Ezekiel Visionary Prophecy

Ezekiel 37:1-14
Matthew 22:34-40

Ezekiel visionary prophecy in today’s first reading was an arresting sight.. The prophet Ezekiel finds himself in a desert, filled with dry bones. Imagine a valley strewn with dry bones of God’s entire household of faith. Even more intriguing was the query God put to him. He is asked if they can be brought back to life! Can these bones live? It is a question that reverberates today. His answer comes from years of personal prayer and listening to God: he cannot but God can make it happen!

Do you ever feel spiritually dry? God works in mysterious ways in the wonders he performs! That may be the reason why spiritual dryness is not only a sign of God’s absence, but it could also be a sign of God’s purification. God invites us into a very special place, a desert, which at first glance, is filled with dry bones. But, in reality, it is filled with God’s promise of new life.

What connects our dry bones together is the Word of the Lord. For the Word of the Lord is Life!

In today’s Gospel Jesus sums up the whole law with two commandments: Love God with our whole heart, soul and mind, and love our neighbor as ourselves. Life and Love go hand in hand.

LAW AND LIFE

The two cardinal commandments of love Christ gives us today are the most important in life because it is only the lack of love that mandates us to formulate other laws to manage our affairs in the society. The evils in the world are due to the fact that there is a gross lack of love for God and neighbour. To reduce this evil, it begins with you and I to love God. This will make us happy and our environment too safer and cared for as God commanded at creation.

To love God and hate our neighbour is therefore a contradiction. If we love Him, we would be living in perfect harmony with one another just the way God intends for us. But, when we do not have love in our hearts, everything else in us and around us falls apart and the centre can no longer hold.

Thus, to end the corruption and evil ravaging our world, let us turn to Christ the new high priest who teaches us the right interpretation of the law as love. For without love, even the best law becomes harmful and most unjust to life.

LAW AND LOVE

True love does not care about provenance, or to know if the victims brought the harm upon themselves through their own fault or negligence. It doesn’t discriminate or judge. True love is practical and concrete. It doesn’t end with words but it translates into doing what is for the best good of our neighbour. Do you act so? More so, true love is unconditional. That is, it is as wide and as inclusive as God’s love who is always ready to do good for other’s sakes and not for His own sake not minding where they are from. This is the love taught us by God Himself in Christ who was willing to share in our condition and suffering in order to restore us to wholeness of life and happiness. Do we love as Christ loved us?

May the Lord instil in our hearts a true love for Him so that we can love our neighbours and together end the rebellion within us and our world that arises out of the lack of love. May we be drawn to imitate His manner of love for all and by faith may dry bones rise again. Amen.

Fr Osho
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This article is written by Rev Fr. Joseph Osho OSJ. Please visit his personal blog @ https://www.blogger.com/profile/10377666931103644634
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