Today’s First Reading, from the book of the prophet Isaiah (10:5-7, 13-16), presents us with an extraordinary and dramatically relevant provocation: “Shall the ax boast over him who chops with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?” The Lord uses the king of Assyria as a tool, a rod to correct his people. But Assyria, blinded by its own success, falls into the illusion of self-sufficiency. It says in its heart: “By the strength of my hand I have acted, and by my wisdom, for I am intelligent.” Assyria’s fatal error is not in being strong, but in forgetting that it is merely a tool in the hands of God. It confused the Creator’s arm with its own metal.
Temptation
This temptation hides in the most ordinary folds of our daily lives. In our family relationships, for example, we often do so much for our children, our spouse, or our elderly parents. But when things go well, or when we demand gratitude, we risk thinking: “Our family stands only thanks to my sacrifices and my management.” We forget that patience, love, and the strength to carry on in difficult times are a daily gift of God’s grace, not our exclusive merit.
The same pitfall appears in parish life. When we commit ourselves to groups, catechesis, the choir, or charitable works, it is easy to slip into the pride of Assyria. We begin to think that that specific activity only works because we are there, or that our ideas are the only right ones. And become jealous of our roles. We behave like the ax in the first reading: we boast before the Woodcutter, forgetting that in the parish we are all simple servants and that the true shepherd and author of all good is the Holy Spirit. Even in the simplest daily life—good advice given to a friend, a moment of listening, a job well done—the temptation is to take all the credit. It is as if a paintbrush boasted of the painting, forgetting the painter’s fingers. Our abilities are just tools that God has given us to manage to spread His love.
Saint Bonaventure
Today the Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, called the “Seraphic Doctor.” Saint Bonaventure was one of the greatest intellectuals of the Middle Ages, a man with a brilliant mind, capable of guiding the Franciscan Order in difficult times. Yet, his greatness shone precisely because he never made the “Assyria’s mistake”. He never boasted of his “ax,” that is, of his immense studies and wealth of knowledge. Bonaventure wrote that true wisdom does not arise from the pride of the mind, but from the humility of the heart that loves. He considered himself a simple pen in the hands of the Holy Spirit, a tool that could write words of life only by remaining united to the hand of his Lord. That is an example to emulate.
Instruments
In today’s Gospel, Jesus exults, saying: “I praise you, Father… because you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned and revealed them to the little ones.” The evangelical “little one” is not one who cannot do things, but one who, at home as in the parish, puts their talents at the service of others with humility, recognizing that without God we are only inert instruments.
Today we ask the Lord, through the intercession of Saint Bonaventure, for the grace of humility. Free us, Lord, from the illusion of self-sufficiency. May the pride of our knowing how to do things never separate us from You, and may we rejoice solely in being docile instruments of communion in our homes and in our community. Amen.
