"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!" 

The Mystery of Suffering and Heartbreak

“Do not be terrified,” Jesus says to us in Luke 21: 5-11, “when you hear of wars and insurrections.” He goes on to say:  “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.”   Where is God, we might ask. Some might believe that God is the source and cause of uprisings, violent outbursts that lead to murder, earthquakes, or nations warring against each other, of unexplainable illnesses and fatal diseases  rising in different parts of the world. God does not bring forth evil nor does God cause disasters of any kind. However, God witnesses all of these devastating events and weeps with us, agonizes with us, sends us "angels" to comfort us as He did for Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane when the leaders of his day rose up against him to put him to death.  As with Jesus,  God  gives us the strength to grow strong through suffering and not get stuck in bitterness and anger. Through the work of the Spirit within us, God enables to reach out in charity to those in need when disaster does strike. We are helped to grow in love and forgiveness and compassion ourselves. God never, never wills the destructive forces that come our way through other human beings or through natural disasters. That is not God's nature. God is love. God is mercy. God is compassion.

Jesus says to us in Mt. 11: 28-30:  "Come to me, all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light." Jesus approached the disaster of His life, His death orchestrated by the Scribes and Pharisees, with this attitude of humility and reliance on the Father--that led to His exoneration in the Resurrection from  the dead and our salvation, as willed by the Father. We, too, will rise to new life--experience our salvation in Christ Jesus--through life's disaster when we hold on to our belief in Jesus' power to save us in ways that transcend the physical realities.