Monday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
(Ezra 1:1-6; Luke 8:16-18)
The Book of Ezra, from which the first reading is taken, narrates
a new beginning for Israel. The people
of Jerusalem have been living in their Babylonian exile for fifty years. Now Cyrus, Babylonia’s Persian conqueror,
decrees their release. The people will
return to their homeland helped by their Babylonian neighbors. Once there, Ezra will call the people to
faithfulness to the Lord through keeping the Law which he copied.
The story echoes Israel’s release from slavery in
Egypt. Pharoh, under duress, issued a
similar proclamation sending the people home.
As the Babylonians give the Israelites gold to rebuild the temple, the Egyptians
gave their ancestors gold which was used for the Ark of the Covenant. On their Moses will exhort the people to obey
the Law God gives them.
Christ’s resurrection from the dead will become the
definitive new beginning of Israel. He
will send us, the new Israel, to our true home of heaven. He will also bestow on us a gift better than
gold, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit will build
up the Church on the outside, also fill our hearts with Christ’s New Law of love.
