Ezekiel 4: Inevitable
Saturday, March 25, 2023
Michelangelo: Ezekiel
When we sink into feeling that evil overpowering good is inevitable, we must pause to realign ourselves with the goodness of the Easter sacrifice of Christ. When we give in to bullies and stand away from those with whom we might form solidarity against the crushing power of corruption, we must rely on the Spirit. When we find ourselves exhausted from the constant struggle of our journey, we must fall into God’s presence and rely on God’s way of light and good. When we believe that our downfall is inevitable, we must turn to the power of God’s love, for it is the power of this love that is inevitable.
There is a certain inevitability about Ezekiel’s prophecy. He is certain that his predictions will come to pass. From our place in history centuries later, we can easily see that what seemed impossible for Judah and Jerusalem does indeed take place. Their fortified city is besieged and destroyed; their powerful and comfortable leaders are killed or deported. Why did anyone doubt Ezekiel and the other prophets? They reported what they saw in the present and what they saw to come. They were accurate, so why did anyone have reservation about their words? Most likely it was because the naysayers had too much invested in the corrupt system. We might learn a lesson from all of this.
There is a certain inevitability about Jesus’ story. He comes to tell us that he is Emmanuel – God Among Us. From our place in human history we can read about the miracles he performed. We can also number the times that impossibilities take place in our own lives. Jesus tells us that he will be destroyed and yet rise again in new life. He tells us that he has come to take us with him on this amazing journey as his well-loved sisters and brothers. Jesus tells us what the Creator has asked him to report to us: that we are free, liberated from anything that holds us to the material world in which we live. This freedom includes freedom from anxiety and stress. Why do we cling to our old and familiar discomfort when there is a newness offered to us without cost? Why do we behave as those who heard but ignored Ezekiel’s words? Do we doubt what Jesus has told us? What are the reservations we have about his words or his actions? On this eve when we celebrate his coming into the world as a vulnerable baby, why do we continue to ask for additional proofs and for further assurance that he will complete his promise to bring us to the new life he experiences? Why do we hang on to our fears and reject the possibility of joy?
As we near the eight-day flood of Easter celebration, we will want to consider what it is we consider to be inevitable. And how willing we are to step into the powerful flow of God’s inevitable love.
Image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezekiel
Today’s reflection is an adaption of the December 24, 2011 post.
The Noontimes 
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