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  At that time Jesus said in reply,* “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.
  ''At that time Jesus said in reply, “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."''
While teaching at a Catholic high school, a colleague tried to convert me. I was not even baptized. I was one of those enlightened moderns who felt good about God and Jesus but not so much to be bothered by belief, and certainly not at the expense of "reason." One of her arguments was that I was over-intellectualizing faith: instead, I should approach God “like a child,” you know, "childlike."  
While teaching at a Catholic high school, a colleague tried to convert me. Not even baptized, I was one of those enlightened moderns who felt good about God and Jesus but not so much to be bothered by belief, and certainly not at the expense of "reason." One of her arguments was that I was over-intellectualizing faith: instead, I should approach God “like a child,” you know, "childlike."  


Since my baptism about three years ago, whenever I have encountered [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/11?25 Matthew 11:25], I am reminded of that conversation, and I have unsuccessfully squared it with my experience with Scripture and my own faith.
Since my baptism about three years ago, whenever I have encountered [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/11?25 Matthew 11:25], I am reminded of that conversation, and I have unsuccessfully squared it with my experience with Scripture and my own faith.
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== "the wise and the learned" ==
== "the wise and the learned" ==
  , for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned...
  ''for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned''
Of course "the wise and learned" are the priests and scribes of Israel who refuse to believe Jesus (see footnote to [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/11?27 Mt. 11:25] in the USCCB NABRE). Jesus here contrasts them to the "childlike", who accepted Jesus as the Christ -- and like a child.  
Of course "the wise and learned" are the priests and scribes of Israel who refused to believe Jesus (see footnote to [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/11?27 Mt. 11:25]). Jesus here contrasts them to the "childlike" who accepted him as the Christ.  


Yet, it wasn't so easy for those "children," either. In fear, Peter faltered in his belief and nearly drowned; many if not most of the disciples walked away when Jesus told them to "eat him." On and on until the first, fullest declaration of Jesus as God by Thomas, who very adult-like wanted a little more proof.  
Yet, it wasn't so easy for those "children," either. In a rational calculation of the strength of the wind, Peter faltered his belief and nearly drowned ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/14?30 Mt 14:30]); many if not most of the disciples walked away in reasonable hygienic caution when Jesus offered them "his flesh to eat" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/14?30 Jn 6:52]); Philip rationally calculated that it would take upward a year's salary to buy enough bread to feed all those people ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/6?7 Jn 6:7]). On and on until the first, fullest declaration of Jesus as God by Thomas, who very adult-like wanted a little more proof ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/20:28 Jn 20:28]).  


Clearly Jesus did not mean that the "wise and the learned" cannot know the Father. Instead, he said that the Father had "hidden these things" from them. Without straying into the theological implications of finding what God "hides," if a look at John 3 and the secret meeting with Nicodemus, we can see how God wants us to "uncover" (un-hide) himself through belief:    
Clearly Jesus did not mean that the "wise and the learned" cannot know the Father. Instead, he said that the Father had "hidden these things" from them, while leaving it to the Son to reveal him.  Jesus concludes his prayer to the Father, 
  “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”
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." ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/11?27 Mt 11:27]),
 
Thus, Jesus could reveal the Father to "anyone."
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
 
(Note the perfect definition of the word "gracious" attached to the Father's "will" -- the source of all grace!)
 
Without straying into the theological implications of finding, or "un-covering,"<ref>"un-cover", "dis-cover", "in-vent" all mean to reveal what already exists, and not to create anew. Uncover and discover are obvious, but "invent" comes form ''in-'' (into) + ''venire'' (to come), i.e. come into something that already exists.</ref> what God "hides," a look at [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/3?1 John 3] and the secret meeting with Nicodemus, we can see how God wants us to "uncover" (un-hide) himself through both reason and belief. Jesus tells him (literally),    
  ''“Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”''
Nicodemus replies rather "reason"-ably:
Nicodemus replies rather "reason"-ably:
  “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?”
  ''“How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?”''
Jesus goes on to explain -- using reason -- that,     
Jesus goes on to explain -- using reason -- that,     
  What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit.
  ''"What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit."''
and
and
  "If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?"
  "If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?"
Impeccable logic -- and entirely nonsensical to the reasoned mind. So Jesus continues his literal explanation,   
Impeccable logic -- and entirely nonsensical to the reasoned mind. So Jesus continues his literal explanation,   
  "The wind* blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
  "The wind* blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
Thus bringing us to the logical conclusion that reason cannot know him, only faith:
thus bringing us to the <u>logical</u> conclusion that reason cannot know him, only faith:
  Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
  ''"Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."''
You just have to believe, Jesus instructs him. So in the dark room, in a secret meeting, Jesus lays the literal, allegorical, moral and anagogical upon poor Nicodemus,
A night, in a dark room, in a secret meeting, Jesus lays the ''literal'', the ''allegorical'', the ''moral'' and the ''anagogical'' upon poor Nicodemus<ref>see the [[Senses of Scripture]]</ref>,  
  "But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God." ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/3:21 Jn 3:21])
  "But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God." ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/3:21 Jn 3:21])
who, we learn later, does come to believe, and fully:
who, we learn later, does come to believe, and fully:
  Nicodemus, '''the one who had first come to him at night''', also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/19:39 Jn 19:39])
  Nicodemus, '''the one who had first come to him at night''', also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/19:39 Jn 19:39])
So "the wise and the learned" can discover God. Jesus concludes his prayer to the Father in Matthew 11, 
So "the wise and the learned" can discover God. They just have use both wings and wrap their minds around belief... that is, not let the limits of reason impede the mysterious.  
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." ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/11?27 Mt 11:27]),


Thus, Jesus could reveal the Father to "anyone."  
== From the "mouths of babes" ==
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.


(Note the perfect definition of the word "gracious" attached to the Father's "will" -- the source of all grace!)
[https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/21?16 Matthew, CHAPTER 21 | USCCB]


> asdf
On Palm Sunday, as the "children outside the Temple sang, "Hosanna to the Son of David," the pharisees, "the wise and the learned," were "indignant," writes Matthew ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/21?15 Mt 21:15]).


Jesus The "wise" and 'learned"


I see that the Greek taken as “to the childlike” can also be seen as “to the innocent,”<ref>[https://netbible.org/bible/Matthew+11 Matthew 11 | Lumina (netbible.org)]</ref> which fits context just as well as a contrast to “the wise and the learned.”  But that’s not the point!  Intellect that is humble is childlike. Intellect that yearns to find God is childlike. Intellect that submits to the Father is both childlike and innocent. Intellect that believes is like the child who adores and obeys his father.


== From the mouths of babes ==
Jesus replies to them,
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/8?3
''“Do you hear what they are saying? Yes; and have you never read the text, ‘Out of the mouths of infants and nurslings you have brought forth praise’?”'' ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/21?16 Mt 21:16])
 
Jesus, as he so often did with "the wise and the learned," sent them back to their own Scripture (aka, go read it again, smarty), in this case to [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/8?2 Psalm 8:2-3]:<blockquote>''O LORD, our Lord,''
[https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/21?16 Matthew, CHAPTER 21 | USCCB]
 
On Palm Sunday, as the "children outside the Temple sang,"Hosanna to the Son of David," the pharasees, "the wise and the learned," were "indignant," writes Matthew ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/21?15 Mt 21:15]).
 
Jesus replies to them,<blockquote>''“Do you hear what they are saying? Yes; and have you never read the text, ‘Out of the mouths of infants and nurslings you have brought forth praise’?”''
 
([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/21?16 Mt 21:16])</blockquote>Jesus, as he so often did with "the wise and the learned," sent them back to their own Scripture, in this case to [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/8?2 Psalm 8:2-3]:<blockquote>''O LORD, our Lord,''


''how awesome is your name through all the earth!''
''how awesome is your name through all the earth!''
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''You have established a bulwark against your foes,''
''You have established a bulwark against your foes,''


''to silence enemy and avenger.''</blockquote>Even the "babes and infants" cry out the Lord's majesty! Of course they do -- they look upon the world in wonder and, to use one of my favorite terms from Scripture, "amazement."<ref>Here for occurrences in the NABRE of "amaze"(which includes amazed and amazement): [https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=amaze&version=NABRE BibleGateway - Keyword Search: amaze]</ref>
''to silence enemy and avenger.''</blockquote>Even the "babes and infants" cry out the Lord's majesty! Of course they do -- they look upon the world in wonder and, to use one of my favorite terms from Scripture, "amazement."<ref>Here for occurrences in the NABRE of "amaze"(which includes amazed and amazement): [https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=amaze&version=NABRE BibleGateway - Keyword Search: amaze]</ref>  


I see that in Matthew 10, the Greek taken in English as “to the childlike” can also be seen as “to the innocent,”<ref>[https://netbible.org/bible/Matthew+11 Matthew 11 | Lumina (netbible.org)]</ref> which fits context just as well as a contrast to “the wise and the learned.”  But that’s not the point!  Intellect that is humble is childlike. Intellect that yearns to find God is childlike. Intellect that submits to the Father is both childlike and innocent. Intellect that believes is like the child who adores and obeys his father.


Jesus rewards the simple, the pure of heart, and he condemns those who let their intellect betray their faith.
Jesus rewards the simple, the pure of heart, and he condemns those who let their intellect betray their faith.
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When Satan tempted Adam and Eve to "be like God", he was tempting them to be God -- and no longer his children.
When Satan tempted Adam and Eve to "be like God", he was tempting them to be God -- and no longer his children.


== Like the child saint? ==
== Avoiding confirmation bias like a child Saint ==
If we encounter a mystery without amazement, we have seen nothing. In the various Wikipedia entries on the Saints, our collected "wise and learned" authors fall back upon supposedly neutral denials of "some type of premonition"<ref>[[wikipedia:Siege_of_Orléans|Siege of Orléans - Wikipedia]]: "Joan's confessor / chaplain, Jean Pasquerel, later stated that Joan herself had some type of premonition or foreknowledge of her wound, stating the day before the attack that 'tomorrow blood will flow from my body above my breast.'"</ref>, "which are believed to have occurred in"<ref>[[wikipedia:Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe|Our Lady of Guadalupe - Wikipedia]]: "'''Our Lady of Guadalupe''' ... is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions to a Mexican peasant named Juan Diego and his uncle, Juan Bernardino, which are believed to have occurred in December 1531, when the Mexican territories were under the Spanish Empire."</ref>, and "witnesses who believed they had seen a miracle."<ref>[[wikipedia:Our_Lady_of_Fátima#Miracle_of_the_Sun|Our Lady of Fátima - Wikipedia]]: "Father John De Marchi, an Italian Catholic priest and researcher wrote several books on the subject, which included descriptions by witnesses who believed they had seen a miracle created by Mary, Mother of God."</ref> Worse, in the face of plain, first-hand historical accounts, which somehow suffice as clear evidence for secular histories, such witnesses are "not accepted by all authorities."<ref>[[wikipedia:Siege_of_Orléans|Siege of Orléans - Wikipedia]]: "Accordingly, when news of the defeat at Rouvray reached Vaucouleurs, Baudricourt became convinced of the girl's prescience and agreed to escort her. Whatever the truth of the story – and it is not accepted by all authorities – Joan left Vaucouleurs on 23 February for Chinon."</ref>
 
We often wonder that we ourselves would never have been skeptical like the pharisees, or had we been there ourselves, we'd be entirely free of doubt. Doubtful.
 
Confirmation bias
 
 
 
The Archangel Michael first appeared to Saint Joan of Arc when she was thirteen -- no longer a child, but young, indeed. And at sixteen, when she announced her mission, she was certainly young enough to be dismissed by nearly all as mere delusioned, annoying child. When the most magnificent Maiden, ''Jeanne la Pucelle'', as she called herself, came to head the French Army she was but seventeen.-- legally, in our day, a child.
The Archangel Michael first appeared to Saint Joan of Arc when she was thirteen -- no longer a child, but young, indeed. And at sixteen, when she announced her mission, she was certainly young enough to be dismissed by nearly all as mere delusioned, annoying child. When the most magnificent Maiden, ''Jeanne la Pucelle'', as she called herself, came to head the French Army she was but seventeen.-- legally, in our day, a child.


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