The
following Homily was given by Fr. Herbert Nicholls at the Mother of the Light
Convent
Little is
known historically about Isaiah, but what we know indicates that he was one of
the greatest men of his time, respected by men and by God. Tradition tells us
that he was from a noble family of some rank, which might explain his easy
access to the King. In his 40 years of ministry, 740-770BC, he actually served
during the reign of four kings of Judah.
Because of
this man’s greatness it might be difficult for us to relate to him, but his
success was primarily a fruit of his faithfulness to the will of God. When God
called him, he had an overwhelming sense of his own sinfulness. When God revealed
His will for Isaiah, the prophet pursued God’s plan with determination.
He started
where we must start. He admitted his sins and turned to God for deliverance and
he confronted the people with their sins. It is never easy to face the truth,
but truth brings healing. God spoke through Isaiah to address their denial.
Over the
centuries they had developed self-destructive patterns of behavior that
included oppression of the poor, accepting bribes, and lying in order to get
what they want. Today, most of us would likewise think of these insignificant
sins, perhaps some that we might commit without consciousness.
Although
repeatedly confronted by Isaiah, proclaiming the word of God as a warning, the
people steadfastly refused to confess their sins, rather blaming God for their
misfortunes and sufferings. Has the world really changed in all these
centuries?
God told the
people through Isaiah that He would deliver them from Exile as had happened to
the Northern Kingdom, Israel. But they trusted in God only superficially and
thought to save themselves through clever political alliances, first with
Assyria and then with Egypt.
The second
part of Isaiah (chapters 40-66) is dominated by a message of hope. In spite of
the people’s unworthiness God promised that after some time He would lead the
people out of captivity in Babylon. Isaiah foretold the miracles and the
salvation merited in the Suffering Servant.
Through the
words of Isaiah we discover that God’s ultimate purpose for His people is
always blessing and recovery.
The message of
Ezekiel is similar but perhaps even darker. Discouragement, despair,
disillusionment are just a trio of the feelings experienced by the people of
Judah during the ministry of Ezekiel. His preaching was later than Isaiah, in
fact it was to the Judeans who had not listened and now found themselves as
exiles in Babylon.
The people
clung to a frayed hope because Jerusalem had not yet been destroyed. The temple
had not been overrun. And they assumed that God’s presence in the Temple would
spare the Holy City. Would we be convinced that the presence of the Eucharist
in the Tabernacle would save the Church and the people from a nuclear attack?
They were still deceiving themselves. They failed to realize their sinfulness,
and that all sins have consequences.
We also know
little of the personal history of Ezekiel. He was about 30 when he began to
prophesy God’s word. Five years later he was taken into captivity with his
fellow Jews.
The name
“Ezekiel” means “God strengthens”, a name appropriate to the man and to his
message. For Ezekiel needed the strength of God to proclaim a message of
judgment for those who refused to hear it; but also a message of strengthening
hope and love following the destruction of the Temple and the Holy City of
Jerusalem.
Is the world
today listening to Pope Francis and his call for peace in Jerusalem, Palestine
and the whole Middle East? Why is it that through the centuries we continue to
repeat the same sinful attitudes not recognizing that we are all children of
God?
God has been
trying to tell us, to warn us, that we are sinners, and that He has come to
save us from sin. We need to listen and repent because sin has consequences. We
would be wise to heed these warnings. We would be wise to confess our sins.
Denial leads to suffering and destruction.
If we have
been broken by our failures, and confess them than the words of comfort spoken
by Ezekiel are meant for us, unless we continue to hide in the darkness of
denial. God can rebuild our lives, like the Temple, no matter how broken we
are.
Through
Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones, gathering and coming to life, the exiled Jews
received hope for a new life. God would do the impossible. He would lead his
children back home and rebuild his nation/church from a state of total ruin.
I think many
still do not understand how Pope Francis understands his prophetic ministry to
call together the exiled –whether it be divorced or remarried, lesbian, gay,
bi, or trans-gendered; whether we be Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, or
Four-Square Pentecostal, whether we consider ourselves Christian, Jew or
Moslem, Oriental, or even atheist. God is telling is that we are all His
children. Isaiah and Ezekiel invite us today to come home to Him!
