Word to the Wise
Friday, February 26, 2010 - Friday in the First Week of Lent
[Ezekiel 18:21-28 and Matthew 5:20-26]You say, "The Lord's way is not fair!" Hear now, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair? When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die. But if the wicked, turning from the wickedness he has committed, does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life.....[Ezekiel]
Ezekiel has a way of "telling it like it is!" Scripture scholars tell us that this statement represents a change from collective responsibility or inherited responsibility to individual responsibility for moral decisions. Of course, DNA has a way of still making us pay for the sins of our ancestors and occasionally we suffer because of choices made long before we were born, but at least it isn't a matter of being held morally responsible for the sins of our parents - at least not by God! However, there's more to what Ezekiel is saying. Conversion is a lifetime process. The idea is to bring everyone to "virtue!" Indeed, earlier in the passage for today, Ezekiel quotes the Lord as saying, "Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked? says the Lord God. Do I not rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way that he may live?" Some folks just don't get the message till late in life and I have heard muttering about death bed "conversions" and "last minute repentance" from sour family and acquaintances! Jesus speaks of going after the lost single sheep out of 100. Should the 99 others be resentful? Those who derive some secret satisfaction from a belief that some are going to heaven and some are not (Guess which group such believers consider themselves to be in!) are missing the point entirely. The good life of a dedicated Christian requires an effort of conversion over a lifetime. That lifetime can be a tremendous way of preaching the gospel to those whose lives are far from "virtue." It is a matter of life and death. The loss of a good person to bad decisions is hard, but the Lord reminds us that it is possible. The main task is to bring everyone to conversion and a smile to Ezekiel's often frowning face! AMEN
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