The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary resonate with our experiences of loss, lifelessness, and loneliness.
The reading from the Prophet Ezekiel is the Vision of the Dry Bones.
* [37:1–14] This account is a figurative description of God’s creation of a new Israel. Even though that creation begins with the remains of the old Israel, the exiles under the image of dry bones, depicting a totally hopeless situation, the new Israel is radically different: it is an ideal people, shaped by God’s spirit to live the covenant faithfully, something the old Israel, exiles included, were unable to do. While this passage in its present context is not about the doctrine of individual or communal resurrection, many Jewish and Christian commentators suggest that the doctrine is foreshadowed here. (Ezekiel 37, n.d.)
Psalm 107 is a thanksgiving for deliverance from many troubles.
* [Psalm 107] A hymn inviting those who have been rescued by God to give praise (Ps 107:1–3). Four archetypal divine rescues are described, each ending in thanksgiving: from the sterile desert (Ps 107:4–9), from imprisonment in gloom (Ps 107:10–16), from mortal illness (Ps 107:17–22), and from the angry sea (Ps 107:23–32). The number four connotes totality, all the possible varieties of rescue. The same saving activity of God is shown in Israel’s history (Ps 107:33–41); whenever the people were endangered God rescued them. The last verses invite people to ponder the persistent saving acts of God (Ps 107:42–43). (Psalms, PSALM 107, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus identifies the Greatest Commandment.
* [22:34–40] The Marcan parallel (Mk 12:28–34) is an exchange between Jesus and a scribe who is impressed by the way in which Jesus has conducted himself in the previous controversy (Mk 12:28), who compliments him for the answer he gives him (Mk 12:32), and who is said by Jesus to be “not far from the kingdom of God” (Mk 12:34). Matthew has sharpened that scene. The questioner, as the representative of other Pharisees, tests Jesus by his question (Mt 22:34–35), and both his reaction to Jesus’ reply and Jesus’ commendation of him are lacking. (Matthew, CHAPTER 22, n.d.)
Tamora Whitney comments on how Jesus says the whole law depends on these two commandments.
Put God first, and treat all others fairly and decently. How great would our world be if people actually did this? No crime, no discrimination, no greed. I don’t even understand how some people can be so cruel, so selfish, advancing their own interests even at the expense of others. But that is not how it is supposed to be. If people would love God and each other, that’s all we need. (Creighton U. Daily Reflection, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Loving God with heart, mind, and soul,” by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD).
"Worthy is he, confirmed in all his gifts, who exults in the wisdom of God, having a heart full of the love of God, and a soul completely enlightened by the lamp of knowledge and a mind filled with the word of God. It follows then that all such gifts truly come from God. He would understand that all the law and the prophets are in some way a part of the wisdom and knowledge of God. He would understand that all the law and the prophets depend upon and adhere to the principle of the love of the Lord God and of neighbor and that the perfection of piety consists in love." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 13) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Ezekiel 37:1-14 reminds us that the Hebrew word for breath, wind, and spirit is the same? It’s ruach. Like oxygen, the breath of God is fundamental to our existence. We see this in the opening verses of Scripture, when the Spirit of God hovers over the waters (Genesis 1:2). In the New Testament, after Jesus rises from the dead, he breathes the Spirit into his disciples and sends them out to proclaim the gospel (John 20:21-22). With the Holy Spirit working through them, the disciples evangelized and spread the good news around the world.
You may be feeling like those dry bones in Ezekiel’s vision, “lost” and “cut off” from God (37:11). Or maybe you are struggling with disappointment or weariness and feel as if you’re running out of air. If so, know that he is always there, ready to revive and refresh you again and again.
And you don’t even have to wait until you’re completely depleted! Every day—every moment of every day—you can ask the Spirit to come and fill you with his life-giving power and grace.
As you pray today, take a deep, deep breath. Imagine that the Holy Spirit is filling you in the same way that air is filling your lungs. Keep asking him to fill you. We all need the breath of God. We can’t survive without it, and it is his delight to fill us.
“Holy Spirit, come and fill me today!” (Meditation on Ezekiel 37:1-14, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler connects the vision of Ezekiel in a Zoroaster cemetery to a foreshadowing of the resurrection of the dead. The people of Israel developed communal and individual resurrection from the concept of sheol as a holding tank. Friar Jude reminds us of the connection of the Great Commandment to our intellect, persecution and consciousness. and strength or possessions.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that we seldom go freely into the belly of the beast. Unless we face a major disaster such as the death of a friend, child, or spouse or the loss of a marriage or career, we usually will not go there. As a culture, we have to be taught the language of descent because we are, by training, capitalists and accumulators. Mature religion shows us how to enter willingly and trustingly into difficult periods of life. These hard passages are good teachers.
We would prefer clear and easy answers, but questions offer the greatest potential for opening us to transformation. We try to change events in order to avoid changing ourselves. We must learn to stay with the pain of life, without answers, without conclusions, and some days without meaning. That is the perilous hidden path of contemplative prayer. Grace leads us to the state of emptiness—to a momentary sense of meaninglessness—in which we ask, “What is it all for?” The spaciousness within the question allows Love to fill and enliven us. (Rohr, n.d.)
We seek to be open to the prompting of the Spirit that leads through difficult times of less fullness of life to restoration and renewal in love of God and neighbour.
References
Creighton U. Daily Reflection. (n.d.). Online Ministries. Retrieved August 19, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/081922.html
Ezekiel 37. (n.d.). Ezekiel Chapter 37 USCCB. Retrieved August 19, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ezekiel/37?1
Matthew, CHAPTER 22. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 19, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/22?34
Meditation on Ezekiel 37:1-14. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 19, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/08/19/471422/
Psalms, PSALM 107. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 19, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/107?2
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 19, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-sign-of-jonah-2022-08-19/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). What Is the Greatest Rule of Life? Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 19, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=aug19
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