"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!" 

Seeing and Hearing God Walking in our Midst

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, a priest  who, in the Auschwitz concentration camp asked that he be taken to the starvation room in place of a man who had a wife and two children.  His request was granted.   In light of the first reading of today’s liturgy, Ez 12:1-12, Maximilian, unlike the chosen people, had eyes that saw and ears that heard the Lord’s invitation to give of his all,  to act with justice, to love tenderly and walk humbly with his God (Micah 6:8).   In his willingness to give his life for another, Maximilian also was granted the grace to forgive the Nazis who imprisoned him along with millions of other Jews. Nothing, in the words of St. Paul, came between Maximilian and the love of Christ (Rom 8:39).

Today we have millions enduring the martyrdom, not of the concentration camps run by the Nazis but  of those run by other ruthless persons. Millions are being silenced by others in various ways by being  deprived of justice, denied their integrity as persons, treated poorly and abusively. Some are being stoned to death for alleged crimes while others are being victimized by the corrupt use of emotional, psychological, political, ecclesial, intellectual powers.  Many are being “martyred” as slaves of pimps, human traffickers, drug traffickers, unjust employers and so on.   Yes, we  live “in the midst of a rebellious house; they have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear…”  God’s call for justice, truth, reconciliation, forgiveness and love frequently falls on deaf ears and hardened hearts.

What part of me could be described as rebellious? What part of me, like Ezekiel, sees and hears God walking in our midst?  In what ways am I willing, as Maximilian was, to give my life that another can live? Am I willing to give up gossiping about another, judging others, judging myself, criticizing others, putting others and self down? Am I willing to forgive others and forgive myself, not once, but in the words of today’s Gospel, 70xs 7 times?