July 6, 2025

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Sermon Text: Ezekiel 2:9 – 3:11

Other Readings: 1 Peter 5:1-4 and Luke 10:1-12,16-20

 

Note: Ezekiel was called to do ministry to those Jews living in exile over in Babylon. You can read about how Judah and Jerusalem was exiled and fell at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar in 2 Kings chapter 24 and 25.

 

1.       The Book of Ezekiel is filled with some strange imagery. Why do you think God told Ezekiel to take and eat writing? Confer Deuteronomy 8:4 and John 6:48-51.

 

 

2.       God told Ezekiel that many of his countrymen would not be willing to listen to what he proclaimed. What about our fellow Americans? List some things that make Americans unwilling to listen to what God has to say through his word.

 

 

3.       God also told Ezekiel that he should not be afraid or terrified of his countrymen and their reactions. What are some things that we are tempted to fear when it comes to proclaiming God’s truth to others?

 

4.       What was the antidote to Ezekiel’s potential fears (and the antidote to our potential fears)? Look especially at Ezekiel 3:7-9 and Luke 10:16.

 

5.       Make a list of two or three people whom you think you can proclaim God’s word to this week, just as Ezekiel was called to do and the seventy-two were sent out to do (in our Gospel Reading).

 

 

1.       The Bible talks about ingesting the word of God like we would ingest food. Perhaps here, then, the point is that Ezekiel should make these words a part of his very existence and draw energy and purpose from them. If so, we might make a connection to Holy Communion where we are bid to eat and drink Christ’s body and blood – and take to heart the words said along with that.

 

2.       Answers will vary based on personal perspective, but in general we might observe how Americans love their individualism and have a pretty inflated view of personal autonomy and ability. God often calls us to think of others not ourselves and to remember that we belong to him and do not have the freedom to do whatever we want.

 

3.       Answers will vary based on personal experience.

 

4.       An antidote to our fear is God’s promise that he can make us strong enough to endure any rebellion. Additionally, he comforts us by saying that, ultimately, we are not be rejected; he is. So, that allows us to take it less “personally,” as we say.

 

5. God bless your proclamation to these souls!