Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
A quick look at the news on the world stage causes me to take pause and wonder “why can’t we get along peacefully with one another?” The challenge of looking out reminds of the polarization in our government, in our churches, in our workplaces and even at times in our families. Peace fails when we think we are the only ones who are right and this moral superiority allows us to worship false idols that that empower us to sin against God and one another. The readings today remind us that ultimately God will keep calling us back to the faith no matter who or how right we think we are. We are all different and each of us is created by God for some special purpose. We are challenged to understand and practice or faith authentically, while using discretion to invite others to keep the faith.
In Ezekiel we hear apocryphal imagery about the Lord using discretion between the innocent faithful and then dealing with those who defile the communities’ holiest place, the temple in Jerusalem. While this discretion is carried out in manner which only seems to fuel today’s issues, it is a story sets the scene for the final abandonment of Jerusalem and the exile of the remnant of Israel into Babylonian captivity. The Lord sent his messengers to walk among the people; the holy ones were to be marked with a “Thau”, a Hebrew letter that looks like an x or a cross. The ones who were marked were to be spared. The rest were to be struck down so their defilement would cease. Their blood would defile the temple so that it could no longer be used for worship. This scene communicates God’s displeasure with sin, yet more importantly it points to the power and glory of God and reminds us that we too must glorify the Lord with our lives.
The imagery from Ezekial illustrates the severe trail that the people of Israel endured, a trial which ended in the exile of the remnant authentically lived out the faith.
Indeed those faithful and many others undergo severe trials as war rages on throughout the Middle East. Indeed every faith there seems under attack as extremists seemingly hijack faith traditions and use violence in the name of faith. While most Christian’s have gone into exile, ISIS has even crucified those unwilling to renounce their faith. Unfortunately, it seems that the trials in the Middle East will not be settled even with destruction and exile. The challenge for them and for us is to remain authentically faithful to what we have been taught. Even in our own communities today we have many struggles, albeit not on the level of those suffering abroad. Jesus gives us a process for dealing with the struggles that arise within our own community. The process, which deals with disagreements between people, suggests that it is starts with a one on one conversation, then with two or three witnesses and then with progressive steps. These steps go until finally the person is treated as if they are an outsider to the community, a choice which is made by the wrong doer themselves.
In both these readings the process was more about purification than punishment. Ultimately it was to strengthen and unify the community. Consider your own role in the communities to which you belong. With whom might you reconcile so as to strengthen the community? If reconciliation is impossible at this time, resolve to pray for the person(s) with whom you are not at ease. It is when we resolve our differences with process and prayer that we as community are authentically faithful!
- Michael Montgomery