Ezekiel 2:8 - 3:4 / Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
The prophet Ezekiel was one of the 3000 upper class Jews who were exiled in Babylon in the year 597BC.
It was while he was in Babylon that he started to have visions and gave prophetic insights.
One of which was about the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 586BC.
Of course,
at that time, the people were just too obstinate to accept Ezekiel's
prophesies, especially those who were exiled in Babylon.
Because
the Temple was still standing then, they thought that God will bring
them back. They would never had expected to die in a foreign land.
Yet, as we
heard in the 1st reading, what Ezekiel saw written on the scroll was
clearly an indication of what was to come - "lamentations, wailings,
moanings".
If only
they had not been so stubborn and obstinate, they might have been
spared; if only they had hearts like little children, they might have
listened.
Indeed, children are sensitive enough to sense the seriousness of a warning and they will follow as they were told.
Yes, we
need to have the simplicity and also the sensitivity of children in
order to hear and understand and act on the promptings of the Lord.
As Psalm 8:2 would put it - From the mouths of children and of babes, You have found praise to foil the enemy and the foe.