Eleventh Sunday: Ezekiel and Hope

The question asked in the readings today is who really gives us strength? Are we strong because we are smarter or more ruthless than other people? The gospel answers the question by asserting that God gives us strength. God is our hope.  
 
Ezekiel in Exile
The first reading is from the prophet Ezekiel a priest from Jerusalem living in exile along the Chebar River in the southern part of Mesopotamia. He was deported to Babylon after Jerusalem was defeated and sacked by the Babylonian Empire in 597 B.C.  King Nebuchadnezzar of the Neo-Babylonian empire, removed King Jehoiachin from the throne.  He killed all of Jehoiachin’s sons and then blinded the Judean king and forced him into exile along with Ezekiel. As Ezekiel and other leading Judean’s were lead from Jerusalem, the city was still smoldering from the fires set by the Babylonians. Corpses lay unburied in the streets or impaled on stakes. Zedekiah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, was left in charge in Jerusalem after he promised his loyalty to the Babylonians.
 
Ezekiel did not speak for seven years after that. He had been through a lot of trauma. Ezekiel’s wife died and like so many people he knew, he could not give her the burial owed to loved ones. In ancient Judea, the deceased would be placed in a tombs and then their bones would be collected and placed in a house-like structure with the bones of all their ancestors. That is why the dead were going to “sleep with their fathers.” But in Ezekiel’s time, that was not possible for his wife or the dead of Jerusalem. After seven years of grief, there came more frustrating news.
 
Uncle Zedekiah imprudently betrayed the deal he had made with the Babylonians. He switched allegiances from Babylon to Egypt hoping the Egyptians would help him. They would not. Nebuchadnezzar prepared another expedition against Jerusalem.  This would be the last and final one resulting in the complete destruction of the city.

Ezekiel and Hope
The first reading is Ezekiel’s prophecy. If you were to read the whole chapter, Ezekiel compared the Babylonians and Egyptians to two huge eagles that had swept down and plucked up little Judea. Ezekiel knew that he would die and be buried far from home. Then out of the darkness, Ezekiel spoke hopeful words about a future he would not experience but that he believed God would provide:
 

Thus says the Lord GOD:
 I too, will pluck from the crest of the cedar the highest branch.
From the top a tender shoot
 I will break off and transplant
 on a high, lofty mountain. On the mountain height of Israel 
I will plant it. 
It shall put forth branches and bear fruit, and become a majestic cedar.
 Every small bird will nest under it,
 all kinds of winged birds will dwell
 in the shade of its branches. Ez. 17:22-23.

God himself would pluck a little branch from the cedar tree and he himself would plant it on a mountain top. It would become a mighty cedar that would shelter all nations. Not only would Jerusalem be saved, but all the nations would find their home there. When Jesus told his parable of the mustard seed, he was referring back to Ezekiel’s prophecy from over six hundred years earlier. In Jesus’ parable, like with Ezekiel, God gives the growth, not the strength of great empires or powerful economies.

What does it mean that all nations will find their home in God? It means that God is respected in other human beings. No one is a bargaining chip or a thing to be used and discarded the way the Babylon and Egypt used little Judah. Each of us is deserving of consideration for our spouses, children and lives. 

Bishop Weisenburger and Hope 
When the powerful, like mighty eagles, fight with each other, it is always the little people caught in between who get hurt. You might have noticed in the news that Bishop Weisenburger drew a lot of heat for suggesting that ‘canonical penalties’ might be appropriate for Catholics that advocate harsh, inhuman and destructive policies along the border, especially in regard to children and parents. He has written an editorial for publication that I have made available on our website. Clearly, separating children from their parents is a matter of grave concern for all Catholics. We do not punish children for the transgressions of their parents. I agree with Bishop Weisenburger, the fact that our county has come to this pass, loudly cheered it appears by some dark souls, is a disturbing reality. Like Ezekiel, in the midst of his own frustrations, let us hope that our better angels prevail. Respect the image of God in children.