Day 314 

Ezekiel 21:1-22:31; Hebrews 10:1-17; Psalm 108:1-13; Proverbs 27:12

Under Construction

Proverbs 27:12 – “The clever see danger and hide; but the simple go on, and suffer for it.”

This proverb is very appropriate for the long reading from Ezekiel that scared me when I read it! The sword of God is coming, Ezekiel is telling the people, and the clever in that day would certainly have desired to run and hide! But destruction with God’s sword, destruction at God’s hand, is not senseless.

When God wields that sword, it is to tear down all that humans have built up over and against God. It will then be replaced by something new. Not new offerings of animals and blood, as it says in Hebrews. God breaks down our human systems, for “human help is worthless.” God builds up new divine systems to reign over our lives. We have trouble seeing them, because while God’s Kingdom is being formed, it is indeed under construction.

No matter where you go in Florida, you are sure to run into a construction site of some kind. A road being remade or widened or improved, a new building going up on the corner where the old 7-Eleven used to stand. Construction slows us down, hurts our eyes, churns up dust, and is an inconvenience at its best. At its worst, it feels like nothing will ever be the same.

When God wields His sword to tear our world up, we must be thankful that nothing will ever be the same. God abolishes the first order when there is need for new order. That process is painful. But God’s love is higher than the heavens, and we are being made new day by day. When God is making your world new, do not simply go on and suffer. Instead, hide until the dust settles. When it does, welcome the second order of things, the new thing that God has built in your world or your life. Be grateful.

The Rev. Alison P. Harrity
St. Richard’s Episcopal Church
Winter Park, FL