Focus

Pay attention to the tension in your body. Let go of it and any expectations to do anything other than God’s will today. Prepare yourself to hear God’s word.

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Read

Ezekiel 33:10-16 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Now you, mortal, say to the house of Israel, Thus you have said: ‘Our transgressions and our sins weigh upon us, and we waste away because of them; how then can we live?’ Say to them, As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel? And you, mortal, say to your people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not save them when they transgress; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, it shall not make them stumble when they turn from their wickedness; and the righteous shall not be able to live by their righteousness when they sin. Though I say to the righteous that they shall surely live, yet if they trust in their righteousness and commit iniquity, none of their righteous deeds shall be remembered; but in the iniquity that they have committed they shall die. Again, though I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die’, yet if they turn from their sin and do what is lawful and right— if the wicked restore the pledge, give back what they have taken by robbery, and walk in the statutes of life, committing no iniquity—they shall surely live, they shall not die. None of the sins that they have committed shall be remembered against them; they have done what is lawful and right, they shall surely live.

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Reflect

“I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked…” Woah! This is a powerful statement. God does not take delight in the death of the wicked. How convicting is this? So often in our society today, we continually replace the humanity of persons with their actions. We no longer identify people as ‘people’ but as their actions.

I remember when I first heard of the news that Osama Bin Laden had been killed, I immediately had a sense of heaviness. Sure, there was also a sense of justice, but heaviness lingered. It did not take long for my social media feed to be full of praise for retributive justice. There would have been a time in my life where the same words of praise would have fell from my lips. However, not this time. I am not one that believes debates can be productive or any ‘worthwhile’ change can occur through social media posts. Yet, it seemed appropriate to give my response. In a nutshell, I described my heavy heart with the rhetoric that replaced the human being with the vile acts. Certainly, there is never a justification for any form of terrorism. As Christians, we are called to unequivocally call out evil and injustice.

At the same time, we are called to believe in restorative justice. We are called to believe that all of humanity is created in the image of God. Death was not God’s initial plan for humanity. God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked. I did not take pleasure in the death of Osama Bin Laden. Nor was I grief-stricken. I was heavy-hearted. My aim of this reflection is not to say that those enacting evil should never be punished. Rather, I believe as Christians we must be careful to not take ‘delight’ in the death of the wicked. I believe when we do, we rob them and ourselves of our humanity, our Imago Dei.

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Pray

God, it is so easy to allow all the wickedness around us to overwhelm us. May we not rejoice in the death of the wicked. Rather, may we strive for restorative justice. And in those times where other decisions must be made, may you guard our hearts from losing pieces of ourselves in the process. May we be a people made in your image, living into the call to see the Imago Dei in all. And may we turn from our own sins, as we journey with Jesus to Jerusalem during this Lenten Season. Amen.

Go with God!