God's Plan of Restoration
August 22, 2024 - Thursday, Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Ez 36:23-28
The destruction of Jerusalem and the exile affected not only Israel but also the Lord. In the ancient world, the gods of a tribe or a nation rose and fell with their fate. A successful empire had stronger gods on its side, and a defeated nation indicated that its gods were weaker than their counterparts. So, the Babylonians could boast that Marduk, their chief deity, was more powerful than the God of Israel. Jerusalem was destroyed, the temple was burned, and the Israelites were enslaved by the wealthy Babylonians.
To restore the reputation of His name, the Lord planned to perform a miracle that would far surpass the Exodus from Egypt. He planned not only to bring the Israelites back from Babylon to the land of their ancestors but also to recreate them. It would involve three steps: a rite of purification, a new heart, and a new spirit.
Belonging to a priestly class, Ezekiel saw the rites of purification as a vital expression of Israel's religiosity, and water was used in all those rites. "I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you" (Ezekiel 36:25). The Jews living in a land of the Gentiles became ritually unclean, and so upon returning to the Holy Land, they had to first purify themselves with clean water. However, water can only purify our bodies, not our hearts. Ezekiel's "clean water" that can cleanse from all impurities and idols prepares us for the purifying water of the Christian sacrament of baptism.
In the Bible, the heart is the center of thought and emotions from which our actions spring. Since the very beginning, the biblical author has had a negative opinion of the human heart: its intentions are evil (see Gen. 8:21), "deceitful above all things and beyond cure" (Jer. 17:9). The only solution is a heart replacement: a new heart whose intentions will be good and truthful. God's law shall be written on this new heart, allowing us to obey the Lord spontaneously. Christian tradition sees the fulfillment of this promise in Christ, the New Adam, and in those who believe in Him and imitate Him in their lives.
At the beginning of creation, when the human being was formed from the dust of the earth, the Lord breathed into him the breath of life (see Gen. 2:7). Drawing on this image, Ezekiel promises us God's spirit to breathe into us. We would have to wait a few centuries for this promise to be fulfilled. It took place on the Day of Pentecost after Jesus' resurrection. As we see from the Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit transformed Christ's disciples, filling their hearts with love for each other and courage to proclaim the Gospel to the world. We have received this Spirit in the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, and we can invoke Him by praying: Come, Holy Spirit; renew the face of the earth and renew our lives.
Our Catechism agrees with Ezekiel that we need a new heart, and only God can give it to us. This giving of a new heart refers to our conversion, which is a work of God's grace, and it takes place by looking upon the Crucified Christ and discovering the greatness of God's love for us (see CCC, 1432).