Author: Administrador

“So you, mortal, I have made a sentinel for the house of Israel” (Ezekiel 33:7). In this short passage, God repeats four times the emphatic pronoun “you” (atāh 33:7.8.9.10) as God spells out Ezekiel’s duties in relation to Israel This passage is as much about the preacher as it is about the word that must … Continue reading “Ezekiel 33:7-11 Commentary by Anathea Portier-Young”

Today’s gospel lesson is a hard one for those of us who live  in a culture whose motto “live and let live” quite often replaces the much more challenging work of mending broken lives by tending to the causes of brokenness. If Matthew 18:15-20 delineates an almost legalistic procedure for bringing a community member to … Continue reading “Ezekiel 33:7-11 Commentary by Margaret Odell”

Wickedness, sin, death, blood — this week’s selection from Ezekiel 33 can be a difficult and jarring read for those of us not overly familiar with the book of Ezekiel and its sometimes bizarre judgment speeches. The selection also includes only the briefest snippet from chapter 33. We are left without much context — historical … Continue reading “Ezekiel 33:7-11 Commentary by Tyler Mayfield”

“The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge” (Ezekiel 18:1). It was a popular saying in Ezekiel’s time. It was also a dangerous saying. It was a proverb that would lead a people from sickness to death. These simple words had seduced them to surrender, to resignation, because in … Continue reading “Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32 Commentary by Anathea Portier-Young”

The word that comes to the prophet Ezekiel in today’s lesson is an argument between God and the exiles. Having listened in on the exiles’ talk, God asks Ezekiel what their use of a proverb might mean: “The parents have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” The exiles are “proverbing … Continue reading “Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32 Commentary by Margaret Odell”

Anytime a text from Ezekiel is thrown up by the lectionary, most preachers hope against hope that it is the “dry bones” passage from chapter 37. At least there one can reflect on new life and new hope in the midst of exile, thus avoiding the complex and contentious scholarly battles about the actual location … Continue reading “Ezekiel 17:22-24 Commentary by John C. Holbert”

In this text, Ezekiel gives us yet another of the Bible’s many images of God: God as tree planter and tree tender. Even a cursory concordance search reveals that the Bible is rife with trees. In Genesis, we learn, intriguingly, that God made trees not first because of any utilitarian value, but simply because God … Continue reading “Ezekiel 17:22-24 Commentary by Fred Gaiser”

Three seemingly random verses plucked from the middle of the book of Ezekiel. They talk of springs and cedars, planting and bearing, bringing low and making high. Why does the lectionary provide this rather obtuse reading for us on this summer Sunday? There is a method to this madness: the Gospel lesson for this Sunday, … Continue reading “Ezekiel 17:22-24 Commentary by Tyler Mayfield”

Passages like this one can lead in two very different directions. On the one hand, the certainty of a call from God can offer strength and conviction in the face of adversaries. It can buck up a failing will to speak the truth in a community that finds truth-telling threatening. This reading of a prophetic … Continue reading “Ezekiel 2:1-5 Commentary by John C. Holbert”

Preachers may “understand” this text too quickly — as in, Yes, I get it: The preacher is called, like Ezekiel, to proclaim a hard word of God to a recalcitrant people. True, the people will resist, but the preacher is called not to be popular but to be faithful. There is truth in such a … Continue reading “Ezekiel 2:1-5 Commentary by Fred Gaiser”