The Battering Ram

Ezekiel 2-5

Much like reading around the gospel reading, I decided to take a look at what's going on with Ezekiel after the official reading for the day.  Turns out it's...pretty much what happens in the actual reading, repeated with slight variations.  Like much of the Old Testament, frankly.

And while my initial reaction was "Okay, we get it, Israel is a rebellious house..." I think there's more there.  I mean yes, this was a book written for the Israelites, so the repeated taking them to task is a strong rhetorical device.

But Ezekiel gets this warning lecture as he stands up, as he gets dressed, as he has breakfast...as the Spirit of God literally and miraculously walks him through getting ready.

And I have to reevaluate my view of prophets again -- from people who get one clear cut message and then set off with varying success but singular purpose.

Much like all of us wake up or go about our lives, now I think about it.  Full of good intention and righteous motivation. Only to get sidetracked by the mundane.

But maybe that's the gift of Lent.  By giving things up, by fasting in prayer, but structuring parts of our ordinary lives to continually remind us of our mission, our faith, our devotion...well, we pull an Ezekiel.  Eating, dressing, even standing remind us that Israel is a rebellious house, but they deserve our warning, our love, and our prophecy anyway.

I usually worry that modern people get stuck in their own branding, their own mythos, even more than past generations given social media.  But -- from the Old Testament of all places -- I think I just got a moment of hope that our current generation may have stumbled on something profound.  When literally everything is really about your conversation with God and what to do to help the world around you...well, maybe that feels like a cage.  But it's really a battering ram.