Turn, Turn, Turn

Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 33:17-20

I had a teacher in high school who was famously known for responding to students who said, “That’s not fair,” with the statement, “There’s no big sign in the sky that says ‘Fair!’” When things don’t go the way we think they should, we often repeat that kind of complaint. In Ezekiel 33, the complaint is similar except the word is “just.” And the complaint isn’t leveled generally, but directly at God: “The way of the LORD is not just” (Ezekiel 37:17).

The basis of the complaint seems to be regarding how God treated people. When sinners turned from their sins, God forgave them and gave them life. When those who professed righteousness, turned from their righteousness and did injustice, God judged them with death.

The complaint seems similar to what Jesus dealt with through the Pharisees. They were always getting upset about how he received and forgave the worst of sinners. Further, they were offended by his harsh criticism of their religiosity that veiled their abusive ways. They were greedy, religious extortionists who covered their sins with clerical cloaks. To them, Jesus’ ways didn’t seem just.

I think it is all about which direction we are turning. Turning is a good word to describe what repentance means. We are all turning all the time. To take from Pete Seger’s song made famous by the Byrd’s, “To everything turn, turn, turn…” We are either turning toward God and righteousness or away from God and righteousness. We are either repenting or revolting.

The issue is not as much about where I am at in any given moment, but to what and whom I am moving toward.

Repent, therefore

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