¹⁶ Again the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁷ “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions. Their conduct was like a woman’s monthly uncleanness in my sight. ¹⁸ So I poured out my wrath on them because they had shed blood in the land and because they had defiled it with their idols. ¹⁹ I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions. ²⁰ And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, ‘These are the Lord’s people, and yet they had to leave his land.’ ²¹ I had concern for my holy name, which the people of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone.

²² “Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. ²³ I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.

²⁴ “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. ²⁵ I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. ²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. ²⁸ Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 

Ezekiel 36:16-38

Dear God, you long for us so much! That’s the weirdest thing about you , in my mind. You long for us so much. I long for my children in a huge way, but you long for us even more. You want us. You want to restore us. You want relationship with us. You want our worship, but it’s so you can pour yourself into us. If you poured yourself into us without our worship, the consequences would be terrible. Who would I be if you just poured yourself into me without me first submitting myself to you? But the big picture is that you want this. It’s so weird!

As I sit here in Kansas this morning, with several hours before I leave for the airport, I have some options. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. But it’s Sunday. I have a rental car. While I was talking to my wife on the phone this morning, the thought occurred to me, “Why wouldn’t I go to church?” Good question. At home, my wife is Catholic so I attend Catholic church with her, but I’m out here on my own this morning. I can choose whatever I want. So here’s the weird thing. As I looked up churches around me, I found myself being skeptical of worship styles and what I would like and what I wouldn’t, so I ultimately decided it would probably be best if I find a Catholic church.. So I found one less than two miles from me, and I am planning to hit the 8:30 mass. If nothing else, I have a pretty good idea what it will be like, and I know I’ll be able to worship you there.

Father, I want to find a place to corporately worship you this morning. This isn’t for appearances. This isn’t duty. It’s need on my part. Sure, I don’t have to do it, and maybe my day will be fine, but I will be better if I do this. If I find myself worshipping you through joining others to read your word, sing songs to you, and hear a homily prepared by someone who loves you. I will watch others as they take the eucharist, knowing I’m not really that different from the Catholics in the room, but respectful of how they feel about the importance of the eucharist and that I shouldn’t partake if I don’t believe in transubstantiation. I’m looking forward to this. It won’t guarantee me a good day, but it will be a touchpoint with you as I go through my day, and it will give me a better shot of responding in your love and with your Spirit when challenges arise. Be with me today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen