"Thus says the Lord GOD: I, too, will take from the crest of
the cedar, from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot, and plant it on a
high and lofty mountain; on the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it." Ez 17:22
It is difficult to overstate the importance of cedars in the bible. They are mentioned 75 times in the Hebrew bible in 18 different books, and always they are a symbol of all that is good about God's love for his people, even when God's people are unfaithful.
Ezekiel, the first of the prophets to be commissioned outside of Jerusalem, is particularly harsh in his condemnation of the Jewish nation, comparing her to a promiscuous woman and warning her that God's wrath will not easily be quieted. Still, he promises that Israel will rise again, but only because God will take a tender shoot from the topmost branches of the cedar and plant it on the highest point in Israel. Just as Israel reaches the point of despair, God responds and renews.
These images should be helpful to faith filled Catholics in the days of our diminishment, especially in the developed world. While it might take generations for us to recover from the scandal of sexual abuse and the failures of the church in the U.S., God will not be silenced. Even now Mark suggests, God is scattering "seed on the land," (4:26) that will "sprout and grow" in ways we cannot see or appreciate. It is this faith that we cling today as we enter more deeply into God's way of healing and hope.
Today, be sweet smelling cedar for others.
Is there a particular biblical image that fills you with hope?
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