THE LORD SPEAKS
Lent is a good time to reframe the questions we face, and with the help
of prayer and Scripture, find just and life-giving solutions.
In today's first
reading, the Lord speaks to Ezekiel and tells him to announce to Israel their
exile has come to an end in all places. God says there will be one nation now,
and they will not worship any foreign gods. They will dwell on the land that
had been given to Jacob; they will be a people ruled over by David. They will
enjoy peace forever and be multiplied, and God will put His sanctuary in their
midst for all time. "I will be their
God, and they shall be My people" (Ez 37:27). These are very uplifting
words for us, as readers!
The Responsorial
Psalm is taken from the Book of Jeremiah and is addressed to the nations,
calling them to witness the return of God's people to their homeland. "Shouting, they shall mount the heights
of Zion, they shall come streaming to the Lord's blessings: The grain, the
wine, and the oil, the sheep and the oxen" (Jer 31:12).
People often ask
why the religious leaders didn't believe Jesus. A Gospel story gives us one
explanation; to do so would have brought destruction down on them from the
Romans. The empire tolerated the Jewish religion, but they weren't going to
allow a new religion. So, for the leaders, it was either eliminate Jesus or
lose the nation. This was not a win-win! Isn't it sad that the chief priests
and the Pharisees were blind to the blessing present to them in the Person of
Jesus! Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and they were fearful that the
people would follow this Messiah, Jesus, rather than themselves. All that the
chief priest, Caiaphas, can suggest is to kill Jesus "so that the whole
nation may not perish" (Jn 11:50).
As we reflect on
these readings before the start of Holy Week, what impossible situations have
presented themselves to you and me? Lent is a good time to reframe the
questions we face, and with the help of prayer and Scripture, find just and
life-giving solutions. And, we can recall the consoling words of God, "I
will turn their mourning into joy, I will console and gladden them after their
sorrows" (Jer 31:13b).