Turn their hearts of stone into hearts of flesh

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To recover from the impact of war, destruction, loss of land and exile, the people had deserted God. As a consequence and as we read in today’s first reading from Ezekiel 36:23-28, the great challenge for the prophet Ezekiel was to restore the holiness of God’s name. This would require that the people undergo radical change. They needed to be cleansed and re-united. In deserting God, they had allowed themelves to become cold. Their hearts had hardened into stone. So God says, “I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead.” This will give rise to a new relationship. “You shall be my people and I will be your God.” Many years ago, I remember working in a parish where many young people did not go to church. In many ways they found the church to be heartless and cold. I used to spend time among them, listening to their stories and singing songs. It was simply because I enjoyed their company that I would spend long hours with them. They were suspicious at first, questioning my motives. I was a missionary priest after all. Some thought that all I wanted to do was to get them to go back to church. In the end, they made me feel welcome and I felt at home with them.

 

One year as Christmas was approaching, I knew that we didn’t have much of a choir. So I asked this young “gang” if they would sing for the midnight mass. They agreed to do so. What a night! You can imagine the old faithful, the regulars, looking down at the back of the church as it filled up with these young people who hardly ever went to church. One thing I remember so well was “the sign of peace” when these regulars turned without hesitation and went down to hug these young people. The hearts of stone had been turned into hearts of flesh as the tears flowed. There was a new spirit and a new heart. Jesus was reborn in the hearts and minds of that community that night. Let us restore the heart and soul of our Christian communities and remember as today’s gospel, from Matthew 22:1-14, reminds us that we sometimes have to go out to the highways and byways and back alleys and invite the good and bad alike to the wedding feast. In this way we break down barriers and help to cleanse our Christian communities of prejudice and ill-will and re-unite them as people who give witness to the love of God for all in Jesus Christ.