Peace and all good to you, my dear brothers and sisters. Today’s readings draw us close to the quiet, hidden heart of God — a God who comes not with thunder and pride, but with gentleness, fire, and humility. As Saint Francis taught us, the Lord’s greatness is most clearly seen in His humility, and He calls us to walk in that same spirit of littleness and surrender.
In the first reading, Moses encounters God not in a temple or enthroned in His glory, but in a bush — a simple, ordinary thing — set ablaze with divine fire, yet not consumed. God chooses the blandness of a desert to appear, and He calls not a powerful king or famous prophet, but Moses — a shepherd, an exile, a man who had once fled in fear, who has a hard time speaking given his stutter. When God says, “I will send you to Pharaoh,” Moses answers, “Who am I?” He does not boast or puff himself up. He trembles. And that is the very heart God is looking for. “I will be with you,” the Lord says. God does not rely on the strong — He chooses the humble and makes them strong by His presence.
This same mystery is echoed in the Gospel. Jesus lifts His eyes to heaven and says, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, you have revealed them to the childlike.” God is not impressed by status or intellect or spiritual pride. He hides Himself from those who believe they already have all the answers, and instead He opens His heart to the lowly, to those who come with empty hands and a child’s trust. This is not because God is playing games — it is because pride blinds us. Pride hardens the heart and shuts the ears. God must hide Himself from the proud, because they would not see Him rightly even if He stood before them. He reveals Himself to the humble because they are willing to receive Him as He is, not as they want Him to be.
Saint Francis knew this well. He told us friars never to think ourselves above others — even in holiness. He wanted us to be lesser brothers, not the “great ones.” Because humility is the soil where every virtue grows. Pride is the root of every vice — it leads to anger, judgment, ambition, envy, and blindness. But humility opens the door to mercy, peace, joy, and wisdom. It lets grace in and acts as its conduit.
So how do we grow in this humility that God so desires? We look to Jesus, who is God Himself, yet Who came to us as a servant. We learn from Moses, who didn’t feel worthy, and yet said, “Here I am.” We seek silence and prayer, not attention and applause. We serve others without seeking reward. We admit our weakness, not to shame ourselves, but so that God may fill us with His strength.
Let us not try to be great in the eyes of the world, or even in our own hearts. Let us rather imitate our loving Lord, Who chose to be little in the eyes of the world and showed us that true greatness in the eyes of God was the love that allowed him to be nailed to the cross and ridiculed by the worldly and high-minded.
Saint Francis would encourage us to be simple in our love, like our Lord— for to such as these the Kingdom of God is revealed. May our hearts remain open, lowly, and ready to say with trust, “Lord, You alone can show me the way because You alone are the Truth, the Way, and the Life.”
Amen.
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