A New and Natural Heart

~~~ Ezekiel 36: 23-28 ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~Matthew 21: 1-14 ~~~

 

"A clean heart create for me, O God..."

 

"I will sprinkle clean water upon you
to cleanse you from all your impurities...

I will cleanse you..."

 

The pure cleansing baptismal waters come to mind here.

Jesus is the Living Water.

He cleansed, healed, and inspired the woman at the well with one cup of water.

Just to be sprinkled with his 'holy' water will send down his healing and cleansing.

There are times when the sprinkling with holy water is part of our liturgy.

One of the most moving times we see a sprinkling take place is during a funeral.

Towards the end of the service the entire is sprinkled with holy water.

This sprinkling ushers us into relationship with the Lord at our baptism.

This later sprinkling ushers our soul into it's eternal relationship with God.

 

 

"...I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts...."

 

If you have ever had the occasion to walk into a Build a Bear store.

The whole process from picking out your 'bear', stuffing it,

 to the fluffing station is quite charming.

What I think is the best part is when you get to take

the soft little heart...

hold it in your hands...

make a wish or prayer intention for the recipient...

kiss it and lovingly place inside the bear.

 

You can also at some point

record a personal message

to your loved one.

This tiny recording is also tucked inside the bear.

 

The person who receives this precious gift can listen

to your recorded message over and over again.

Each time they want to hear your voice it is just a squeeze away.

Every bear has its own special 'touch point' to activate the message.

 

You may be wondering where I am going with this stuffed animal story.

Today we hear God promising to remove our stony heart,

replacing it with a new natural heart.

I believe if we allow God to take our heart

 and replace it; he goes a step farther.

 

Along with this new natural heart

comes his voice embedded within it.

So that from then forward we have but to return

to that 'touch point' and hear his voice speaking to us once again.

 

You do believe God speaks to you, right?

His grace gives us the ability to hear his voice

 deep within our heart.

I believe it is natural to be able to hear God,

but we are not always in a disposition

to find the correct 'touch point'.

 

 

How awesome would it be to be a heart surgeon?

If I were I would hold the person's heart and say a prayer for their healing.

I would also pray for God to carefully guide my hands.

 

Place your hand over your heart...

now imagine God touching your heart making it new and natural.

He did not create us to have stony hearts.

He is always willing to restore your heart to its natural state;

so that you can be better at loving and listening.