THE WORK OF THE WORD OF GOD Some believe that the prophet Ezekiel, after opening his mouth and receiving from God the Holy Bible to eat, he kept it in his mouth; That is why God commanded him again to eat and swallow the scroll, to let it enter into his depths, to get filled and fulfilled; he then, would realize his responsibility as a watchman, who knows when to talk to warn and to guide, and when to keep quiet; to work under the leadership of the Spirit of God.. 1- The sweetness of the word of God 1-3. 2- The difficulty of the task 4-14. 3- His responsibility as a watchman 15-21. 4- The need for a retreat before starting work 22-23. 5- There is a time to keep silent, and a time to speak 24-27. 1- THE SWEETNESS OF THE WORD OF GOD God commanded the prophet Ezekiel to eat the scroll (the word of God); the same way He commanded St. John the beloved (Rev 10:9). The prophet Jeremiah says: “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart” (Jer 15:16). And the Lord Christ Himself says: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God ” (Mat 4:4). The word of God is delicious food, that gives life, joy and inner rejoice. We feed on it and carry it in our depths. It is sweet, though it carries bitterness, because of God’s chastisements for the sake of our salvation. Having received the word of God as an open scroll, the prophet Ezekiel read what is written inside and outside it, to find that it includes lamentations, mourning, and woe. As he opened his mouth to be fed by the hand of God, to fulfill his depths, he found it in his mouth like honey in sweetness. How amazing is the love of God! He deals with us like a governess or a compassionate mother; stretching his hand to feed us, his beloved infants; We throw ourselves on his chest, like an infant on his mother’s breast; to find his commandment like pure milk flowing from his two breasts (the two Testaments) and as honey. His commandment is fit both for children, and for mature adults. God’s commandment is difficult and heavy on the natural man; even seen by some as a shackle on human freedom. Yet when the hand of God stretches to offer it to us therein, we find it to be like honey in sweetness. What is this stretched hand seen by Ezekiel (2:9), but the Son of God, who is called “the arm of God,” that became visible through incarnation. He who presents to us His divine commandment through practical mutual love between God and man, and between man and his brother. He offers Himself as a role Model and a Helper; saying: “This is My commandment that you love one another as I have loved you; You are My friends;... No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to You” (John 15:12-15). By this, God’s commandment is no longer a command we are committed to obey, but is the opening of our inner insight by love; to realize the will of our Beloved; to obey Him as 5 His beloved; our will voluntarily going hand in hand with His divine will! By this we can comprehend His words: “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me;... For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Mat 11:29-30); although He previously said: “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth; I did not come to bring peace but a sword;... He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” (Mat 10:34, 38). By love, the pain becomes sweet, the cross becomes a glory, and the commandment as sweet as honey. The word of God also carries warnings against the fallen to repent; something that might get a minister in an awkward situation; and subjects him even to troubles and afflictions, yet it provides him, at the same time, with sweetness and joy; as he realizes the salvation intentions of God. When the apostle Paul wrote harshly to the Corinthians, he made them sad; Yet he explained to them that, he is happy because this sadness is for the sake of repentance, to have them rejoice together with him; saying: “For if I make you sorrowful, then who is he who makes me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me. And I wrote this very thing to you, lest when I came, I should have sorrow over those from whom I ought to have joy, having confidence in you all that my joy is the joy of you all. For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you” (2 Cor 2:2-4). 2- THE DIFFICULTY OF THE TASK God did not send him to a foreign nation, of unfamiliar speech, but He sent him to His people, who have the Law of God. Yet, having always been a rebellious nation, they refused to listen to the Law that was received by Moses on the Mount of Sinai; and kept on refusing the word of God on the tongues of prophets. And when the Word Himself came to them, they also rejected Him. God punishes them in an indirect way; saying to Ezekiel: “Surely, had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you” (Ez. 3:6). And actually, when the Word came, the Gentiles of foreign origin accepted Him. Ezekiel’s mission was a very difficult one; “For all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted” (Ez. 3:7). That is the work of sin in the life of man. It makes his heart hard as rock, and his forehead strong. It makes him shamelessly refuse to listen to the divine voice, and fiercely reject it. Yet God grants strength to His ministers, saying: “Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house” (Ez 3:8, 9). If evil is naturally fierce, yet, It cannot prevail forever. It will eventually be destroyed by good, as light scatters darkness, and as truth destroys vain. The kingdom of God holds forever, while that of the devil would only temporarily hold. Thus, when the minister of God resorts to God as his refuge, the devil will not be able to prevail before him. Having heard the word of God, Ezekiel heard behind him a great thunderous voice (Ez 3:12). Those are the heavenly possibilities that secretly act in the heart, thundering to devastate evil, that hardens the hearts of sinners. He heard the voice of the wings of the Living Creatures that touched one another; that work together by one spirit, to support us 6 with their prayers for our sake. As to the voice of the wheels, it is the authority of the evangelic word that captivates and attracts the hearts. Even with all these heavenly divine possibilities, beside the support of the heavenliness, and the activity of the word itself; the ministry, is still filled with suffering and labor. Because of the bitterness of his inner heart, for the sake of the broken souls; the prophet says: “So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me” (Ez 3:14). Ezekiel had to proclaim the message among those who were suffering captivity; They could either receive the word of God, as the smell of life for life, or as the smell of death for death. Unfortunately, they did not benefit from being in captivity, nor their hearts softened because of chastisement. They did not listen to the word of God in the midst of their sojourn, but their stubbornness became fiercer against God and His prophets. God revealed to Ezekiel that they would refuse to listen to him, and would even oppose and persecute him. Yet, it is their responsibility, not his. As for him, he is committed to enjoy a divine strength that would make him hard as flint, to face their hardness (v. 8). The Spirit of God lifted him up, and took him away from before the throne, to where the captives were, to minister to them (v. 12-15); to let him realize that his movements were not according to his own human will, but according to the plan of God. He was carried by the Spirit; went in bitterness, and the hand of the Lord was strong upon him (Ez 3:14). The bitterness of his soul, might have been caused, as he compared between his standing before the divine throne, partaking of the heavenliness’ praises, and his confrontation with the captives, whose peace and joy of heart have been destroyed by Sin. In his bitterness, and having been reluctant to depart from the divine presence, he could have said together with the apostle Peter: “Lord, it is good for us to be here” (Mat 17:3). He might be embittered, as he felt the deprivation of the people of what he saw and experienced, standing before the divine throne. 3- HIS RESPONSIBILITY AS A WATCHMAN Having eaten the word of God, and been fulfilled by it, he still remained among the captives seven days; not knowing what to do. Then the voice of God came to him saying, “Son of Adam, I have made you a watchman” (Ez 3:17). Two things are necessary to designate a watchman: To eat the word of God, and to remain seven days among his people. The figure 7 refers to perfection; the consummation of the weekdays. It is as though the watchman is not a hired laborer who works for a wage, and for a certain time then takes rest; but he is truly someone who is loving, spending his whole life among his people and knowing no rest for himself. The apostle Paul intending to describe Moses, the first leader of the people of God, he said of him: “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasure of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward” (Heb 11:24-26). Such are the features of a spiritual watchman; to work among his people and to minister to them, carrying their reproach, not seeking what is his, but what is for their comfort. Calling him a “watchman,” is a sign of the spiritual war he goes through. In his 7 ministry, he washes the feet of others, and fights the devil and his hosts. In the old days, cities were almost always built on the top of hills, surrounded by high walls with watch-towers, where watchmen could follow and warn the people of the movements of any enemy who may approach the city. Then the gates of the city would be closed; and the army would get ready for war. God’s command to Ezekiel was: “Hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me” (Ez 3:17). As a watchman, he should have the spirit of discernment, through keeping of the word of God and his fellowship with Him. He should not warn them on his own, but by what he hears from the mouth of God. He should not speak in his own name, but in that of God “from Me.” By that, he would be capable of warning strongly without fear, compliment, or prejudice; lest souls might be lost, and he could be held responsible for them. God clarified to his minister the extent of his responsibility for the perdition of every soul he neglects to warn; something that always terrified the ministers of God along the ages. That is why, when St. Ambrose knew of a certain transgression committed by Emperor Theodosius, he hastened to write to warn him, saying: [Can I hold my peace?! Then my conscience would be shackled; I would be deprived of my utterance; and I would be in the worse condition I can imagine!... If the priest does not speak to the sinner, he would die in his sin; and the priest would himself come under the same punishment, because he did not warn him against his sin1.] Once again he wrote to him, saying: [I beg you to listen with patience to what I say. If I am not worthy of your attention, I would also be unworthy to present offerings on your behalf; you who entrusted me with your gifts and your prayers... It is not for the emperor to ban the freedom of speech; and it is not for the priest to refrain from uttering what he thinks right2.] St. John Chrysostom presented us with a magnificent example of how a watchman should care, not only for the congregation as a whole, but for every single soul, as though it is the whole congregation; saying: [Each one of you, in my eyes, is worth the whole city3.] He also says: [Let no one tells me that many of you have kept the commandment. this is not good enough for me! I want everyone to do that; and I will not hold my breath until I see that realized. If one among the Corinthians committed adultery, the apostle Paul would moan, as though the whole city had got lost4.] Feeling his responsibility as a watchman, he says to the priests of the Ephesians Church: “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God... Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears” (Acts 20:26, 27, 31). And as Fr. Caesarius of Arles says: [Of what blood is the apostle innocent? Naturally it is that of the souls and not of the bodies5.] And he also 1 Epistle 51:3. 2 Ibid 40:1. 3 De Terrac. motu. p. 650, 714. 4 Conc. Statutes, Homily 13:12. 5 Sermon 1:3. 8 says: [We should fear, lest many souls would be lost, because of a famine for God’s Word, caused by our negligence; for which we would be held responsible on the day of judgment1.] 4- THE NEED FOR A RETREAT BEFORE STARTING WORK: God warned the watchman against hastening to act, and commanded him to “arise and to go into the plain, and there he will talk with him” (Ez 3:22). There, God showed Ezekiel once more time His heavenly glory, as He did by the River Chebar. The success of the mission does not depend on the volume of work, as much as on the quality of the minister. He is committed to have himself sanctified through his retreat with God, to lift his heart up to the divine glories; so as to present to the people, in his own life, “ the strength of heavenly life.” “Going into the ‘plain’ to behold the glory of God, is necessary for every minister; That is why, after having been called for ministry, the apostle Paul was committed to live three years in the wilderness, in a long retreat with God, to get prepared for the apostolic work. St. Augustine speaks of the commitment of ministers to spiritual retreat; yet taking care that retreat would not hinder work; nor work would hinder retreat; saying: [Those who are committed to do good and to care for souls, have to bear for others a testimony to the other kind of life (meditation). That is why they should dedicate themselves to the study and meditation on the truth and the eternal life. It is not right as well, that life of meditation should hinder someone from carrying out his other Church duties2.] In our ministry, we need God to be transfigured in our hearts; and to enjoy the divine presence; not for once, but every now and then; in order to enjoy new and continuous visions, that would reveal the glory, the power, and the possibilities of God. We should be sure that He works in and by us; that He is always present inside us; always transfiguring in our depths. 5- THERE IS TIME TO KEEP SILENCE, AND TIME TO SPEAK The vision happened again, and Ezekiel again fell on his face, to have the Spirit enter him and set him on his feet, and speak with him saying: “Go shut yourself inside your house... You will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute, and not be a reprover to them, for they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God...” (Ez 3:24-27). Such was God’s command to him, not to act with human zeal, but to be mute and not to speak until he is allowed to do so; to speak at the time God sees convenient, by God’s words, and in His name. If he, as a watchman, would be judged if he holds his peace before evil, yet he should learn to act according to the words of the wise King Solomon: “There is time to keep silence, and a time to speak” (Eccles 3:7). And as St. Ambrose says: [Weigh your talk, and measure your words], and [A wise man takes into consideration what he should say, to whom he talks, the circumstances of place and time... There should also be a measure of when to keep silent and when to speak3.] And Fr. Gregory (the Great) says: [A Shepherd should be wise in his silence, and useful 1 Ibid 1:15. .710 ، 2 للمؤلف: الحب الرعوي، 709 ،1965 . 3 للمؤلف: الحب الرعوي، 1965 ، ص 694 9 with his talk1.] . 1 للمؤلف: الحب الرعوي، 1965 ، ص 694 10 AN INSPIRATION FROM THE BOOK OF E ZEKIEL 3 FEED ME WITH YOUR COMMANDMENT O YOU THE DESIRE OF MY HEART Feed me with your commandment, O You, the desire of my heart! Stretch Your hand and offer me Your commandment, a heavenly Bread. I am a child, even a suckling; I will not accept food from someone else! You have compassion on me, more than my own parents, O Savior of my soul! Your commandment is difficult, O Savior of my soul. Your cross is heavy; and Your way is narrow and rough. Yet, from Your hands, Your commandment would be bread and honey. Your cross would be glory; and Your way a new heaven! You sent Your prophet carrying Your word to Your rebellious people. Grant me to carry Your commandment to every soul, however rebellious it may be! When Your word was delivered, there was great thunder in the sky. Let the sky thunder, and let every hardness in my heart and in theirs tremble. Let their shaky natural earthly nature be taken away. And let them enjoy an eternal heavenly life. As your prophet presented Your word to the rebellious people, his soul was embittered. Was his soul embittered, because he wished to stay on beholding Your chariot?! Or was his soul embittered, having come to experience the rebellion of mankind. Grant me, amid the bitterness of my soul, to behold your heavens. Grant me amid my grief, to experience the repentance of many. Let my heart rejoice by Your divine work in me and in them, O divine Word. Your prophet remained seven days among the captives. Grant me to spend all the days of my sojourn working in Your vine. I am not counting the days like a laborer. But, as a son, I yearn to work in my father’s vine. Teach me, O divine Word. When shall I get alone with You, to know Your mysteries?! When shall I work in Your vine, to minister to Your people?! Grant me in my retreat, not to forget Your people; And in my ministry, not to stop meditating on Your mysteries. Guide me, O True Word. I do not know when to keep silent, and when to speak. How should I keep silent; and how should I speak?! Here I am in Your hands. Be My Guide working in me.
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