Word to the Wise
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 - Tuesday in the 19th Week in Ordinary Time
[Ezek 2:8-3:4 and Matt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14]It was then I saw a hand stretched out to me, in which was a written scroll which he unrolled before me. It was covered with writing front and back, and written on it was: lamentation and wailing and woe! He said to me: Son of man, eat what is before you; eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel.
I once gave my father a small plaque with the prayer on it that said, "Lord, let my words be gracious and tender today, because tomorrow I may have to eat them!" I suppose the origin of the expression - to eat one's words - may be found in Ezekiel's vision, but Ezekeil has to eat his words before he can even say them! The Lord commands him to literally eat a scroll of bitter prophecy, even though the scroll tasted good to the prophet! Unlike the popular expression, Ezekiel will not be "taking back" anything he says because the words come from God.
The fate of the proophet is to be convinced that the words he or she must speaks will not likely be acceptable to the audience. If everything is right in a society, the proophet is out of work! We know, however, that even in our own times, things are not "right." The secular agenda of consumer appetites, financial greed and power is much like the agendas we see Ezekiel and the other biblical prophets denouncing. Are we afraid to speak out because we worry that we may be forced "to eat our words?" AMEN
config
view
logs
3840.0 KB
132 ms
4
