WEBVTT 00:00:00.959 --> 00:00:07.280 There's a sad moment in today's first reading, but it's also so subtle that we can easily miss it. 00:00:07.599 --> 00:00:09.279 Ezekiel has a vision. 00:00:09.599 --> 00:00:12.720 He watches something almost unimaginable happen. 00:00:13.039 --> 00:00:15.519 The glory of God leaves the temple. 00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:16.800 Think about that. 00:00:17.120 --> 00:00:22.079 For centuries the temple was the visible sign of God's presence among his people. 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:24.559 It was a place where heaven and earth met. 00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:28.559 And now Ezekiel watches the glory of the Lord slowly depart. 00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:29.519 Why? 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:37.600 Well, not because God stopped loving his people, but because his people had slowly stopped making room for him. 00:00:38.399 --> 00:00:41.600 That may be one of the greatest spiritual dangers we face. 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:50.719 Very few people, and I've said this a lot, and I'll continue saying it, very few people wake up one morning and decide, oh, today I'm going to abandon God. 00:00:51.359 --> 00:00:53.520 It almost never happens that way. 00:00:53.759 --> 00:01:07.519 Instead, it happens one compromise at a time, one neglected prayer at a time, one unforgiving resentment, one hidden sin over and over again, one excuse after another. 00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:12.560 And then what happens is little by little, God is pushed from the center to the margins. 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:17.040 Until eventually we discover that we're living as though he doesn't exist. 00:01:17.920 --> 00:01:21.439 He were no longer, he's no longer the center of our lives. 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:24.640 Now I want you to listen carefully to today's gospel. 00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:27.040 Jesus has something remarkable. 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:32.640 He says, Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them. 00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:34.640 Do you hear that? 00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:36.879 What has changed from the first reading? 00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:40.319 Because in Ezekiel, God's glory leaves a temple. 00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:46.239 In the gospel, Jesus is saying, I will dwell wherever people gather in my name. 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:49.840 So God is no longer identified merely with a building. 00:01:50.159 --> 00:01:52.560 He desires to dwell in hearts. 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:57.680 He desires to dwell in a family, dwell in the friendships. 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:00.719 He desires to dwell in his church. 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:04.159 That's why the first part of today's gospel is so important. 00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:09.280 It says, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault. 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:16.879 Because at first glance it sounds like Jesus is giving us instructions for conflict, or at least conflict resolution. 00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:21.120 But he's what he's doing here is much more than that. 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:24.319 He's teaching us how to protect communion. 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:29.439 Most people avoid difficult conversations because they are uncomfortable. 00:02:29.840 --> 00:02:33.039 And others enjoy them a little bit too much. 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:36.319 Jesus chooses neither approach. 00:02:36.639 --> 00:02:44.000 He says, Go to your brother, not to embarrass him, not to defeat him, not to prove you're right. 00:02:44.319 --> 00:02:46.960 Go because a relationship matters. 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:49.360 Go because communion matters. 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:54.000 Go because Christ desires to remain in the midst of his people. 00:02:54.639 --> 00:02:58.319 You see, fraternal correction is not about winning an argument. 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:01.520 It's about refusing to lose a brother or sister. 00:03:01.680 --> 00:03:03.520 And that changes everything. 00:03:03.919 --> 00:03:09.599 There's another detail in today's first reading that has fascinated Christians from the earliest centuries. 00:03:09.919 --> 00:03:20.800 God tells the angel to place the Hebrew letter Tao, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, on the foreheads of those who remained faithful. 00:03:21.280 --> 00:03:26.960 The ancient form of that letter looked remarkably like a cross. 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:30.960 The early Christians saw it as a beautiful foreshadowing. 00:03:31.439 --> 00:03:37.599 Long before the cross of Calvary, God was already marking his faithful people with the sign of salvation. 00:03:38.159 --> 00:03:40.560 Think about what we do every day. 00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:46.240 Before the gospel's proclaim, we trace a small cross on our forehead, on our lips, and on our hearts. 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:51.439 We're asking that God's word shape our minds, our speech, and our hearts. 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:58.639 You see, the cross is not simply something we wear, it is the identity we live, it is who we are. 00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:01.919 And perhaps that's the question for us all. 00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:05.680 If someone looked at my life, where would they see God? 00:04:06.719 --> 00:04:08.719 Where would they say that God lives? 00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:11.919 At the center or somewhere on the edges? 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:16.000 Does my family become more peaceful because I'm there? 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:20.240 Does my workplace become more honest because I work there? 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:24.720 Do people encounter Christ because they are encountering me? 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:29.600 The temple is no longer the only place where God desires to dwell. 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:33.040 He wants to dwell in your heart. 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:38.319 And wherever Christ truly remains at the center, something extraordinary happens. 00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:41.120 Broken relationships begin to heal. 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:43.519 Communion replaces division. 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:46.079 Peace overcomes resentment. 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:52.399 And the glory that once departed from the temple finds a new home in the human heart. 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:54.639 And that's your heart. 00:04:55.040 --> 00:04:55.680 Amen.