Ezekial

Do you remember when you were 30? The world was your oyster, you were on the cusp of something and the future, though uncertain, held promise. If you are looking toward 30, do you have expectations of where you should be?

In the first verse of Ezekiel, we find a newly 30-year-old, sitting by the Kebar River, 5 years into his exile in Babylon. He was a priest and this year, this 30th year, he was to start his priestly duties at the temple in Jerusalem. All his life he had been set apart, working towards this moment only to find himself 600 or so miles away, living in a camp, exiled from God and alone. 

But on this 31st of July, the heavens opened, and God came to him in Babylon. In a fantastic vision the glory of God showed up in ways we would have never imagined and he, Ezekiel , felt the hand of the Lord take hold of him. The rest of Ezekiel is the story of a priest, but not a priest being a prophet and not a prophet giving a message that no one would hear or acting out judgments that no one cared to watch. But in its purest message, it is what every exile needed to hear, and Ezekiel finally preached, hope. 

I don't know about you in your journey of faith, but I can't seem to choose joy or have faith if I don't have hope. This Sunday let's walk with Ezekiel a bit and maybe just maybe we will renew our vision of God and enter into a place of hope. 

Camille