Take Not the Grace of God for Granted (Saturday, Lent 5)

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I hope we have not forgotten that Prophet Ezekiel prophesied during the exilic period of the Israelite history. And one thing that chiefly characterized the prophecy of this period is hope and optimism that God is going to restore what has been ruined.

 

In Ezek. 37:21-28, Prophet Ezekiel foresaw the restoration, reconciliation with God and the reinstatement of the people of Israel in their own land: “Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from the nations they have gone… and bring them to their own land” (cf. Ezek. 37:21). Now, when I think about the prophecies of hope and God’s imminent salvation and restoration, I remember seeing a picture of a group of happy people on board in a ship, facing an imminent shipwreck (the ship was about to capsize). And I asked myself: Why were they happy in the face of imminent disaster? When I looked at the picture again, I saw a lifeboat approaching the sinking ship. I then understood why they were joyful. The people were happy because there is hope. That is the feeling that Ezekiel was trying to inject into the people of Israel. He made it clear to them that all hope was not lost; that there was a lifeboat coming to convey them to safe haven. And that’s why Prophet Jeremiah prophesied that “God would turn their mourning into joy, comfort them and give them gladness for sorrow” (cf. Jer. 31:13).


In a similar way, our joy and loyalty to Christ should take on a more heightened pitch because we have also been reconciled and reinstated into grace by the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ. By His death and resurrection, Christ had gathered us from the exile of sin and reunited us in the family of God to which we belong. And that is why the High priest, Caiaphas, prophesied that Jesus would die for all and gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad (Jn. 11:52). Why shouldn’t we then be happy? Even though it appears as if all hope is lost, there is still a reason for us to rejoice.


Through His death and resurrection, Christ has reconciled us to God and to one another. This is what He did many years ago, and is still doing in our times as we re-enact the mystery of our salvation. But the sad news is that many of us have taken this great act of salvation for granted. We still find pleasure in sin and infidelity. Does it mean that we don’t understand or can't appreciate what God has done for us through Christ?


Prayer:

Lord Jesus, help us understand, assimilate, appreciate and reciprocate the height and depth of what have you done for us, Amen!


We thank God for a fruitful 40-Day Lenten journey which will end tomorrow and we pray for a more fruitful journey into the Holy Week, Amen!



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