Monday of the 19th
Week in Ordinary Time
August 11, 2014 6:30am
Today’s readings kind of
complement one another.
They give us two fundamental and
very important perspectives about God.
Ezekiel in the first reading
tells of a vision he has been given of God.
It is almost as if he is
straining to say something intelligible about the indescribable God.
He keeps using words like
resembled, or had the appearance of, or looked like.
In effect, Ezekiel is telling us
how transcendent and beyond us God is.
We can never fully capture God in
our words and concepts.
God is mystery and is the
Almighty One.
Then, in the gospel, Jesus gives
us the complement to that.
He shows himself, and therefore God
as sensitive to peoples’ sensitivities.
He shows God as gentle and considerate.
He shows God as using his power
for our healing and wholeness.
He shows God as identifying fully
with us and even being one with our humanity.
So, the two readings together
give us a balanced sense of God:
that God is transcendent,
almighty, and mystery,
and that God is also incarnate,
human, and close.
Tucked in these passages is this
good lesson of theology and faith.
