Wednesday of 15th Week, Year II: reflection

Theme: We are nothing without God; be grateful

Reading: Isaiah 10:5–7,13–16

Dear friends in Christ, during the 1990s and early 2000s, a Nigerian TV program concluded each episode with a lovely message that “we are like pencils in the hand of our creator.” Indeed, we are like instruments in the hands of our Creator; without Him, we are nothing. In today’s first reading, God posed several questions whose responses would remind us of who we truly are before Him. He asked: can an axe claim to be greater than the man who uses it? Is the saw more important than the man who saws with it? A club does not lift up a man; rather, a man lifts up a club.

These questions arose as a result of the arrogant behavior of the king of Assyria whom God aroused and used to destroy many pagan nations that refused to hearken to His voice. Full of himself, the Assyrian king began to boost of his might and started attributing combat successes to himself and to the strength of his arm, while also threatening Jerusalem, the city where God chose to dwell. Because of his arrogance and pride, God swore to withdraw his strength and to punish him accordingly. One might ask why God would use a pagan king to achieve his goals, but we know that God’s ways are not our ways.

Dear friends, our life is a gift from God; the breath that keeps us alive, our strength, our beauty, intelligence, and many more features that we rely on every day to make our millions are all from God. Most of the time, we are led to think that our wealth is the reflection of the strength of our hands and our connections, but we forget that without the breath of life from God, we will not be alive to achieve anything. Without the hands of God in our life, we are nothing and can’t achieve anything. This calls for humility and gratitude to God for all we are and all we have.

May God’s blessings be upon you are you embark on the activities of this Wednesday. Amen

Fr Isaac Chima