challenge the relativism that tells us there is no right or wrong, when every instinct of our mind knows it is not so, and is a mere excuse to allow us to indulge in what we believe we can get away with. A world without values quickly becomes a world without value.”

“There is no such thing as 'your truth'. There is the truth and your opinion.” ― Ben Shapiro: ( He is editor-in-chief as well as the host of his online political podcast The Ben Shapiro Show)

Gospel Text: (MT 10:34—11:1)

Jesus said to his Apostles:
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not peace but the sword.
For I have come to set
a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one's enemies will be those of his household.

"Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

"Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet
will receive a prophet's reward,
and whoever receives a righteous man
because he is righteous
will receive a righteous man's reward.
And whoever gives only a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones to drink
because he is a disciple–
amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward."

When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples,
he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.

Our culture today wants to preach what we call “relativism.”  This is an idea that what is good and true for me may not be good and true for you but that, in spite of all having different “truths,” we can still all be one happy family.  But that’s not the Truth!

The Truth (with a capital “T”) is that God has established what is right and what is wrong.  He has set His moral law over all of humanity and this cannot be undone.  He has also set forth the truths of our faith and those cannot be undone.  And that law is as true for me as it is for you or anyone else.

This passage above offers us the sobering reality that by rejecting all forms of relativism and by holding onto Truth, we also run the risk of division, even with those in our families.  This is sad and this hurts.  Jesus offers this passage especially to strengthen us when this happens.  If division happens as a result of our sin, shame on us.  If it happens as a result of the Truth (as offered in mercy), then we should accept it as a result of the Gospel.  Jesus was rejected and we should not be surprised if that happens to us, too.

“We cannot please all men but we can be a blessing to many.”

Let us not tire of preaching love; it is the force that will overcome the world. Let us not tire of preaching love. Though we see that waves of violence succeed in drowning the fire of Christian love, love must win out; it is the only thing that can. -  Oscar Romero: (1917 – 24 March 1980) was a prelate of the Catholic Church in El Salvador who served as the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador.

Gospel Text: (MT 10:16-23)

Jesus said to his Apostles:
"Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves;
so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.
But beware of men,
for they will hand you over to courts
and scourge you in their synagogues,
and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake
as a witness before them and the pagans.
When they hand you over,
do not worry about how you are to speak
or what you are to say.
You will be given at that moment what you are to say.
For it will not be you who speak
but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will hand over brother to death,
and the father his child;
children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but whoever endures to the end will be saved.
When they persecute you in one town, flee to another.
Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel
before the Son of Man comes."

All we have to do is read the secular news to be made aware of a growing hostility toward the Christian faith.  For that reason, we need to heed Jesus’ words today more than ever.  We need to be aware of His warning and have hope in His promise that He will be with us and will give us the words to say when we need it.  More than anything, this passage calls us to hope and confidence in our loving God.