Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe. – Ezekiel 2:9-10

Today's Scripture Reading (April 27, 2020): Ezekiel 2

Vera Nazarian, in "The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration," writes, "Sometimes, reaching out and taking someone's hand is the beginning of a journey. At other times, it is allowing another to take yours." Often, the beginning of a journey is straightforward. It has been suggested the genius and the success of the Beatles can be linked to the fact that they understood this simple step. We are not looking for momentary hot sex, or monetary success or even the latest toy for our collection. Our needs are much simpler than that. At the end of the day, all we need is someone with whom we can hold hands. The Beatles' first single was "I Want to Hold Your Hand." And whether they understood it or not, they summed up our most basic need with the lyrics of the song. And if we are going to begin a journey together, this is the way that it starts.

Ezekiel describes seeing a hand reaching out to him in his vision. He doesn't seem to see anything else. It is just a hand. Maybe it was the hand of one of the cherubim. Perhaps it was the hand of God. Christians love to assert that maybe this is the hand of Jesus, long before they would become permanently scarred by the nail prints of Easter Weekend.

Ezekiel doesn't know. It is just a hand. And maybe an invitation to join the owner of the hand on a journey. And in the hand was a scroll. The scroll was unrolled, and there was writing on both sides of the parchment, which was unusual. Common practice indicated that only one side of the writing surface should contain the message being transmitted, but this message was so full that it needed both sides of the parchment to hold it.

The message of the scroll was one of woe, matching the prophecies of the day presented by Jeremiah and Ezekiel. This was a time of trial and trouble. And there seemed to be no way of escape from the events that had started during Ezekiel's lifetime. Maybe the parchment contained the tears of God as he led his people on a journey that he wished they did not have to take. Salvation was coming, but it would be reserved for the next generation, and not the ones to whom Ezekiel ministered on the banks of Kebar River.

Of course, an even greater message was on its way. One that would be announced, not by cherubim and a scroll that was given to the priest Ezekiel, filled with lamentation and mourning. This greater message would be shared by an angel to a group of shepherds in the Judean countryside almost six centuries later. "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger" (Luke 2:10-12). The days of mourning would finally be over, as Jesus became the sacrifice that would pay for our sins and destroy the need for our spiritual exile ever to have to take place again. A journey that begins when we stop our striving and reach out and take the hand offered to us by God.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 3