"The Temple Filled with the Glory of the Lord" (Ezekiel 43: 1-7ab)

 In today's first reading, Ezekiel 43: 1-7ab, the prophet shares a vision  he has of "the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east."   Every  morning, the sun rises from the east. Is God not hidden in the sun, as He is hidden in the consecrated host, I wonder!  Ezekiel goes on to share more of the vision, saying:   "I saw that the temple was filled with the glory of the Lord."  In our baptism, we died and rose with Christ and were transformed into the Temple  of  God.  The Spirit of God dwells within our very beings and, yes,  we are "filled with the glory of the Lord."  Our eyes are veiled so we do not see that glory but it is no less real, as real as the sun shining but not seen because it is hidden by clouds!
In the last lines of today's first reading, Ezekiel hears a voice saying to him:  This "is where my throne shall be, this is where I will set the soles of my feet; here I will dwell among the children of Israel forever." Yes! God dwells here on earth with us forever, as He promises His disciples right before He is ascended into heaven: Behold,  "I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Matthew 28: 20).
Where is God? Right here, standing before you and beside you. Right here, closer to you and me than our breath! Right here, living within your very being! "Where am I when you suffer," God asks? "I am suffering with you! That is where I am! Where am I in this coronavirus pandemic?  I am in it with you, struggling, as you do, to eradicate this plague from the earth! I am suffering, crying, weeping, struggling with you do! We are one!"
Why don't you, God, take it away?  You are God!  "I am not a magic wand that you can wave over the pandemic and it is gone.  No, I am God Incarnate, God-with-you, God-in-you! I am your Strength and your Light, your Wisdom that guides you in how you cope with this plague and what you do to limit its spread!Trust Me! Rely upon Me! Know your dependence, your vulnerability, your need of me and live wisely, humbly and lovingly!" 

Mary, Mother of Sorrows

Like Mary, Mother of Sorrows, we all have “Simeons” in our lives, persons who are bearers of “bad” news, scary announcements, and challenging alerts that leave us with such  questions as “What now?” “ How can I possibly handle this?” “ Why, God?”  We may react as Jonah did in today’s first reading (Jonah 3: 1-10) and run the opposite direction or scream “No way, not me?”  Anything but what Mary said at the Annunciation, and throughout her life lived in accord with God’s will for her: “How will this happen, Lord?” 

Challenging, baffling, unexpected announcements can be opportunities of tremendous graces not yet realized. However that is never, I don’t believe, our first response, not even of nuns!  We all know from Scripture that Mary pondered all things in her heart.  So that is one clue of how to get a handle on baffling news—even when the baffling news is good news, like “you’re going to have triplets!”  When confronted with the possibility of coping with tragedy or dealing with overwhelming issues or facing bad times, what we probably do not immediately tap into is that “the Lord is with you,”  or that “the Holy  Spirit will over shadow you,” as Elizabeth and  the angel told Mary.  Yet our faith tells us that both messages are true.  Do I take the time to ponder as Mary freely chose to do or, as in the story of Jonah, do I need God to arrange “a whale of an experience” for me to go into solitude and think things through with God.