Reading 1
Ez 16:1-15, 60, 63
The word of the LORD came to me:
Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations.
Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem:
By origin and birth you are of the land of Canaan;
your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.
As for your birth, the day you were born your navel cord was not cut;
you were neither washed with water nor anointed,
nor were you rubbed with salt, nor swathed in swaddling clothes.
No one looked on you with pity or compassion
to do any of these things for you.
Rather, you were thrown out on the ground as something loathsome,
the day you were born.
Then I passed by and saw you weltering in your blood.
I said to you: Live in your blood and grow like a plant in the field.
You grew and developed, you came to the age of puberty;
your breasts were formed, your hair had grown,
but you were still stark naked.
Again I passed by you and saw that you were now old enough for love.
So I spread the corner of my cloak over you to cover your nakedness;
I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you;
you became mine, says the Lord GOD.
Then I bathed you with water, washed away your blood,
and anointed you with oil.
I clothed you with an embroidered gown,
put sandals of fine leather on your feet;
I gave you a fine linen sash and silk robes to wear.
I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms,
a necklace about your neck, a ring in your nose,
pendants in your ears, and a glorious diadem upon your head.
Thus you were adorned with gold and silver;
your garments were of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth.
Fine flour, honey, and oil were your food.
You were exceedingly beautiful, with the dignity of a queen.
You were renowned among the nations for your beauty, perfect as it was,
because of my splendor which I had bestowed on you,
says the Lord GOD.
But you were captivated by your own beauty,
you used your renown to make yourself a harlot,
and you lavished your harlotry on every passer-by,
whose own you became.
Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were a girl,
and I will set up an everlasting covenant with you,
that you may remember and be covered with confusion,
and that you may be utterly silenced for shame
when I pardon you for all you have done, says the Lord GOD.
Gospel
Mt 19:3-12
Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying,
“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?”
He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning
the Creator made them male and female and said,
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?
So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate.”
They said to him, “Then why did Moses command
that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?”
He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts
Moses allowed you to divorce your wives,
but from the beginning it was not so.
I say to you, whoever divorces his wife
(unless the marriage is unlawful)
and marries another commits adultery.”
His disciples said to him,
“If that is the case of a man with his wife,
it is better not to marry.”
He answered, “Not all can accept this word,
but only those to whom that is granted.
Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so;
some, because they were made so by others;
some, because they have renounced marriage
for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.”
Meditation: Ezekiel 16:1-15,60,63
“The word of the Lord came to me…” (Ezekiel 16:1)
What confidence Ezekiel must have had! In chapter after chapter, he introduces his prophecies with this bold statement. But how could Ezekiel be certain that God was really speaking to him? How could he tell it was a true prophecy and not just the result of a fertile imagination? How could he discern between his thoughts and God’s thoughts? In truth, how can any of us know for sure that God is speaking to us?
There is a long answer and a short answer to this question. The long answer is that we may never know for sure what comes from us and what comes from God. Sometimes it is just too hard to tell the difference. But we can always be confident that if the words we are hearing and sharing bring comfort, hope, and the challenge of deeper faith, then God must be behind them somehow. All we need to do is keep pursuing them and know that God’s word is getting out—no matter what its form or shape!
As for the short answer: Practice! It takes time to hear God’s voice. It takes experimenting with the words you think you are receiving in prayer—testing them against the truths of the gospel and the teachings of the church. And it takes courage to step out in faith and share these words with others to see what kind of fruit they bear. Surely Ezekiel did all of that as he tried to make sense of his spiritual experiences!
Whether we feel confident or shaky in our ability to hear God’s voice, it is vital that we slow down and take time to listen in prayer, to ponder Scripture, and to meditate on the church’s teachings. That’s the only way we’ll get to know God’s word and learn the best way to share it with the people in our lives. We should never doubt that God has called us to proclaim his word, whether it be through words spoken, kindnesses offered, or a life lived in humility, faith, and love.
“Lord, open my ears so that I may truly hear you. Help me to be still and listen, so that I can become a bearer of your word to the people you put in my path.”
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