We need freedom not only from our weaknesses and sins, but also from what makes us strong too.  To truly embrace what are our gifts, our strengths in this life we must be free from total reliance on them.  When Jesus gives thanks to the Father in today’s Gospel for the Spirit revealing things to the childlike and not to those who are the most intelligent, learned, charismatic, talented – He reminds us of the freedom we need in order to receive God into our hearts, minds and souls.  He reminds us that in order for us to remain childlike we need to accept both strengths and weaknesses and see beyond them both to the power of God and connection we have to Him.

This is not meant to be a polarizing Gospel.  There are plenty of very wise, learned and charismatic men and women for whom the Gospel has been revealed, but these are not people who rest on their laurels, for as soon as we do that – we have already embraced ourselves and have limited the room in our lives for the Holy Spirit.  We then become independent from God in a sense, because we can do what we need to do to get by.  We need to move to interdependence with God; that is recognizing our gifts and talents, knowing they are given us by God and not being limited by them but rather allowing them to always and only be for His glory.  Interdependence is knowing and accepting our own giftedness and its purpose (for the glory of God and helping others) and the gift of faith & belief in God and allowing both to work together.  When we accept this and embrace this, we begin to develop the freedom in faith to be childlike (without belief that we are great and knowing that God’s the only one truly Great) and thus receptive to what He reveals to us by way of the Holy Spirit.