Born to love

 

Friday 21 August 2020

Born to love 

First reading

Ezekiel 37:1-14

A vision of Israel's death and resurrection

The hand of the Lord was laid on me, and he carried me away by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley, a valley full of bones. He made me walk up and down among them. There were vast quantities of these bones on the ground the whole length of the valley; and they were quite dried up. He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ I said, ‘You know, Lord.’ He said, ‘Prophesy over these bones. Say, “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. The Lord says this to these bones: I am now going to make the breath enter you, and you will live. I shall put sinews on you, I shall make flesh grow on you, I shall cover you with skin and give you breath, and you will live; and you will learn that I am the Lord.”’ I prophesied as I had been ordered. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a sound of clattering; and the bones joined together. I looked, and saw that they were covered with sinews; flesh was growing on them and skin was covering them, but there was no breath in them. He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man. Say to the breath, “The Lord says this: Come from the four winds, breath; breathe on these dead; let them live!”’ I prophesied as he had ordered me, and the breath entered them; they came to life again and stood up on their feet, a great, an immense army.

Then he said, ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole House of Israel. They keep saying, “Our bones are dried up, our hope has gone; we are as good as dead.” So prophesy. Say to them, “The Lord says this: I am now going to open your graves; I mean to raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of Israel. And you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. And I shall put my spirit in you, and you will live, and I shall resettle you on your own soil; and you will know that I, the Lord, have said and done this – it is the Lord who speaks.”’ THE WORD OF THE LORD

 

Prayerful reflection

In Baptism we share in the prophetic mission of Jesus Christ. He is the Prophet and the one made part of him by Baptism is his living icon in the world. This union must be real. We must live in and with him so that he can act through us. In this life, we can never become close enough to Jesus. The closer we are to him, the more he can use us. Through .us he can speak his powerful Word.

Ezekiel speaks over the exiles in Babylon who thought they were spiritually dead and with were without hope. The powerful Word of God can recreate anyone.

The Word of God spoken by his prophet today can bring people to life again spiritually. It is the Word of God that is all-powerful, not the prophet’s. But the prophet must be in Christ and the hand of Christ must be on him. When such a prophet speaks God’s Word, then the power of God, as of a new Pentecost, will transform the hearer. Nothing can stand in the way of God’s Word, not even the death of sin. For this to happen, both prophet and the one over whom he prophecies must surrender to God. It is God who acts.

Are you baptised? Become one with Christ, so that he can use you to save the world.

 

 

Psalm

Psalm 106(107):2-9

O give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.

Let them say this, the Lord’s redeemed,

whom he redeemed from the hand of the foe

and gathered from far-off lands,

from east and west, north and south.

O give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.

Some wandered in the desert, in the wilderness,

finding no way to a city they could dwell in.

Hungry they were and thirsty;

their soul was fainting within them.

O give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.

Then they cried to the Lord in their need

and he rescued them from their distress

and he led them along the right way,

to reach a city they could dwell in.

O give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.

Let them thank the Lord for his love,

for the wonders he does for men:

for he satisfies the thirsty soul;

he fills the hungry with good things.

O give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.

 

 

Gospel

Matthew 22:34-40

The commandments of love

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question, ‘Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?’ Jesus said, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.’ THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD

Prayerful reflection

This question was much discussed at the time. To embarrass this village preacher, a learned Pharisee asked him which of all the commandments in the Bible was most important. With the wisdom of God, Jesus goes directly to the heart of the matter. It is to love. God created us for love. Love resides in our heart but it shows itself in every word and action. Love see the infinite value of each individual. Pure love seeks for no reward but the happiness of the receiver – be it of a helpless child, or feeble old person, of an alcoholic or paralytic. Love reveals itself by the giving of our self for others. If we are like God, there will be no limit to our giving, even to the point of death on a cross.