Monday, February 7, 2022
The Prophet as Watchman: Studying the Stumbling Block
We are all called to be prophets in the Messianic Age, a time when we each have a personal relationship with Christ . . . the one who calls us to sound the trumpet that he is already among us.
Christ is among us. Yet we do not see. We are the body of Christ. Yet we do not come together. We are called to do Christ’s work in the vineyard. Yet we are stiff-necked and hard-hearted. We lament over our stumbling blocks rather than rejoice in them.
When we read Ezekiel we realize that we are called by God as prophets, and we are also asked to call one another to this same office. We are to announce the coming that is taking place now. We are called to be sentinel to one another. We are called to unbend our own necks and to rebuke the stiff-necked among us. We are called to soften our hard hearts and to reprove the hard-hearted in the midst of us. We are called to listen for the sentinel’s cry from our brothers and sisters. We are called to give the cry of the Word we see and hear. We are called to respond to the virtue in one another, to warn and to be warned. We are God’s church, the body of Christ, the Spirit that dwells within seeking harmony, unity and peace.
How do we attain this peaceful unity? Verse 20: If a virtuous man turns away from virtue and does wrong when I place a stumbling block before him, he shall die. He shall die for his sin, but his deeds shall not be remembered; but I will hold you responsible for his death if you did not warn him. When, on the other hand, you have warned a virtuous man not to sin, and he has in fact not sinned, he shall surely live because of the warning, and you shall save your own life.
Let us spend a bit of time with this verse today and imagine the possibilities of God’s call.
Tomorrow, understanding the stumbling block.
Adapted from a reflection written on January 19, 2008.
Image from: http://www.pray4zion.org/TheWatchmanofIsrael.html
The Noontimes 
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