In the scripture readings for Return From Exile Sunday, the prophet Ezekiel declares God's plans for his dejected people in exile in Assyria and Babylon. God will take the initiative to clean them up and restore them, even though they themselves are undeserving. God will bring about a new covenant of peace with his people, and will reunite the kingdom that had fractured into two, Israel and Judah. And he will send his servant David in the form of his son Jesus Christ, to be their shepherd, and their king...
It's the stuff of nightmares for parents of young children – their children misbehave STRENUOUSLY in public. Now, if we are talking here in church, no problem! I've got the microphone, no scream is too loud, no running and jumping is too boisterous. And if you have a problem showing grace to young children in church, this is your chance to chill for Jesus' sake. Parents, put your mind at ease, here. I'm talking about the nightmare of your children misbehaving strenuously...at the grocery store! Tantrums over treats, flopping on the floor, wailing as if bones were being broken, and all the while, what seems to be the entire store, staring at you, wondering what you will do about it. The most attractive option is disavowal - “It's so sad that this poor child WHOM I DON'T RECOGNIZE, is screaming and clinging to my leg.” Just know that if you leave the store without your child, you WILL be arrested. Minus that option, all the rest are a no-win scenario. Do you want to be seen as the marshmallow, caving in to demands and thereby ensuring many tantrums in the future? Or do you want to be seen as the tyrant, cruelly subduing your child with harsh words and impatience, leading them to resent you the rest of their lives. Or do you want to be seen as the coward, abandoning the shopping trip with the groceries unpurchased, to run home and give your child the nap they need so badly. When the whole store is watching you, ready to judge you, the pressure is on...
According to the prophet Ezekiel, God knew that the whole Middle East was watching, while his children, the nations of Israel and Judah, were misbehaving strenuously. And while he punished Israel and Judah with a harsh punishment – he kicked them out of their homeland – he did not want to be seen by the nations as the tyrant. For the sake of his reputation, God promises to reverse his punishment and restore his children to their homes. In this gracious way, the nations will see his holiness and will recognize him as Lord.
And maybe his children will also respond to his benevolence, and feel shame for their previous conduct.
At the moment, his children are feeling cut off completely. They are dead inside, like a valley full of dry bones, and so God promises to resurrect them and return them to their own soil. He promises to put a new spirit within them, and provide for them again; he will be their God, and they will be his people once more. The fact that his children don't merit the forgiveness he gives them, will only prove to the nations that God is merciful.
“You shall loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominable deeds.” We are fully aware of all the times we have lacked courage, or integrity, or loyalty, or compassion. We have efficient memories for remembering our abominable deeds, when we chose poorly, when we lived outside of our values. We know that most of our “self-improvement” projects end up dead within us, like a pile of dry bones. We know that we have not earned forgiveness. And we are stubborn enough that it is hard to accept forgiveness that we have not earned. We hear God's promise to clean us up, and give us a heart transplant, and we resist. Sanctification SHOULD be a do-it-yourself project. But we are incapable of completing it.