Memory of Jesus crucified

Reading of the Word of God

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

Ezekiel 18,21-28

'If the wicked, however, renounces all the sins he has committed, respects my laws and is law-abiding and upright, he will most certainly live; he will not die. None of the crimes he committed will be remembered against him from then on; he will most certainly live because of his upright actions. Would I take pleasure in the death of the wicked -- declares the Lord Yahweh -- and not prefer to see him renounce his wickedness and live? 'But if the upright abandons uprightness and does wrong by copying all the loathsome practices of the wicked, is he to live? All his upright actions will be forgotten from then on; for the infidelity of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, he will most certainly die. 'Now, you say, "What the Lord does is unjust." Now listen, House of Israel: is what I do unjust? Is it not what you do that is unjust? When the upright abandons uprightness and does wrong and dies, he dies because of the wrong which he himself has done. Similarly, when the wicked abandons wickedness to become law-abiding and upright, he saves his own life. Having chosen to renounce all his previous crimes, he will most certainly live: he will not die.

 

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

The prophet Ezekiel responds to a proverb that said-we find it in the beginning of the chapter-"The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." And to verse 19: "Yet you say, 'Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?'" It is a mentality that is very common even today, when a person is judged for his or her family of origin or for some evil committed by others. And often such judgment becomes a condemnation that marks a person for life. The word of the prophet asserts instead with extreme clarity that the responsibility before good and evil is always personal. No one is right or wicked for the evil committed by another, unless he or she was an accomplice. Rather the text asserts that God is ready to forgive everyone if they convert, if they change their hearts and ways of acting, if they stop doing evil and commit themselves to doing good. The text shows the great mercy of God, who allows everyone to change and convert: "When the wicked turn away from the wickedness they have committed and do what is lawful and right, they shall save their life. Because they considered and turned away from all the transgressions that they had committed, they shall surely live; they shall not die." God's mercy has no limits, because the Lord is always ready to forgive. But men and women must come to their senses, recognize the evil hidden in their hearts and turn to God with the trust of being listened to and aided. This is also valid for the righteous ones who distance themselves from the way of good: "When the righteous turn away from their righteousness and commit iniquity, they shall die for it; for the iniquity that they have committed they shall die." The prophet helps us understand that we are all called to watch ourselves every day, because every day we choose between good and evil. No one is righteous and good per se. No one is evil per se. Each of us, every day must take on the responsibility before God of his or her actions and choices. God is always ready to forgive, but God asks each of us to be responsible for what we do. Facing good and evil the assurance of being righteous and good is not in itself a guarantee of life and goodness.