Daily Retreat 08/18/08
2008 Aug 18 Mon: Ordinary Weekday/ Jane Frances de Chantal, mw, rf
Ez 24: 15-23/ Dt 32: 18-19. 20. 21/ Mt 19: 16-22
From today’s readings: “ Ezekiel shall be a sign for you: all that he did you shall do when it happens.... You have forgotten God who gave you birth.... If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
Not Mourning
Ezekiel was forbidden to mourn his wife after her sudden death. What a cold command from God that seems! And yet, the shocking command was intended to shake out the exiles’ callousness and put in place another essential illustrative and prophetic action whereby Ezekiel proclaims to the people the word of the Lord.
This much is explained: Ezekiel’s lack of mourning for the death of his wife, “the delight of [his] eyes,” parallels the exiles’ forthcoming lack of mourning for the destruction of God’s Temple and the fall of Jerusalem, “the delight of [their] eyes.” Since returning to Jerusalem would have been the exiles’ dearest hope, the destruction of the city would have been the worst blow possible. What then could have prevented them from mourning over such a catastrophe?
Three possibilities come to mind: first, they may have been simply forbidden by their precarious status as exiles in Babylon from displaying any public distress at the Babylonian victory which assured the destruction of Jerusalem. Second, since the preceding chapter detailed the horrific extent of Jerusalem’s sinfulness, perhaps the exiles were not to mourn because the city’s destruction was the just and inevitable retribution for its iniquities. Third, the guilt of the exiles themselves (mentioned in the reading) implicated them too in the destruction, so it would have been hypocritical for them to mourn (or, conversely, it may have made them too preoccupied with themselves to be concerned about others at all). Whatever combination of these and other factors were at play in preventing the exiles from mourning the great tragedy, Ezekiel’s symbolic actions illustrative the poignancy of the exiles’ plight.
Ez 24: 15-23/ Dt 32: 18-19. 20. 21/ Mt 19: 16-22
From today’s readings: “ Ezekiel shall be a sign for you: all that he did you shall do when it happens.... You have forgotten God who gave you birth.... If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
Not Mourning
Ezekiel was forbidden to mourn his wife after her sudden death. What a cold command from God that seems! And yet, the shocking command was intended to shake out the exiles’ callousness and put in place another essential illustrative and prophetic action whereby Ezekiel proclaims to the people the word of the Lord.
This much is explained: Ezekiel’s lack of mourning for the death of his wife, “the delight of [his] eyes,” parallels the exiles’ forthcoming lack of mourning for the destruction of God’s Temple and the fall of Jerusalem, “the delight of [their] eyes.” Since returning to Jerusalem would have been the exiles’ dearest hope, the destruction of the city would have been the worst blow possible. What then could have prevented them from mourning over such a catastrophe?
Three possibilities come to mind: first, they may have been simply forbidden by their precarious status as exiles in Babylon from displaying any public distress at the Babylonian victory which assured the destruction of Jerusalem. Second, since the preceding chapter detailed the horrific extent of Jerusalem’s sinfulness, perhaps the exiles were not to mourn because the city’s destruction was the just and inevitable retribution for its iniquities. Third, the guilt of the exiles themselves (mentioned in the reading) implicated them too in the destruction, so it would have been hypocritical for them to mourn (or, conversely, it may have made them too preoccupied with themselves to be concerned about others at all). Whatever combination of these and other factors were at play in preventing the exiles from mourning the great tragedy, Ezekiel’s symbolic actions illustrative the poignancy of the exiles’ plight.
posted by FrPitstick | 8/16/2008
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