September 11, 2023

Today's Reading: Ezekiel 33:1-10

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 5:1-18, 2 Corinthians 1:23-2:17

How then can we live? (Ezekiel 33:10)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When we observe the nature of the world, the sins of people against us, and our sins against others, it is easy to become pessimistic and cynical. We can identify all sorts of problems in the world, but we do not seem to be able to solve any of them. We recognize the symptoms of the problem in violence, hatred, injustice, division, and a lack of care for anyone but ourselves. 

The people of Israel did not have the technology to spread their sin, as we do, but they had the same sins. In Ezekiel 24, when God tells Ezekiel to declare to Jerusalem that the king of Babylon has laid siege to the city, God calls Jerusalem “the city of blood” (24:6, 7, 9). This is a repetition of the charge in chapter 22: “You shall say [to the people of Jerusalem], Thus says the Lord Yahweh: …You have become guilty by the blood you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made. … Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you,” among many other things (Ezekiel 22:3, 4, 7ff.). 

To a greater or lesser degree, all Jerusalem’s sins are still present in our world. Ezekiel was sent by God to declare the people’s sins, just as God still sends preachers of His Word to declare His Law. When God’s Law brings to our attention the depth of our sin and idolatry and corruption, we might well say with the people, “Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live” (Ezekiel 33:10)? God says, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel” (33:11)? 

Sin and rebellion against our Creator, who is our life, makes no sense. Why would we turn from Him and die? But that is what sinners, left to themselves, will always do. So God finally breaks the stalemate between His desire and sinners’ actions. He sends Jesus to become the wicked one and take all the world’s wickedness upon Himself, though it does not belong to Him. He fulfills Ezekiel’s vision and not only warns us of our impending death, but becomes our death. How then can we live? In Christ, crucified and risen; who gives Himself to us in Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, and the Holy Supper. This is how we live. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, You desire not the death of a sinner, but rather that we turn from our evil ways and live. Graciously spare us those punishments which we by our sins have deserved, and grant us always to serve You in holiness and pureness of living; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

 
- Pastor Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.