“The Word became flesh; that is, the Son of God, co-eternal with God the Father and with the Holy Spirit, became human – having become incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. O, wondrous, awesome and salvific mystery! The One Who had no beginning took on a beginning according to humanity; the One without flesh assumed flesh. God became man – without ceasing to be God. The Unapproachable One became approachable to all, in the aspect of an humble servant.” (St. John of Kronstadt)
““Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father…I am in the Father and the Father is in Me” (John 14:10). How much this speaks to our souls. This miracle is too much for our feeble minds to fathom. Other religions consider it the height of impertinence to attempt to bring divinity down to earth. It’s enough to believe and obey. And so do we; however, we realize several important spiritual facts about our God. We know that while He is One, He transcends the limits of oneness. He is Three Gods in One God. We know also that He is Person. This helps us to approach Him in our prayers. We are not praying to some impersonal Being, a mechanical, insensitive, uncomprehending and incomprehensible deity remote from all existence. And if He didn’t understand what it’s like to be human, to grasp the vagaries of creature-like existence before the coming of Christ, now He knows.” (Fr. Vladimir Berzonsky)
“All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” The four verses in today’s short reading [Matthew 11:27-30] contain three important contrasts that the Lord Jesus wishes to call to our attention. He first speaks of the enormous gulf between God and all created beings (vs. 27). He then juxtaposes His exaltation as God with His gentle lowliness of heart (vs. 29). Finally, having revealed the two extremes of His Person, He contrasts our difficulties in living apart from Him with the buoyancy of a relationship lived under His rule (vss. 29-30)… Having reminded us that He is Creator of the entire universe [Matthew 11:27], He brings us back to the Jesus of Nazareth described in the Gospels, a man “gentle and lowly in heart” (Mt 11:29). He speaks to us compassionately in our state of sickness unto death. The God of thundering power stands before us as vulnerable and accessible as a fellow man. He is one of us, approaching us gently and humbly.” (Dynamis 7/2/2020)
““But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.’” – Matthew 19:14…The children interrupt Jesus’s discourse on marriage, but this disturbance allows Jesus to say something amazing about what it means to be part of the kingdom of God. Here the children become our model; they themselves show us something about the kingdom, in as much as they have such exuberance to approach and be close to the Lord whom they love. Generally, children are too young to know whether their father or mother is in the middle of an important public speech. If allowed, they would come right over to their mom or dad and ask to be picked up. Children have no sense of impropriety. I think Jesus offers the children as our example to imitate their uninhibited desire to receive His blessing by drawing near to Him with faith and love, casting aside every barrier, obstacle and excuse.” (Dr. Bruce N. Beck)
“Our Lord is boundless, and His love is ineffable. We should approach Him openheartedly and be with Him at all times, for He is with us constantly. He is the moving force of our life and wants us to understand His mind.” (Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica)