Tuesday of the
Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Ezekiel 2:8-3:4; Matthew 18:1-5.10.12-14)
A Protestant businessman once told a priest that he had
the best job in the world. Used to be
told that priests were overworked, the father was wondering what the
businessman had in mind. Then the man
explained himself. He said that not
everyone has the benefit of having to study the word of God like ministers
do. He had it just about right. Priests are privileged by being called upon
to study and preach the word of God.
Ezekiel expresses this thought in today’s first reading.
Ezekiel is given a directive to eat the scroll; that is,
he is to digest the word of God. It is
sweet on the tongue because it speaks of the victory of faithfulness over
idolatry, of justice over oppression. But
it also produces bitterness. Justice
demands judgment against those who prefer to comfort themselves rather than
give what is due to others. In the end it
can only be hoped that the unjust see the way of God and change.
We might find some satisfaction in talking to people
about their sins. But that may be a sign
that we are contemptuous. Instead of
self-righteously criticizing others, we need to develop the habit of praying
for others before we speak to them. And
when we talk with them, we should be ready to explain why we see their actions
as injurious. In these ways the word of
God grows in both them and us.
