When you were a
child, perhaps, you did something not so good and upset your father. Then, your
father chastised you.
God the Father is
just like your father. When we sin against Him, He sure brings us due
consequences for our sins, so that we can learn a lesson. Though we cannot get away from God’s watch (Proverbs
15:3) and judgement (Proverbs 11:21), as the Neviim (the prophetic books in the Old Testament) remind us, God
the Father never leaves us in punishment. Rather, He shows His mercy, both as rachamim and chased (Psalm 103:8), on us
with His salvific vision for us, as we repent and reconcile with Him. Thus,
when Pater Noster rebukes us for our
sins, it is not qetseph but yakach that brings judgement to us.
This year (2018),
Father’s Day coincided with the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time on Cycle B. The
First Reading for the Eleventh Sunday Mass, Ezekiel 17:22-24, prophetically describes
how God the Father cared for His beloved Israelites, even though He had to
punish them for their defilements through the Babylonian destruction of
Jerusalem, followed by their Exile in Babylon. Because He was merciful to His people so
deeply, God the Father wanted them to repent for their sins and reconcile with
Him. Upon this, He wanted to offer them salvation, which is in the post-Exilic hopeful
vision. For this reason, God the Father
chose and commissioned Ezekiel as His prophet during the Israelites’ Babylonian
Exile (Ezekiel 1-3) to communicate His merciful and loving heart to His beloved
– How much He cares for them, in spite of their sins by describing His salvific
vision for them, following the tragic consequences of their sins. Thus, like
other prophetic books (Neviim), the
Book of Ezekiel reflects God’s message for His beloved in the three parts: Oracle
of woe against His beloved for their defilements (Ezekiel 4-24); Oracle of woe
against the surrounding neighbors of His beloved for their influence on His
beloved (Ezekiel 25-32); Oracle of the post-Exilic salvific hope for His
beloved (Ezekiel 33-48).
Ezekiel served
God’s beloved amidst their darkness in Exile by showing a beacon of hope, which
is God’s providential message for them. The God’s dabar in the First reading for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
on Cycle B (Ezekiel 17:22-24), along with
Ezekiel 33-48, reflects the love of God the Father for His beloved to renew
their faith in fresh hope for the post-Exilic salvation.
The Israelites
returned to Jerusalem from Babylon after King Cyrus of Persia conquered
Babylonia in 539 BC, after 70 years of the Babylonian Captivity. Though they
made it back to their home, Jerusalem was completely ruined by the Babylonian,
which took place from 597 BC to 587 BC. It was devastating, to say the least.
The fact that their Temple was desecrated and destroyed was the hardest reality
that they had to face, upon their return. Nevertheless, God the Father assured
His beloved Israelites that Jerusalem (Zion) and its Temple would be rebuilt
into its greatness through His providence. Out of this, they drew inspiration
to restore the Temple and rebuild Jerusalem during the early part of the
post-Exilic period, as led by Prophet Zechariah, High Priest Joshua, and
Governor Zerubbabel. Though he did not make it back to Jerusalem, as he died
during the exile in Babylon, Prophet Ezekiel had the post-Exilic vision,
banking Israel’s hope on the providence of God the Father.
The First Reading
for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Tile on Cycle B (Ezekiel 17:22-24) is a
metaphoric vision of how God the Father cares for His beloved Israelites, even
though they rebelled against Him with their sins. In addition, Ezekiel put more post-Exilic hopeful
vision of the providence of God the Father from chapter 33 on in the Book of
Ezekiel. The preceding texts to Ezekiel 17:22-24
remind us that God the Father was angry at the sins of the Israelites and sent
His judgement justly. However, Ezekiel
17:22-24 and Ezekiel 33-48 give us assurance that mercy of God the Father is
even greater than His anger.
Yes, indeed, God the Father is merciful and gracious, abounding in His
steadfast love (chesed) and mercy (rachamim) (Psalm 103:8)! Thus, Jesus has
said, “Be merciful, just as your Father
is merciful”(Luke 6:36), and this was cited by Pope Francis for the Jubilee
Year of Mercy (Pope’s address to the general audience on September 21, 2016). Though God the Father may become like an
angry dad, in response to our obstinate sinfulness, He is, in essence, the merciful
Father with His steadfast love for us. Therefore, we affectionately call Him, Abba Father, as Jesus the Son called Him
so during the hours of his intense agony (Mark 14:36). Since He is also Pater Nostor through Jesus the Son, as reflected in John 14:6-7, we
also call God the Father, Abba Father.
Because He is merciful, God the Father is like a dad we can cry out to for
comfort and strengths.
Out of His mercy for repentant Israelites, God the Father spoke the below
words to Ezekiel in his post-Exilic prophetic vision – while still in Babylon,
which symbolized the penitentiary.
I,
too, will pluck from the crest of the cedar
the highest
branch.
From the top
a tender shoot
I will break
off and transplant
on a high,
lofty mountain.
On the
mountain height of Israel
I will plant
it.
It shall put
forth branches and bear fruit,
and become a
majestic cedar.
Every small
bird will nest under it,
all kinds of
winged birds will dwell
in the shade
of its branches.
Every tree of
the field will know
that I am the
Lord.
I bring low
the high tree,
lift high the
lowly tree,
Wither up the
green tree,
and make the
dry tree bloom.
As I, the Lord, have spoken, so will I do! (Ezekiel
17:22-24)
The steadfast love
(chesed) and mercy (rachamim) of the Father bring only the
best to His beloved. So, God the Father took the choicest part of the best tree
in the world– the Cedar of Lebanon, for His beloved to make a fresh start.
Because Lebanon is
a prosperous place at that time, the Lebanese were very proud of themselves
(Isaiah 2:11-16), perhaps, to a point of making the Israelites envy. Thus, the
Cedar of Lebanon may also symbolize the pride of the Lebanese. As reflected in
Ezekiel 26, God’s woe was upon Lebanon. So, God plucked the crest of the Cedar
of Lebanon to put down the pride of the Lebanese and planted the crest on the
higher mountain than the high mountain in Israel before. This suggests that God
wants to plant the best cedar on the new Mt. Zion to build the New Temple in
His post-Exilic salvific vision, while subduing the prides of people, whether
they are of His beloved Israelites or their neighbors, such as the Lebanese.
Though it may have
symbolized the pride of the Lebanese once, the Cedar of Lebanon now becomes a
symbol of the provision of God the Father for His beloved. At the same time,
its splendor symbolizes the glory of God the Father, to whom all else are
brought low.
Through the new
providential and majestic cedar, God the Father reminds who the Lord really is.
This reminder also sets and restore the order. This is also echoed in Salvador
Minuchin’s structural family therapy to treat a chaotic family by restoring or
setting the order in the family. In this sense, God the Father is doing
structural family therapy to restore the lost order of God’s family – His
beloved, along with the rest of His creation. Therefore, not only His beloved
but all else of His creation know who the Lord is. He is, indeed, Pater noster qui es in coelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum; adveniat
regnum tuum, fiat voluntas tua, sicut in coelo et in terra.
“Regnum Tuum”(thy Kingdom) – the Regnum- the Regnum de Pater Noster is what the new
cedar on the new Mt. Zion in Ezekiel 17:22-24 is symbolically projected to.
Therefore, this is echoed in the Gospel Reading for the Eleventh Sunday on
Cycle B (Mark 4:26-34), especially, in vv. 30-34. In this Gospel text, Jesus,
the Son, reminds us that the Regnum de
Pater Noster is like how a tiny mustard seed will grow into a majestic
tree. Because Jesus uses a mustard seed
as a metaphor for our faith to grow (Matthew 17:14-20), the majestic and
majestic cedar of new Mt. Zion as Regnum
de Pater Noster grows through our growing faith.
God the Father – Pater Noser is erek apayim (Psalm 34:6) in response to our sins, and He sends due
judgement to us not
with qetseph but rather with yakach, because He is chesed
and rachamim. As His chesed
and rachamim are immeasurable, we can always cry out to Him, calling
Him, Abba Father, with our hope for His providence, which is like the
great Cedar on the new Mt. Zion, as reflected in Ezekiel 17:22-24, reflecting Regnum de Pater Noster.
Abba Father – to whom we cry to for His mercy, to
whom we remain humble and obedient, and from whom we are endowed with
everlasting love, including the Son and the Holy Spirit.
No comments:
Post a Comment