My dear friends, the first reading today is speaking to you and me. It is very appropriate during the earliest days of the Lenten season as the Lord is calling us to be firm and resolute in doing good. He often reiterates the blessings of integrity and the damming effects of evil life. This is because the righteousness of the upright will go with him or her and the wickedness of the evil one will be upon him or her.
The Prophecy of Ezekiel
The prophet Ezekiel in the reading today speaks for the God he serves and calls for the maintenance of integrity/credibility of the righteous and the renunciation of the evil ways of the wicked so that they may live. Hence, he says: ‘If the wicked man renounces all the sins he has committed, respects my laws and is law-abiding and honest, he will certainly live; he will not die. All the sins he committed will be forgotten from then on; he shall live because of the integrity he has practiced’ (Ez:18:21). And to be honest, the Lenten season is the best moment to hear these words of the Lord because it is a time of grace, a favorable time for a sinner to turn a new leaf and get back to the Lord. Otherwise his/her iniquity ruins him or her if he or she persists in evil ways.
The Desire of God
It is a known fact that God does not want the death of a wicked man or woman. He is a great lover of sinners but hates the sins they commit and offers them the opportunity to repent. Thus, the scripture says: God does not desire the death of anyone, not even the wicked (Ez:33:11). Again, it says: ‘it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick…: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice. ‘For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners’ (Mt 9:12- 13). What God does take pleasure in is the repentance of a sinner that leads to life. He loves a sinner who repents for he is known for his mercy, forgiveness, and love.
What God needs from a sinner is just repentance and it is of three things: turning away from the sins one has committed; keeping of the Lord’s commandments; and being steadfast in doing the right things to please God with a firm determination not to go back to his/her sins. This is what God wants and is evident in the parable of the prodigal son. Thus, as a child of God, we should not be living in want when we have more than enough in our Father’s house. There is no joy in unpleasant life while a virtuous one goes with blessings. We need to rise like the prodigal son and get back to the Lord.
Integrity
Another thing that is pleasing to God is for the righteous person to maintain his/her integrity and disciplined life. He wants a righteous person to be ever steadfast to the end, otherwise his or her righteousness and good deeds will be forgotten. And it would mean that he/she was never sincere to himself or herself. God abhors evil deeds and all who follow him should not give room to that.
Hence, Ezekiel says: ‘but if an upright man renounces his integrity, commits sin; copies the wicked man and practices every kind of filth, is he to live? All the integrity he has practiced shall be forgotten from then on; but this is because he himself has broken faith and committed sin, and for this he shall die’ (Ez:18:24). That is to say that an upright man needs to be steadfast in good deeds for God rewards or punishes one according to the change he or she makes in life. What counts always is your goodness while alive. There should be no room for sinful behavior.
Peace be with you.
