14 June 201511th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Scriptures weave together God's teaching through both testaments of the Bible.
In the words of Benedictine Michael Casey, the mystery of Jesus
“shimmers through” many of the verses of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). Today’s brief reading from Ezekiel
illuminates this truth.
This sixth century (BC) priest and
prophet often painted his picture of a restored Jerusalem in allegorical and
poetic terms. His people were in the
throes of exile and could only cling to the hope of new life, renewed worship
and a rebuilt temple. Ezekiel appealed
to the depths of their pain-filled hearts and to the vision of restoration
these hearts carried. If we listen carefully to today’s passage we can hear the deepest hopes of humankind, which find answers in the preaching of Jesus. We see glimmers of a new kingdom and the hope of a renewed
people. Like many of his fellow
prophets, Ezekiel looked to the future with hope and faith; a faith which ultimately is fulfilled in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The prophet tells us in today's reading that the
Lord will take a tender shoot from the topmost branches of the “crest of the
cedar” (House of David). Do we not experience Jesus as the pinnacle of the line of David? Ezekiel continues this image of a shoot being planted
by the Lord upon a high and lofty mountain, and elsewhere in Scripture the mountain of the Lord (Jerusalem) is envisioned as the highest
mountain to which all nations would stream, in hopes of a community that worships
God in truth. Ezekiel continues, noting
that the tree planted upon this lofty mountain shall put forth abundant
branches and fruit. Might Jesus’ reflections on the vine and branches given in the Gospel of John have
sprouted from this Old Testament text? Finally, Ezekiel points out that the Lord
will bring low the high tree and lift high the lowly tree. This sounds like
Mary’s words in the Magnificat and reflects a favorite biblical theme, which
culminates in Jesus, the “lowliest” criminal lifted high on the cross and raised from the dead?
Ezekiel, the priest-prophet, carefully crafted
words that offered a vision of hope not only to a downtrodden nation in exile but to people
of ages to come.
The author, Ms. Barbara Gawle, leads Bible studies at her parish, Incarnation Church of Wethersfield, CT. She is a CBS graduate and the 2012 recipient of the Biblical School's highest award, the Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal.
