In today's first reading, Ezra 9: 5-9, the prophet comes before the Lord filled with shame and too confounded to lift his eyes to the Lord. Why? Because, he says, "our wicked deeds are heaped up above our heads and our guilt reaches up to heaven." Ezra acknowledged God's mercy, leaving a remnant of the people to rebuild the Temple. "For slaves we are," Ezra says, "but in our servitude our God has not abandoned us; rather he has turned the good will of the king of Persia towards us. Thus he has given us new life to raise again the house of our God and restore its ruins...."
As we listen to the news each night and also examine our own consciences, it is obvious, if we are honest with ourselves and about the news we hear, that our wickedness also "reaches up to heaven." We, too, throughout any given day, become slaves to sin and selfishness, to being unjust and deceitful in how we deal with our neighbors here or abroad. As with the Israelites, God is merciful toward us, as well! Every day, God gives us life anew and new opportunities to rebuild the "house of our God," to restore the ruins created by unjust, deceitful, greedy, selfish actions towards others, all of creation, and the earth itself. And God comes to us in His mercy in many ways throughout the day and especially at every Catholic Mass, when we offer, in the the Holy Eucharist, the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ to God the Father in atonement for our sins against humanity and the Earth. Yes, God's mercy comes down to us every single day, as it did in the day of Ezra , the prophet.
Thank you, God, for your awesome Presence among us! Thank you for being merciful to us! Thank you for not abandoning us in our efforts to rebuild the house of God, that is, to restore the beauty of each human being, Temples of the Holy Spirit, that, by our selfishness, greediness, injustices and deceitfulness have been wounded.
No comments:
Post a Comment