Lord, Hear My Voice!

March 2, 2012

Friday of the First Week in Lent

By Melanie Rigney

Thus says the Lord GOD: If the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed, if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just, he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of the crimes he committed shall be remembered against him; he shall live because of the virtue he has practiced. Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked? says the Lord GOD. Do I not rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way that he may live? And if the virtuous man turns from the path of virtue to do evil, the same kind of abominable things that the wicked man does, can he do this and still live? None of his virtuous deeds shall be remembered, because he has broken faith and committed sin; because of this, he shall die. You say, "The LORD's way is not fair!" Hear now, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair? (Ezekiel 18:21-25)

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; LORD, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication. (Psalms 130:1-2)

Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:20)

Piety

Lord, please hear my voice. Help me to turn a deaf ear to those who would take me from Your path of virtuousness.

Study

Imagine the disciples’ confusion at Jesus’ challenge. How could they possibly be “holier” than the scribes and Pharisees? They were trained in the law; they were scholars. But as we see in so many readings in the Gospels, the scribes and the Pharisees were so intent on dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s in their faith lives and those of others that they didn’t recognize the Messiah when he stood right in front of them.

There’s a parallel between the Gospel reading and the first reading today. The chapter in Ezekiel does away with the thinking that sin is passed down from generation to generation… and that once we’ve been virtuous and accepted God into our lives, what we do thereafter doesn’t matter. Rather, God says He delights in our turn away from the wrong path… and expects us to keep the faith we’ve found and stay on the right path. In the case of the scribes and the Pharisees, they surely were on the right path at some point in their journey. But they veered into obsessions with sin and fault and wrongdoing in others and focused their energies on judging and condemning the people rather than sharing the message of an ordered life lived in God’s love.

We all get off the path; we’re human, after all. Unlike the scribes and the Pharisees, God doesn’t demand perfection since He knows we’re not capable of it. What He does desire, however, is that we come to him, confident in His forgiveness, and take the steps He illumines to move closer to our best selves. We can’t do it alone. We can do it with His help. All we have to do is ask.

Action

Ask God for help with a situation in which you are tempted to go down the wrong path.