Saturday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/100612.cfm

A woodland skyway

All things have been handed over to me by my Father.

No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."

Scripture scholars describe these verses in Saint Matthew’s Gospel as a lightning bolt from the Gospel of Saint John. But, since Matthew was written first, perhaps John took this kernel of teaching and nurtured it to full harvest. I am always amazed at the uniformity of doctrine in the four gospels, despite their differences. The one Lord and Savior Jesus Christ appears clearly to us in the gospels and, indeed, throughout the Bible. They communicate not simply the story of Jesus; they give us his Person. 

In later centuries the Church will watch these verses from Matthew develop further into our doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity. They deserve our continuing attention and meditation.

In these few verses we learn of Jesus’ unique and exclusive relationship with God, whom he calls “Father.” First, he tells us “All things have been handed over to me by my Father.” We will hear that word again in his final appearance in Galilee, after his resurrection:

Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (Matthew 28: 18)

Saint Paul will also speak of Jesus’ authority concerning the “end” of salvation history:

Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’ But when it says, ‘All things are put in subjection’, it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all. (I Cor 15: 24-28)

With those verses we learn of the authority this man, Jesus of Nazareth, has as the only begotten Son of God; and of his willing obedience to his Father-God. (Clearly a human with such power must be subject to authority!) 

But we must not overlook the intimate knowledge and affection of the Father and the Son:

No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son…

This knowledge is not about God; it is of God. Jesus’ knowledge is not broken down into irrefutable facts, as we like to handle what we call knowledge. Rather, his knowledge of God is his abiding presence in God; and he invites us to know God in the same mysterious way.

Finally he concludes with: and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."

We should not get hung up on whether Buddhists or Jews come to God through Jesus. It might make for interesting discussion but it won’t lead us into the mystery that begs for our attention. Rather, we should ask the Lord to take us by the hand and lead us into his Father’s presence.