Once again, these readings speak to me about power, our power and lack of it and God's power in abundance. Ezekiel is sent to the "hard of face and obstinate of heart... a rebellious house", not exactly the kind of people on a Welcoming Committee! Ezekiel could not possibly have been thrilled with or enthusiatic about this assignment. Sound familiar..like that " Lord, you want me to do what?" feeling? Most of the time, our audience can be passive or just not tuned in, but rarely this openly hostile, or at least, not unless we are truly missionaries or those in war-torn areas. Ezekiel seems propelled into this job by a power far greater than the obstacles he faces ... and rightly so, for that is how it is. Paul , too, admits to great personal weakness but yet, is forcefully empowered for his mission by grace.

Then there is this account of Jesus, fully human and fully divine, who "was not able to perform any mighty deed there", because of the rejection of the people in his home town and their lack of faith in him. to me, there seems some contradiction here or surely something that I just don't understand. Wasn't Jesus empowered? Why "couldn't" he show them the great miracle worker that he was? I really don't know the answers to my own questions , but I do have some in-process "fruits of contemplation" to share about this mystery.

In truth, Jesus being fully human and fully divine is a great mystery. In this case, for whatever reason as part of God"s Plan, Jesus' s humanity is the "main idea" of the story, the most important message, so to speak. My thoughts are that by God's great plan and power, the human weakness of Jesus, just as that of Ezekiel and Paul, become part of our instruction for living in the face of advesity. The solution of all three men: rely on God, not oneself. Basically, for me this means to identify that God is God and I am not!

This sounds easy, but is difficult! The key is surrender, an act not high on the list of people who strive for... well, anything, including what is initially thought of as holiness. Once I learned that my turning away from my doing and turning towards my allowing God to do the doing, well then the doing really began. I think that sounds like the double-talk of the legendary Yogi Berra in the recent Aflac commercial but I hope it makes some sense to Christians who are called to rejoice in what seems the folly of the Cross! Out of our nothingness can shine God's greatness. Part of the mystery? Yes. Double-talk? NO. Will it take time to sink in? Because we are indeed human, definitely yes, but that's OK, because God is God and we are not!

(Comments to Lanie at lanieleblanc@onebox.com.)