Today's reading from the book of Isaiah the prophet is about a foreign power invading and oppressing the people of Israel. The invader is seen as an instrument of the Lord in dealing with His rebellious people. But the Lord is also angry with the invader, who seems to think he can do as he likes, not accepting that he's just an instrument. "Will the axe boast against the person who hews with it?"

That image of an instrument and its maker is reflected in the responsorial psalm. Against complaints (like we all sometimes make) that the Lord doesn't seem to listen to our prayers, doesn't care, the psalmist has the Lord saying to us, "Shall he who shaped the ear not hear? or he who formed the eye not see?" The message is that the Lord will not abandon His people; but we tend to think we know how He should be doing that, and that we know best.

So when, in the gospel, we hear Jesus acclaiming the Father for hiding things "from the wise and the learned", maybe we should question if it's not our own prized wisdom and knowledge that prevent us from seeing and hearing. He doesn't have to do much "hiding", because we're not really searching to understand, thinking we already have the answers.

The utter trust and openness of heart and mind that a small child has towards its father or mother speaks of an attitude that allows us to have a glimpse of how God is at work, how He achieves His purposes.