Ezekiel’s ‘reset’
November 26, 2023
Scripture: Ezekiel 34
The 34th Chapter of Ezekiel is actually quite well known in theological circles, as the author is very clearly calling out the authorities of the faith, as well as offering up the promise of a new day, a new reign, led by a just and a righteous ‘Prince’, who is to be descended from the lineage of King David.
And in the middle of the Chapter, Ezekiel tells us that God says, ‘I will make a new covenant’, I will make a new Covenant, which in fact is the origin of the idea of a ‘New Testament, or a ‘new understanding’ of our faith. A reset in effect, over and against the existing political and religious hierarchy. And a reset we believe was brought into being, with the coming of Jesus.
And I mention political hierarchy in addition to religious, because in biblical times the term ‘shepherd’ was used to denote kings as well. Kings were seen as those called to watch over the people and to take care of them as a shepherd tends the flock.
Therefore, it is not a great stretch to understand this passage in the way it was heard and interpreted by early Christians. Namely it was a pre-figuring, or a foretelling of Jesus Christ. A passage from the Prophets of the Jewish faith, that was lifting up Jesus as the one born of David’s royal lineage, who was to come and usher in a new reign of justice and everlasting peace as the one anointed by God.
And unfortunately, even today we still find many parallels to current religious, social, and government conditions that need to be addressed, just as Ezekiel addressed the leaders of his day. And while Chapter 34 is a lengthy passage, I think it might be helpful to hear at least portions of it as though we had brought it forward into our own context, to see if the words still apply. A rough translation brought forward into ‘today-speak’ might go something like this:
The word of the Lord sounded forth, saying to the prophet, ‘Tell the truth, and in doing so, expose the wrongdoings of those who have been entrusted with the care of my people…those who have turned from my ways and not fulfilled their calling. Tell each one of them, “You who have been called and commissioned to care for others, why do you live solely unto yourselves? You have worked hard to profit yourselves, but have fully neglected my people, who as a consequence have grown weak and are not well. You have not reached out to them in their struggle and confusion, but have instead ignored their cries completely, leaving them all alone to fend for themselves in a world increasingly perilous to those with no just or compassionate leader. And as a result my people have strayed far and wide, they have lost their bearings and now wander like a ship without a rudder, or like a horse and plow with no plowman. No longer do they know right from wrong, or truth from falsehood…their cries echo loudly all throughout heaven.
Therefore failed leaders, hear my words and take heed. Since you have not fulfilled your calling to lead, and have instead cared only for yourself and your own, I have set my face against you. I will no longer allow you to have charge and responsibility over my people, but instead will do so myself. I will take back the care of my own from you, for you have failed in your duty. I myself will search for my lost ones, the ones you have scattered in your carelessness, and I will find them, each and every one, and then I will bring them back from their places of fear and wandering, and rescue them all.
After that, I myself will care for them with goodness and love; I myself will heal them and restore them to the glory befitting all my children. However all those who have abused their call and failed in fulfilling their trust to lead and to care for my people shall face my justice. No longer will they be allowed to hurt or injure my own but instead shall be finally and fully removed from their position of authority.
And in their place I shall raise up a new leader who shall lead with grace and with lovingkindness. One who shall seek peace…not war, joyous unity…not division and prejudice, loving community…not petty and exclusive clans or tribes.
This one, whom I shall raise up from my own, shall be a good shepherd after my own heart. A new order shall be established, and my day of peace shall finally be revealed to all. And in that time all my children shall be showered with blessings and live in safety. The earth shall hold them once again in an harmonious embrace just as it was in the beginning. And then all my people shall prosper in the land, and in all the places I have blessed for their communion. They shall know safety and peace, not hunger or fear…and they shall know that I truly am the Lord of love. For they are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture…and I am their God.
In truth, leadership can take many forms…it can be holy and just, or unholy and unjust. It can be well-balanced and inclusive, or exclusive and self-centered. It can be based on true compassion and equal opportunity for all…or abuse and injustice benefiting only a few. Holy or unholy, it can be life-giving, or death-dealing…and surely we have seen examples of them all.
However, as our passage makes very clear, leadership, real leadership is a calling which is intended to be administered on behalf of those in the leader’s charge, rather than at their loss or expense. And unfortunately we have seen much that hints at the latter for some time now. And perhaps we are asking too much of ‘worldly’ leadership…perhaps we should not be asking those who lead in the world, to lead as if their calling was a ‘holy’ calling. Perhaps if the ways of the world are so broken and unjust as it seems they are, then is it asking too much to expect our leaders to be any different?
Some may think so, but personally I think that we must ask and even demand more from those who are in positions of authority over others, both out in the world, and within the church. I believe that leadership in any capacity is a holy obligation, and one in which each one who so serves, will have to stand and give account at the last day, as to just how well they administered the oath of their office in a way that was both just and compassionate.
We simply cannot stand for or abide corruption or moral depravity in our leaders; we must insist that they do their work with the whole of humanity in mind, and not just for the benefit of a chosen few. For God’s promise of future peace will remain forever out of reach if we do not find a path of just and right living as the family of humanity together. God’s promised day to come will forever be an unfulfilled promise if we do not find and then heed leaders who are themselves led by grace and not by the pursuit of personal glory or gain, but instead, are led by a desire that all shall prosper, rather than the few, willing to lead with a stubborn insistence that justice for each one must be sought, and must be found.
And that last part is sometimes the most difficult. For it is easier to only address the symptoms of injustice and careless leadership or less-than-loving neighborliness…the harder thing however is to go beyond simply placing ‘temporary fixes’ in place, and instead doing the hard work of getting to the root of the problem, and then having the commitment to see it through to just and holy change.
As the institutional church, we are fairly good at searching for new and better ways to extend temporary fixes of care to our neighbors in need, however we are often not as willing or quick to seek to change the underlying circumstances that would result in a lessening of the conditions which caused the hardship or injustice in the first place. Activism of this sort may be uncomfortable, as it calls for taking stands which others may look down on or think poorly of. It is always much easier and more comfortable to have a faith practice that is focused solely on worship, and the doing of good deeds. And that is who we are!
Fortunately for us, we have a number of deeply committed individuals among us who have already decided that living out their faith involves sacrifice and great love…a willingness to dig deep and to give of themselves even to a point of personal loss or denial.
And in that I find great hope…that the message of Ezekiel has found a place of honest and truthful response right here in our own little community. True, there are larger and more stubborn issues still out there and facing all of us, but by taking a stand in this place and choosing to make a difference as best we can, we truly are living out our faith in a way that is pleasing to our God.
And as a result we are offering forth a message, a visible message, that there is still hope, there is still the possibility of goodness and grace triumphing over darkness and evil…that our Lord is present and available, and, the support and sustenance that allows us to shine right here and right now.
And that my friends is all we can ask…and all that our Lord is asking of us…as Joshua told the Israelites at Shechem, and as found in Chapter 24, ‘As for me and my house…we will serve the Lord’…
…every day I give thanks for each one of you, each one of you who not only enriches my life, but the lives of countless others in our community as well…
…all I can say, and all I can ask, is keep on keepin’ on!
…amen
