NO PLEASURE IN DEATH (39 OF 52)
Scripture: Ezekiel 33:7-11
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No Pleasure in Death (39 of 52)
Series: Lectionary, Year A
Christopher B. Harbin
Ezekiel 33:7-11
We like to talk about others being violent. We discuss urban violence as an issue of another's sin. We discuss the seemingly endless conflict in the Middle East as a moral blight based on the otherness of the actors in that far away place. We discuss corruption and oppression in other nations and cultures as though our own hands and history bear none of the stains. When Jesus talked about seeing the speck in the eye of another while there is a log in one's own eye, he reminds us that we often rush to make ourselves feel better by tearing another down. That is an act of violence that dissociates us from those we cast as ''other.'' Meanwhile, we are called to love one another without distinction. Why, then, do we seek to tear others down, taking pleasure in the suffering of others? Such is not of God.
I repeatedly hear claims that God is presented in the Hebrew Scriptures as wrathful and vengeful. As I read those Scriptures, however, I find something very different. Sure, they tell of wars, torture, and revenge killings. This does not mean those stories reflect the character and will of Yahweh in every instance. Often as not, they are a call for our reflection. The Scriptures call us to follow a different path of living that eschews violence. The prophets spoke repeatedly of Yahweh being long-suffering and merciful with a people in desperate need of repentance. Should it really be any surprise to find Ezekiel telling us that Yahweh has no pleasure in bringing about death?
Today's passage presents one of those passages we often read from the perspective of Yahweh as a violent deity. We read Ezekiel's words from our echo chamber, expecting Yahweh to have violent attitudes toward the wicked, ungodly, and all those we deem unworthy of grace. Those who in our eyes deserve punishment are the target of Yahweh's words. They are the ones who have sinned and we greet ...
Series: Lectionary, Year A
Christopher B. Harbin
Ezekiel 33:7-11
We like to talk about others being violent. We discuss urban violence as an issue of another's sin. We discuss the seemingly endless conflict in the Middle East as a moral blight based on the otherness of the actors in that far away place. We discuss corruption and oppression in other nations and cultures as though our own hands and history bear none of the stains. When Jesus talked about seeing the speck in the eye of another while there is a log in one's own eye, he reminds us that we often rush to make ourselves feel better by tearing another down. That is an act of violence that dissociates us from those we cast as ''other.'' Meanwhile, we are called to love one another without distinction. Why, then, do we seek to tear others down, taking pleasure in the suffering of others? Such is not of God.
I repeatedly hear claims that God is presented in the Hebrew Scriptures as wrathful and vengeful. As I read those Scriptures, however, I find something very different. Sure, they tell of wars, torture, and revenge killings. This does not mean those stories reflect the character and will of Yahweh in every instance. Often as not, they are a call for our reflection. The Scriptures call us to follow a different path of living that eschews violence. The prophets spoke repeatedly of Yahweh being long-suffering and merciful with a people in desperate need of repentance. Should it really be any surprise to find Ezekiel telling us that Yahweh has no pleasure in bringing about death?
Today's passage presents one of those passages we often read from the perspective of Yahweh as a violent deity. We read Ezekiel's words from our echo chamber, expecting Yahweh to have violent attitudes toward the wicked, ungodly, and all those we deem unworthy of grace. Those who in our eyes deserve punishment are the target of Yahweh's words. They are the ones who have sinned and we greet ...
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