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Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church Ezekiel 36:23–28
The destruction of Jerusalem did not affect only Israel.
It also touched the name of the Lord.
In the ancient world, people believed that the gods of a nation rose and fell with that nation.
If a nation was defeated, its god was thought to be weak.
So when Jerusalem fell,
when the temple was burned,
when the people were taken into exile,
the Babylonians could boast that their gods were stronger than the God of Israel.
But the Lord says that He will act for the holiness of His name.
He will bring His people back.
But He will do more than restore a land.
He will restore a people.
He will recreate them from within.
Today’s reading gives us three great promises:
clean water,
a new heart,
and a new spirit.
First, the Lord says:
“I will sprinkle clean water upon you.”
Ezekiel was a priest.
He knew the importance of purification.
Water cleansed the body and restored people to worship.
But the Lord promises something deeper.
He will cleanse His people from all their impurities and from all their idols.
This prepares us for baptism.
In baptism, water is no longer only a sign of outer cleansing.
It becomes the sacramental sign of new life in Christ.
Then the Lord says:
“I will give you a new heart.”
In the Bible, the heart is not only the place of feelings.
It is the center of thought,
desire,
choice,
and action.
And the human heart is often sick.
Hard.
Divided.
Deceptive.
A heart of stone cannot love God freely.
A heart of stone cannot obey with joy.
A heart of stone cannot become holy by its own strength.
So God promises not only correction,
but transformation.
He will remove the heart of stone
and give a heart of flesh.
A heart that can listen.
A heart that can repent.
A heart that can love.
Finally, the Lord says:
“I will put my spirit within you.”
At creation, God breathed the breath of life into the human being.
Now He promises a new breath,
a new Spirit,
a new power of life within His people.
This promise is fulfilled at Pentecost.
The risen Christ gives the Holy Spirit to His disciples.
Fear becomes courage.
Confusion becomes witness.
Closed hearts become a community of love.
This same Spirit has been given to us in baptism and confirmation.
He is not far away.
He is the breath of God within us.
The Catechism reminds us that conversion is first of all a work of grace.
We do not create our own new heart.
God gives it.
And He gives it when we look upon the Crucified Christ
and discover how deeply we are loved.
Biblical Reflections on the Gospel of Matthew
Scripture Attribution
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition,
copyright © 1989, 1993
the Division of Christian Education of the National Council
of the Churches of
Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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