Word to the Wise
Friday, February 19, 2016 - 1st Week of Lent - Fri
[Ezek 18:21-28 and Matt 5:20-26,302]FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2016 FRIDAY IN THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT [Ezekiel 18:21-28 and Mathew 5:20-26] "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?" [Ezekiel] This passage from Ezekiel (read the whole thing) represents a change in the thinking of the Old Testament up to that time. Earlier belief was that the sins of ancestors were visited on their descendants for many generations. (Sometimes this can be true, but not because of God!). Ezekiel makes it clear that each person is responsible for his own decisions, and it is no excuse to say, "Well, I used to be good, doesn't that count?" Ezekiel also makes it clear that we have a responsibility to warn others who are taking a wrong path. (This is harder to do!). Ezekiel considers this responsibility to be very serious and those who fail to make that effort will be held to account. Individual responsibility for individual acts sounds very "western" because of our very individualistic cultural character. Most of us would nod positively to that. However, it is the process of warning others or taking others' warnings seriously that might bother us. That means we must care for someone or hear someone's advice. Lent offers us an opportunity to listen to Ezekiel and think about the times we could have spoken up and were too afraid, or the times when we should have listened and learn a lesson from both. AMEN
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