"At that time Jesus answered and said, 'I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes." The phrase "At that time..." locates our Lord's words as coming right after that episode where an imprisoned John the Baptist sent his disciples to Jesus with the inquiry, "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?" Do you remember Jesus' answer? He said, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them." And by the way, tell John one more thing, "Blessed is he who takes no offense at me."

Many had taken offense at Jesus. The high-minded Pharisees and teachers of the law, the scribes and the chief priests who should have had eyes to see and ears to hear, were blind to the works Jesus performed and deaf to the words He had spoken. There was no repentance. There was no faith. It will be more tolerable, says Jesus, for those ancient cities of sin - Sodom, Tyre, and Sidon - come judgment day, than for the Bethsaida and Capernaum - the places where Jesus did His mighty works. After speaking these words our Lord turns His eyes to the Father and opens His mouth with words of pure and unbroken doxology for the way of His revealing Word: "You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes."

That is the way that God deals with us. Long ago the Prophet Isaiah prayed, "Truly You are a God who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior!" (Isaiah 45:15). To those who think that they have figured out how they can control God, have their way with Him, manipulate Him by offering Him their own sin-tainted good works, God hides Himself. He will not be found through our strivings and efforts at being spiritual. He is not the kind of God who comes in burst of sovereign majesty to destroy Israel's enemies and usher in a golden age of peace and prosperity for all.

Instead He comes hidden in the flesh of Mary's Son to go not the way of glory, but instead, to walk the path of the cross. He is Israel's Messiah, but the elite of Israel, the well-schooled scribe and the pious Pharisee, cannot see in this man Jesus anything other than a fraud and blasphemer. The plan and purpose of God is hidden from their eyes.

These stand in contrast with those whom Jesus refers to as "babes." They are mere infants. Children incapable of doing anything other than being given to, of receiving. That is the way of faith. On another occasion our Lord spoke words that we know from the baptismal service. He said: "Let the little children come unto Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will by no means enter. And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them." They are on the receiving end of the Lord's gifts. They are the very paradigm and model of faith, for they have nothing to contribute; they can only receive.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not about what we do but about what God has done in Christ to redeem us sinners and reconcile us unto Himself. God does all the verbs of our salvation. So we have learned to confess from the Catechism: "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the one true faith." We have come to know the Father not because we are intelligent or spiritual, but because the Son has revealed the Father. To see the Son, to see Jesus Christ, is to see the Father. Remember those words that Jesus spoke to Philip when Philip came to Him and said, "Show us the Father"? Jesus said, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." To see Jesus, born of Mary and hanging dead on the cross, is to see the Father! That is why Luther said, "I will know of no other God than the one who nursed at Mary's breasts and died on the cross!"

The wise and the prudent of the world reject this Gospel. That is why the Apostle Paul writes in I Corinthians: "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those of us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.'" Then Paul goes on to assert: "For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For the Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."

But to the babes, the infants - by God's grace, to you and to me - He has revealed the beating heart of eternal love through the preaching of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We have no other revelation, no other message, than the cross. That is why a crucifix hangs above this pulpit to remind both the preacher and the congregation that we have nothing else to proclaim, nothing else to commend, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Yes, the world wants something it deems more user-friendly, something more practical, something more spiritual. All of those "wants" or "desires" are based on the false assumption that sin is a problem we can fix and salvation is something we do, something we achieve. Follow that worldly train of thought and you will wear yourself out, because you can never finish repairing the old Adam and salvation is always beyond your grasp.

To the babes, again by God's grace, to you and to me, Jesus says, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Our Lord calls us not to yet another activity but to rest, to rest in Him. When the Jews spoke of the Law they often used the imagery of a yoke. And the Law is a heavy yoke. You grunt and you groan underneath that yoke, but you finally can't pull its weight. Jesus invites you to wear a new yoke, His yoke, the yoke of the Gospel. In that yoke there is rest, there is a sabbath from the grinding demands of the law because those demands have been fulfilled by your Substitute and Savior, Jesus Christ. So when you come to the Divine Service to hear the preaching of Christ's words and to receive His body and blood, you come to the only place in this old world where you really can relax, for here in these gifts you do find rest for your souls. Here you can rest in a righteousness not of your own doing, but a righteousness that is complete and perfect, for it was purchased and won for you by the death of God's only Son and is delivered to you as His gift in your Baptism, in Absolution, in preaching, and in the Savior's body and blood.

The Office of the Holy Ministry is here to serve these gifts. Pastors come and pastors go, but the gifts they are sent to deliver remain and as those gifts have their way Christ's church is edified, His kingdom extended, and His name glorified. For that we give thanks to the Lord who in His wisdom and mercy has given us life together as pastor and congregation these past years. His gifts remain. His Word endures forever. And "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our only Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen."

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus to life everlasting. Amen.