It is never easy to tell people things they don’t want to hear. We have a tendency to avoid difficult conversations whether it be in our individual relationships or in the church context. We tend to stray away from engaging in dialogue on social and political issues for fear of creating controversy. This Sunday we will look at the ministry of Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a prophet who was called to share a difficult message often in dramatic ways to an audience that did not want to hear it. But what we see in the example of Ezekiel is that we cannot forsake our responsibility to be a voice for God simply because we fear how the message will be received. To be a prophetic voice in this turbulent world, we must be willing to speak even when it is difficult.