Gospel Reflection - 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A


As a child, my understanding of God’s omniscience didn’t extend very far beyond His knowing the number of hairs on my head.  My underdeveloped mind didn’t need much more convincing than that, and I greatly anticipated the day in Heaven when I would receive the answer to that question.  Exactly how many hairs do I have on my head?!

While we may smile at the naivety of children, it is helpful to acknowledge that such a reality still remains true for us all throughout our lives.  The scope of our imagination and intellect, no matter how advanced, will never fully encompass God.  The reason for this is quite simple: we are not God.  We can-and should-delve into the deep things of God, revealed to us by the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:10).  But we must be humbly mindful of our limitations.  

Before we start getting skeptical (What! A God we can’t understand?!), we can pose the question: who am I to say that I have a right to understand?  The understanding is a grace from the Spirit that Our Father freely gives us.  It is enough to know that He desires us to taste His Blessed Life, even if it is only through our veiled understanding.  For this is where faith comes in; and faith leads to hope;  and hope to love. 

We have covered that God is all-knowing and we are not. Now, one reaction could be fear.  If He knows everything, then He knows me, with all my ridges and rough edges.  But for the same reason we may fear His knowledge, we can take comfort in it.  If God knows our failings and weaknesses, then He will not expect more from us then we can give.  And for whatever He asks of us, He always supplies the strength and grace when we answer.

And so we truly can trust Jesus when He tells us not to be afraid.  While our minds may not be able to understand the fullness of God, they can understand the proof of His fullness and existence.  Circling back to the naivety of childhood, we place our trust completely in the Lord, as a child trusts its father. 


What is holding you back from trusting the Father? 


What is one active approach you can take, right now, to trust more fully in Him?

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