Homily for Holy Communion Wednesday, 15 July, 2026
Isaiah 10:5-7, 13-16
Psalm 94:8-15
Matthew 11:25-27
Revealed to little children.
The theology we teach to children is pretty good when it comes to God. We manage to fit so much into simple songs: “My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do. That’s true!”
So while it is a great comfort to know that God is in control (because God loves us so much and only wants the best for us), we might also get a bit curious about him, and want to flesh out our faith with some more understanding.
The prophet Isaiah is correcting the king of Assyria and his assumptions. This king is a mighty warrior, and has conquered nation after nation. Now he turns his sights on Israel, and expects another victory. His problem is that he thinks his victory is his own, when he says:
“By the strength of my hand I have done it,
and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;
I remove the boundaries of peoples,
and plunder their treasures;
like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones.” (Isaiah 10:13)
This is not the case. God is using the king of Assyria to remove the wickedness from Israel; this king is merely an axe in the hand of God, used to clear out the weeds of iniquity. The Assyrian king is not a supreme warrior laying waste, but rather a surgeon’s scalpel whom God is using to remove the tumour, leaving the rest of the body healthier for it. God’s people will be brought safely through, as the Psalmist sings:
For the Lord will not forsake his people;
he will not abandon his heritage; (Psalm 94:14)
And so the boasts of the Assyrian king are nothing but wasted breath, when God replies:
“Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it,
or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?” (Is 10:15)
It is clear, then, that the king of Assyria did not understand God. But who can understand God?
Jesus has this little prayer in the middle of some ministry that we heard today in our Gospel reading, when he says,
“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.” (Matt 11:25-26)
Reading about the king of Assyria in this context, then, makes Jesus sound almost sarcastic. The “wise and understanding” have the things of God hidden from them – they must not be that wise after all! Yet it is “little children” to whom God reveals himself.
When we try to understand God, we can run the risk of thinking along the lines of those who are “wise” according to the way of the world. They sit in rooms on comfy chairs and think using big words, or they sit on thrones surrounded by mighty warriors and think about big military victories. But Jesus tells us it is the little children to whom God reveals himself.
If the little children are the one to whom God reveals himself, then let us think of ourselves as little children. I am always impressed by their energy – it is as if they wake up each morning filled with excitement about what wonderful surprises and adventures might be in store for them. They don’t hold a grudge – they are always more ready to forgive and get on with the fun than they are to wallow in self-satisfying misery. And their imaginations are like nothing else. Where is our imagination? Where are the dragons that need slaying, the damsels that need rescuing, the rocket ships that are taking them to fantastical new worlds in our lives?
The Assyrian king had set himself up as the be all and end all. Yet he missed out on the most important bit: where God was leading him. Jesus has told us that it is little children that can understand this the most. Let us humble ourselves, not in misery, but with the joy and excitement of little children set free from the classroom, ready to go out and explore this big wide world God has given us to play in.