23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

I think it’s fair to say that Ezekiel had a lot on his mind after God explained to him the parameters of His expectations. As a prophet he was among a people with a long history of slaying prophets when they either did not like the message, or simply did not want to be reminded of it anymore. And yet, our Lord tells him that it is his responsibility to both spread His word to the people, and to try to turn them from evil, lest their sins cause his own destruction.

I hate to break it to everyone, but the expectations God has of us really are no different today than those he had for Ezekiel. Our audience is a bit different, but I don’t think that it would be out of line to say that they / we can be an equally stiff-necked people. The sins haven’t really changed, they are just as prolific, and just as destructive to the soul as anything that the Israelites might have weakened to – the idols that are worshipped, and some of the temptations and perversities have simply changed, others are as consistent as ever. The nature of man certainly has not changed, though we have now the hope of salvation through Jesus Christ, we are still saddled with the stain of original sin inclining us toward continued weakness and sinful behavior.

Our task now, as it was in the time of Ezekiel, and in the time of Saint Paul when he was trying to convert and cleanse the gentiles, is to love our fellow man enough to go to the trouble of enlightening and correcting those who are ignorant of Gods law, and the salvation that is possible through knowledge of Him, and belief in Him. The trick of course, now as it was in times past, is to get people to listen to, and accept the word of God. If people truly understand and believe in God’s word, the rest will of the tasks in terms of changing errant behaviors will come in due course. Not that they will be perfect, just as none of us is, but the effort will be there and the path toward salvation will have begun to be trodden by those we have successfully brought to a new belief. The reward and the penalty for either having done this, or not, is also the same. God will hold us accountable – each of us, as to whether we have taken the time and loved those around us enough to have been part of effecting the change of heart within them that could lead to salvation. The question is, do we love enough to do this?

PodCast Link below

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-fkspj-ea57e2