+ Our readings today are quite emphatic regarding God’s
kind of justice. In the first reading from the Prophet
Ezekiel we see the remarkable kind of “justice” that God insists on in deal
with aberrant and sinful people he calls his own: I WILL CONTINUE TO LOVE YOU
AND FORGIVE YOU – in spite of the fact that you continue to despise your oaths
of fidelity to the covenant between you and me. I WILL LOVE YOU INTO A CHANGE
OF HEART AND MIND AND ACTIONS – or you will die in you sins because you did not
respond to this love call.
In the wake of what is
happening both in the world and in the church – with people holding public
office and trust in both realms – and the heinous atrocities that are allowed
to take place using children – those politicians and their unrelentingly
ignorant supporters; and the clergy of all ranks and statuses who either have
committed such atrocities, and those who have not yet been caught – even those
who still have such grotesque fantasies playing out in their minds – they need
to know that GOD WILL NEVER STOP LOVING THEM! hmmm – I bet you didn’t expect to
hear that!
But this is what the intent of
the passage from Ezekiel says: GOD HAS UNCONDITIONAL LOVE FOR EVERYTHING THAT
HE HAS CREATED! BUT – BUT – in having this love, he expects creation to respond
in kind: and among human beings – who share his ability to reason, reflect and
change minds and hearts – to do so – when they find themselves doing things
they know displeases him, and in this case make him weep, and wring his hands,
and mop his eyes!
The gospel passage is actually
an exception to the rule, as it itself plainly discloses: God partially changed
an irrevocable Rule he made regarding marriage because of the childish
inability of the his people to grasp the significance of the original Rule.
But, the original Rule still holds and is in full force. The lesson here is
that God is willing to bend over backwards to get us to take the right track on
things: but he prefers if we change our minds and heart freely, willingly and
in response to his unconditional love for us.
And you know, the best way to
test this whole scenario out is for us today: to view all people we will come
into contact with with unconditional love and communicate to them that they are
entirely free to respond in kind.
The results could be very
astounding both to you and the person you free to respond maturely and in a grown-up
sort of way!
God indeed is our savior, and
our lover, we ought to face this day unafraid and with confidence! Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment