The Fourth Sunday in Lent (March 19, 2023)

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be alway acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our Strength and our Redeemer. Amen.

Do you know that I have never once regretted praying? I’ve never thought, “Man, I wish I had prayed less.” I’ve never looked back and said, “My only problem is that I’ve prayed too much.” I’m reminded of Martin Luther who, before a busy day said “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” Even though I know it’s true that prayer is good, that it’s always beneficial, there are still days—sometimes multiple ones in a row—that I simply don’t and justify it by saying I’m too tired or busy or stressed. Maybe you can relate because I think the sad truth about us humans is that many of us turn to God only when things are going wrong. But where are we all the other times?

Last week, Dcn. David reminded us of the extremely important truth that there is no neutral in the Christian life: either we are going up or down the hill, we are never sitting still. Not only do I agree with Dcn. David, but I want to go a step further today and extend his point. The reason that what Dcn. David told us is true is because God has providentially ordered our lives to that every situation in which we find ourselves, every context we inhabit, ever relationship we have, and every event in which we participate actively or passively is there to bring us to the Beatific Vision.

Now we might want to define what that term is: Beatific Vision. The Beatific Vision is our ultimate end, it’s what God made us for. The Beatific Vision is when we will see God. In Genesis 2, we know that Adam had the privilege of walking with God in the Garden. In Exodus, Moses expresses his desire to see God but is not allowed to see the divine essence and so he’s only allowed to see the backside of God. Yet still, there is this desire throughout the Scriptural witness: “Thy face, Lord, will I seek,” the Psalmist says in Psalm 27. Further, we get a preview of the Beatific Vision in 1 Corinthians 13:12: “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” Of course what this means exactly remains shrouded in mystery, but to behold God is certainly to find the culmination of our quest for happiness. And so if we were created with the Beatific Vision in mind, we can trust that everything God sends our way is preparing us for it.

Now with that in mind, let’s take a look from our Old Testament reading from Ezekiel 39. It’s important to note that in chapters 38-39, Ezekiel is discussing a mysterious character named Gog. Honestly, most readers of Ezekiel aren’t sure what to do with him other than emphasize that he is a bad guy. Some scholars and theologians have proposed that he was a 7th century leader or composite of leaders of a coalition composed of Israel’s enemies. Others have proposed that he is not so much an historical figure as an archetype or allegory. There’s probably some truth in both of those readings. The point, however you read it, is that Gog is a bad guy who nevertheless was used by God as a mechanism to judge Israel for their many sins. Still, this is not an endorsement of Gog; quite the opposite: while Gog was a divine instrument of judgment, his barbarity and evil did not accumulate merit but judgment. And so Ezekiel looks forward to that judgment against Gog where God would reverse their fortunes: Israel would be restored and their enemies vanquished. There are three points to draw out from this reading that have bearing on the point that God is guiding each of us to the Beatific Vision.

The first major emphasis in the Ezekiel reading is that when things went well, Israel rebelled. Their subsequent Exile was designed to bring them back to God. In the moment, punishment can feel like it’s too much for the crime. Certainly, punishment is never pleasant, but it is necessary. Israel’s punishment, caused by rampant unfaithfulness to God, was not about retribution or pettiness, it was about God accomplishing good in them. Even with limited context, we the readers can determine that Israel is in the middle of the Exile based on the anticipation in the reading but that there is a palpable hope for God to restore them:

v. 22: “the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward.”

v. 28: “Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.”

A second emphasis here that is closely related to the first is that when Israel was in a state of rebellion, they were unable to see God’s face: “According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them” (39:24). Just like in the Garden of Eden, Israel’s sin earns them ejection from the Promised Land and puts a barrier between them and God. There have been suggestions by Church Fathers that the expulsion from the Garden in Genesis was an act of mercy on God’s part because surely sinful creatures like Adam and Eve could not stand in the presence of God. Just like Moses was prohibited from seeing God’s face, so Israel’s sin caused God to hide his face lest the people be totally destroyed.

Yet there’s hope that the Exile works and brings about the kind of Restoration God desires. And so in the text we get this promise of all the things God will do for the people of Israel: he will destroy their enemies, he will make them a blessing to the nations, and both the heathen and the people of Israel will know God’s actions. But most importantly, there is a restoration of being able to see God: “Neither will I hide my face any more from them.” God will make himself known. Further, another gift is attached to this promise: “for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.” This is a promise ultimately fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, an event we celebrate in a few months to mark the end of Eastertide. At Pentecost, the Holy Ghost descended on the Apostles and has remained with the Church ever since in the Apostolic ministry and the Sacraments. By pouring out his Spirit on Israel, or the Church, we see the ongoing work of God in the world. He is the agent of transformation, working in our hearts and the hearts of those we encounter, transforming them into the image of Christ. So the Holy Spirit in the Church is a fulfillment of the promises made Ezekiel all the way back in the Old Testament.

What does all this mean for us? Well, most of us have very little control over what happens in our lives. We do not control the opportunities we’re given, the bad, unexpected events that take things away from us. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that God has us right where he wants us. In the Prayer Book’s version of Communion of the Sick on page 321, it gives priests the option of reading Hebrews 12:5 to the person who’s sick: “My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” You might initially think “Wow, that seems rather harsh.” However, the point isn’t that God is mean to us like a big kid with a magnifying glass burning ants; quite the opposite: whatever bad things may happen to us, God can use for our own good.

So the question is not “how can I obey God so bad things don’t happen to me?” That’s the Prosperity Gospel heresy. The question is “how do I respond to what’s in front of me with obedience and faith in Jesus?” When something bad happens, we have two possible responses: we can endure with this faithful obedience or we can rebel in our hearts by blaming God, by using whatever bad thing as an excuse to do what we want instead of following God.

And a final point that I think deservers to be reiterated: everything is a preparation for the Beatific Vision. On Friday, we celebrated the Feast of St. Patrick, bishop and confessor. And the Gospel reading appointed for that day is St. Matthew’s parable of the talents. The master goes on a trip and leaves one servant with 5 talents, one with 2, and another with 1. The servants with 5 and 2 talents go to the market and trade with their money until they have doubled the sum they were given. The other servant with 1 talent, rather than investing it or playing the field, buries it. The point is that the first two servants were faithful with what they were given while the third servant was not. The question for us is what we will do with the situations God has given us and whether we’ll hear those words “Well done my good and faithful servant.”

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.