Ezekiel 37:21-28 / John 11:45-56
Whenever the word
"prophecy" is mentioned, we are inclined to think that it is something
about the future, a fore-telling of sort.
In many ways, what the prophet Ezekiel and the high priest Caiaphas said in today's readings had a bearing on the future.
Yet the more fundamental and important aspect of prophecy is the "forth-telling", meaning to say, the bearing on the present.
And precisely, the prophet Ezekiel was also doing that. He was not talking about something that will only happen in the future.
He
was talking about something that was already happening during his time -
that God will gather His people, and He will be their God and they will
be His people.
Similarly when Caiaphas said those
words "it is better for one man to die for the people, than for the
whole nation to be destroyed (and not for the nation only, but to gather
together in unity the scattered children of God).
That is one of the most profound prophesies at that time and also for the present.
During
this time of Lent, we undertake fasting and penances to subdue our
bodily desires and also offer up our sacrifices in union with Jesus.
All this is done not just for our own benefit but also for the Church and the world in reparation for sins committed.
Let
us continue to do penance and offer up our sacrifices with love so that
with Jesus we gather together in unity the scattered children of God.