9/23/2015 – Wednesday of the 25th week in Ordinary Time – Ezra 9:5-9

      Ezra was a scribe and priest at the time of the return from the Babylonian exile that happened in the 6^th century BC.  This week, in our first readings, we have two readings from the Book of Ezra before we move on to the Prophets Zechariah and Haggai later this week.  Ezra is very upset about how the people of Israel had sinned and turned their backs on God.  Being in exile was a very dramatic and horrific experience for them, but they had intermarried with a lot of the local people, and had abandoned their faith and religious traditions for the pagan traditions of the native people.  Ezra was calling the people to at return to God’s law, but he was despondent and angry at how slowly the people were responding.  We live in a busy world today where we have a lot of things competing for our time and energy.  Sometimes it is not convenient or easy to commit ourselves to the faith.  But what it is our faith calling us to do? Ezra displays a simple humility in the way he approaches God in our reading today.  We are excited about the Pope’s visit and the energy and positive attention he has brought to the Catholic faith.  Are we willing to put that enthusiasm into action in the way we live out the faith in our daily lives and in our evangelization to others?  Perhaps we need to ponder that question.