The Greatest Regeneration: Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32 - 17th Sunday after Pentecost

¹The word of the Lord came to me: ²What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge”? ³As I live, says the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. ⁴Know that all lives are mine; the life of the parent as well as the life of the child is mine: it is only the person who sins that shall die.
  ²⁵Yet you say, “The way of the Lord is unfair.” Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair? ²⁶When 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. ²⁷Again, when the wicked turn away from the wickedness they have committed and do what is lawful and right, they shall save their life. ²⁸Because they considered and turned away from all the transgressions that they had committed, they shall surely live; they shall not die. ²⁹Yet the house of Israel says, “The way of the Lord is unfair.” O house of Israel, are my ways unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair?
  ³⁰Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, all of you according to your ways, says the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions; otherwise iniquity will be your ruin. ³¹Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? ³²For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord God. Turn, then, and live. (NRSV)

There are no four words that drive a young person to boredom faster than “back in my day.” 

 

I know this, because when I was young, I heard plenty of adults say, “back in my day, we walked ten miles to school, uphill both ways, barefoot, in the snow, because we had no snow days,” et cetera, et cetera.

 

But now, I have my own version of the lecture!

Back in my day:

§  You couldn’t use the internet and the phone at the same time

§  Notebooks and tablets were stacks of paper bound together with a metal coil

§  Our toys, crayons, cribs, strollers, and car seats have all been banned by the government for being toxic and deadly—but somehow, we survived.

 

I think every generation is critical of its children. “Kids! I don't know what's wrong with these kids today! Why can't they be like we were, perfect in every way?”

 

But fingers point in the opposite direction—with today’s emerging generations accusing their forbears of making college unaffordable, driving up the national debt, ruining the environment, and giving no thought to the generations coming after them. 

 

In today’s first reading, the people are in exile—and fingers were pointing to their parents’ and grandparents’ generations. They said, “the parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” In other words, “our parents sinned—but we inherited the punishment.” Yet fingers also pointed God’s direction: God was punishing them for their parents’ sin, which is extremely unfair. 

 

In response, God says, “I’m not being unfair; you’re being unfair!”

 

God had showed tremendous compassion towards every generation that came before them—but people kept on worshiping idols, oppressing the poor, persecuting the righteous, and committing violence. These sins have consequences. 

 

So God sets the record straight: those who reject righteousness and commit iniquity shall die. Those who reject iniquity and embrace righteousness shall live. Every individual shall be responsible for their own sin.

 

And that’s not to say that this will make everything “fair.” Many righteous people were exiled or died in the conquest of Judea. Many unrighteous generations lived and died without ever suffering the consequences. 

 

But this was the generation that could make history. They can be the ones who confess their sinfulness (instead of denying or deflecting it). They can be the ones whom God’s amazing grace turns brings to repentance. They can be the ones who receive from God a new heart and a new spirit; who turn and live.

 

But first, they need to get over themselves. They need to stop pointing fingers and hurling blame. 

There is no faster way to reject God than by denying your need of repentance. It’s the sinner who says, “I don’t need to repent, but you do!” Human beings are far more likely to find fault in others than themselves. This is especially true if the “other” was born at the wrong time, in the wrong place, to the wrong people. 

 

We also reject God with our demands for fairness. No one should be given supports or advantages we never had. “If I had to eat sour grapes, everyone should have to eat ‘em,” we say. And, “if you give me sour grapes, I hope your teeth hurt when I make you eat them!” Because that is what’s fair. 

 

But God values something much more than fairness: God values life—and people’s lives—above anything. We all have our own ideas about what’s fair and unfair, but God is all about life. 

 

“Turn to me, and live,” says the Lord. That is what it means to take responsibility: you stop pointing fingers; you quit the blame game that you’ll never win anyway. You stop demanding that God make everything fair (from your point of view). Instead, you seize the moment for what it is: the proper time to receive the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ. You confess, “I’m a sinner—and only God can give me a new heart and a new spirit;” and God does it. You put to death the works of death. You allow God’s claim on you and your destiny to be complete. 

 

Life will never be 100% fair. But when you do justice and love righteousness, you’re not treating others according to what you think they deserve. Instead, you are serving the other according to what they need, because they bear the image of God—just like you do. Sacrificing yourself for others in Jesus’s name doesn’t diminish you. It transforms you. You see resurrection. You have hope for a brighter, better future.

 

And regardless of whether you’re of the Greatest Generation, the Baby Boomers, Generation-X, Millennials, Generation Z, or Gen-Alpha—you can all be part of the Greatest Re-generation, captured by the graciousness of God; turned from death to life; given a new heart, a new spirit, and a new destiny to be lived out from this time forward.