Links for today’s readings:
Read: Ezekiel 3 Listen: (4:41)
Scripture Focus: Ezekiel 3:3, 14
3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.
14 The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the Lord on me.
Reflection: Bitter & Sweet Word of God
By Erin Newton
The word of God is sweet. Sometimes, in certain circumstances, it can cause a bitter aftertaste. But how?
In chapter 3, Ezekiel is called to ingest (quite literally) the word of God. “Eat this scroll.” Whether he sat there chewing bits of parchment or leather scroll, or if the request is part of the grand imagery employed throughout the prophet’s book—it is not clear nor entirely consequential. The important issue is that Ezekiel is putting the word of God within himself. It becomes part of him. In return, the words of God would flow naturally from Ezekiel’s mouth. It is a positive aspect to what we hear in Matthew 12.34, “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
The sweet words, however, leave him feeling bitter.
Ezekiel did not hesitate to “eat” the words of God. It was sweet. It was delightful. The promises and word of God are good and should be enjoyed with the same sweetness of honey. But Ezekiel’s pleasant words were to be spent on a people who would hear the words and reject it. Israel had turned against God to the point that his goodness, his sweet word, was spat out. Nevertheless, Ezekiel was called to speak.
A bitter and sour stomach churns at the grim reality of Ezekiel’s audience. Rejection turns sweetness to bitterness. God tells the prophet to enjoy the word, embody the word, but accept the reality that rejection was inevitable. We hear the same call from Jesus in Luke 6:22, “Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.”
The word of God was offered to Ezekiel’s peers, but they tasted nothing. The word was rejected as if it was not good. And that reality was distressing, angering, and bitter to Ezekiel’s soul.
Not much has changed in two millennia. We read the Bible, sing hymns, and hear of how God has worked in the lives of others. It raises our spirits and instills joy in our hearts. It is sweetness to our soul! But then we look outward and see a world that wants nothing of it.
How do we deal with that harsh reality? The prophet’s reaction is helpful. Like Ezekiel we sit in grief, acknowledging the reality. But we never stop speaking the sweet words of truth.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Behold, God is my helper; it is the Lord who sustains my life. — Psalm 54.4
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.
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Read more about Sticks and Stones and Scorpions
Are we speaking God’s words? We must eat God’s words to speak them…A diet of other “words” may be the reason our words harm.
https://theparkforum.org/843-acres/sticks-and-stones-and-scorpions
