Today I shall spend some time reflecting on Jesus’ prayer to the Father recounted in today’s Gospel.
He gives thanks to his Father because he sees his Father’s work being realized in “the child like” manner. The Greek word in the original text is népioi, ”newly born babies”. A newly born baby – slightly different from “child like” – depends on its mother for everything.
So, Christ’s prayer to the Father is more than a thanksgiving. It is also an appeal to the Father to be like that newly born in his mother’s arms.
He tells me that only someone like the new-born can accept his Gospel’s message: one having nothing is opened to receive everything given out of love.
Even though I am not aware of it, every prayer I say includes an unspoken desire to be totally confident, totally dependent, totally accepting of the Father’s care for me.
In short, I must convince myself I must be like a newly born in order to live as Jesus did and to enable me to bring his Gospel message to others, as the apostles did in today’s Gospel.