A New Badge of Identity (Thursday, Week 20, Year 2, St Bernard)

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To “gather” is to “restore” what might have been scattered. Whenever Israel is described as “having been scattered among the nations”, it is a clear pointer to the fact that Israel has distanced herself from God; or that Israel has been unfaithful or has broken the covenant. God speaks though Ezekiel (36:23-28) that “He would gather Israel from all the nations, bring them into their land, sprinkle clean water upon them, cleanse them from all uncleannesses, give them a new heart and a new spirit and take out of their flesh the heart of stone”. In this one swoop of in-gathering, we see a clear divine project of renewal, restoration, cleansing and transformation. After the gathering and subsequent cleansing, a new heart and a new spirit would be given. It will serve as a new badge of identity. All the gathering, cleansing and restoration must lead to the acquisition of a new heart and a new spirit without which one can’t be identified as belonging to God's camp.

In the gospel (Matthew 22:1-14), Jesus told a story of a king who embarked on a similar project of inviting and gathering people into the marriage banquet hall. Some who were invited declined to come while so many others honored the invitation. But to accept to be part of the banquet is to accept to change into a new garment – the wedding garment. On account of this, a certain man was thrown out of the banquet hall: he was not wearing the wedding garment. The wedding garment was like a new badge of identity for those in the banquet hall. 

As Christians, we are all like the invited guests into the great marriage feast of heaven. There is a wedding garment, a badge of identity which we can’t do or go without: a new heart and a new spirit. With the help of God and with the available means of sanctification and salvation, let us continue to cultivate a new spirit and a new heart so that we can qualify as bonafide occupants of the banquet hall on the last day.

St Bernard of Clairvaux, whose memorial we celebrate today, was a man filled with zeal for restoring peace and unity when there were severe divisions in the church. He was in the real business of forming new hearts and new spirits so that people of diverse minds and divided hearts could be gathered or brought together into a united body. Even as we daily submit our hearts for restoration, renewal and transformation, just as Bernard let us do all that we can to restore, renew and transform hearts and strive to foster unity wherever we find ourselves.     

   

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