Wounded And Bleeding

The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre: Thus says the Lord GOD: Because you are haughty of heart, you say, “A god am I! I occupy a godly throne in the heart of the sea!”— And yet you are a man, and not a god, however you may think yourself like a god.

Oh yes, you are wiser than Daniel, there is no secret that is beyond you. By your wisdom and your intelligence you have made riches for yourself; You have put gold and silver into your treasuries. By your great wisdom applied to your trading you have heaped up your riches; your heart has grown haughty from your riches–therefore thus says the Lord GOD:

Because you have thought yourself to have the mind of a god, therefore, I will bring against you foreigners, the most barbarous of nations. They shall draw their swords against your beauteous wisdom, they shall run them through your splendid apparel. They shall thrust you down to the pit, there to die a bloodied corpse, in the heart of the sea. Will you then say, “I am a god!” when you face your murderers? No, you are man, not a god, handed over to those who will slay you. You shall die the death of the uncircumcised at the hands of foreigners, for I have spoken, says the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 28:1-10)

Ezekiel warned Israel and warns us today. Following this passage is Ezekiel 33:21 that reads: On the fifth day of the tenth month, in the twelfth year of our exile, the survivor came to me from Jerusalem and said, “The city is taken!” [fallen in other versions] That city was Jerusalem.  

What can be taken from us metaphorically, taken by those with drawn swords against our beauteous wisdom and running us through our splendid apparel? They wish to thrust us down to the pit, there to die a bloodied corpse, in the heart of the sea.  This is an over-the-top, exaggerated description of those engaged in bitter, angry arguments seething with vitriol for control of our country and even our religious institutions.  Social media offers ways for our “murderers” wishing to slay us.  

Consider the way in which Catholics and Christians in general are divided on religious and political issues and choose the issue(s) they wish to challenge or defend.  Each side wants to “take the city” and leave their adversaries bloodied.  Jesus looks on aghast.  

We all must sheath our swords and remove from pits those with opposing points of view.  We are all part of the Body of Christ and hurting one part of the Body hurts us all.  Regrettably, a few months from the presidential election we are wounded and bleeding. 

We wait to see if the city will be taken and fall. Let’s heed Ezekiel’s warning and pray our wisdom and our intelligence will save us with there being no bloodied corpses left behind and that our democracy survives.

Deacon David Pierce