The Monday after Quasi modo geniti Sunday
Posted on April 13, 2026 by under
Scripture: Ezekiel 36:22-27 (NKJV)
36:22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. 23 And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”
Devotion
Israel had profaned the Lord’s holy name. They bore His covenant, yet lived like the other nations. The Lord does not deny it. He declares it plainly. “Not for your sake do I this… but for my holy name.”
That cuts. We prefer to imagine that God is moved by our sincerity, our effort, our devotion. Yet the prophet strips us bare. The rescue of God’s people flows from His Name, His promise, His mercy. He acts because He is faithful. Then comes the miracle: “A new heart also will I give you… and I will put my Spirit within you.” Not advice. Not moral reform. A new heart. A living Spirit. This is Baptismal language. This is resurrection language. The old heart clings to sin. The new heart fears, loves, and trusts in God. The Spirit does not hover at a distance. He dwells within. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is given to you (Rom. 8:11).
Quasi modo geniti means “like newborn babes”. New birth does not come from resolve. It comes from water and the Word. The Lord has sprinkled clean water upon you. Your stony heart has been cut out. Christ’s own righteousness covers you. And because the gift is His work, the glory is His alone.
Collect: Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we who have celebrated the solemnities of the Lord’s Resurrection, may, by the help of Thy grace, bring forth the fruits thereof in our life and conversation; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
