June 5 2023 - St. Boniface - Axes and idols

 

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Boniface, who is known as the apostle to the Germans. Boniface was born in what is now England in the 7th century, at a time when Western Europe was still rebuilding itself after the fall of Roman Empire.

By the time he was about forty years old, the Benedictine Boniface was known as a gifted scholar and preacher, and was abbot of a Benedictine monastery. But at the request of the Pope, Boniface traveled to mainland Europe to spread the Gospel in places yet unevangelized. He travelled into the wild frontier lands of what are now the Netherlands, Austria, and Germany. Even though the Pope had made him Bishop prior to his mission, his initial efforts were unsuccessful.

One of the obstacles Boniface faced was that the German tribes clung to their pagan worship. They believed in Christ to some extent, but they refused to reject the old gods like Odin and Thor. They also refused to give up witchcraft.  

The story goes that Boniface made way to a giant oak tree where the germans gathered to offer false worship to the Thor.  So Boniface, took an axe and he begins chopping down this tree. The pagans cursed Boniface and waited for him to be struck dead by the old gods for his sacrilege.  But, just after chopping a small notch in the tree, God finished the job: the tree was blast apart from above from a bolt from heaven.  And the germans who had before cursed Boniface now began to believe in the one True God.  Moreover, Boniface took the wood of the tree and built an oratory in honor of Saint Peter whose successor had sent him on this mission.  

This is why you’ll often see stained glass windows and statues with St. Boniface in his bishop’s attire, holding an axe, standing on a tree trunk. 

Pagan oaks of error, superstition, and false teaching seem to be sprouting up like weeds all over the place these days. There are gatherings of professed witches in every major city. There are witchcraft stores in Lakewood. The old idols of fame, power, pleasure and wealth take on various forms, and yet, even within the Church, we have prelates and clerics who have made public opinion into idols—allowing public opinion guide church life rather than divine revelation.

Working for the spread of the Gospel in our modern world seems like daunting work, but remember that Boniface only needed to take those first courageous swings with the axe before God did the rest of the work. Boniface’s actions challenged the false beliefs of the society around him, and brought others to Christ.

Perhaps there is a pagan idol that you are called to take a few swings at. Perhaps God might be challenging you to pick up the axe with your fellow Christians. Likely, we all have axes to swing. The least we can do is  pick up the axe of persistent prayer, that our contemporaries may be delivered from their modern idols to belief in Christ.

In a letter written to a Benedictine abbess, Saint Boniface wrote: “Let us stand fast in what is right and prepare our souls for trial…let us be neither dogs that do not bark, nor silent onlookers, nor paid servants who run away before the wolf.” Christians cannot be silent onlookers as souls are swayed to worship the false idols of the day. 

May we hold firmly to the faith Boniface taught with his lips and sealed with his blood, and confidently profess that faith by our deeds, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.