9 March 2008 “The Very Breath of Life”

Loving, most gracious God ~ Open our hearts and minds to You this morning, that Your holy word may re-animate our flagging spirits and tired bodies. Amen.

Our 2 lessons this morning ~ from the prophet Ezekiel and the Gospel of John ~ contain the hope-filled message of God … a message that reminds us that life is made more complete if we but have faith and trust in the Lord. Today ~ let’s look at OT lesson.

Ezekiel 37:1-14 (NRSV)

¹The hand of the Lord came upon me, and He brought me out by the

spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.

²He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley,

and they were very dry.

This reading from the prophet is filled with extremely vivid imagery:

· Valley ~ high cliff walls enclosing a large valley

· Desolation / scene of annihilation & mass destruction

· Very lonely place

The Lord deposits prophet right into midst of this desolation … up close & personal … stepping over AND around the dried up bones. (We can imagine prophet stepping carefully, afraid of the “crunching”, “cracking” sound IF he steps on any bones. WITH Lord, prophet inspects every bone.

From words, we get a feeling / sense of:

· despair / abandonment …

· a people totally cut off from help / hope / God.

· Dry air AND somber mood, all pervasive, seeps into our bones …

· Throats dry & parched

· No words sufficient to explain sight and feelings

· No tears to cry

· No ray of light OR hope

This IS MY view of the scene as I read the prophets words. But, we are human ~ and we can’t help but think about times when we have felt like this … all DRIED UP / DISMEMBERED / STRIPPED BARE of the tissues & organs & fluids that sustain life. THINK for a moment: WHAT have been the DRY BONES times in YOUR life?

· Own personal life

o Relationships gone awry with family / friends

o Separation ~ geographically … physically = extreme loneliness

§ Fights / arguments / divorce = irreparable damage to relationships

o Addictions ~ drugs & alcohol / food / recreation / gambling / exercise

o Illness / disabilities / death

o Uncontrolled emotions ~ anger / jealousy / depression / grief / stubbornness

· Career / Vocation … decisions about …

o Choosing life path

o Lay-offs / “Going Out of Business” / making ends meet between jobs

o Retirement / WHAT AM I SUITED FOR?

· Faith … WHERE IS GOD when …

o World does NOT = answers learned in Confirmation Class

o Feeling all alone / no help in times of turmoil

o Prayers are NOT being answered

Like Ezekiel … can’t you feel the desolation / despair / desperation … surrounded by piles and piles of dead bones … which represented the life that once was?

³He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?”

I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”

As they survey the destruction / desolation … God asks the prophet a very pointed question … “trick” question: CAN THESE BONES LIVE? And from the prophet’s answer, we know that he is feeling a bit panicky … needing to give the RIGHT answer YET knowing God’s question is merely an opportunity for God to demonstrate His love / power / compassion for His people. And so our prophet plays it safe: ONLY YOU know the answer to that question!

We know what it feels like to be put into this position …

· Someone asks for OUR opinion … WHAT do you think? HOW do YOU feel?

· We WANT to say the right thing … We may also KNOW the questioner is only looking for affirmation of THEIR opinion

· WE PLAY IT SAFE … our answers are ambivalent / honor ALL PARTS of the situation / can be OPEN to INTERPRETATION / leaves room for questioner to provide THE definitive explanation / answer.

And God does just that!

⁴Then He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them:

O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ⁵Thus says the Lord God to these bones:

I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.

⁶I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

PROPHESY! Speak words of wisdom / command / words FROM higher authority!

GO! God says. Prophesy to these dry / desiccated bones lying all over valley

· THUS SAYS THE LORD! Hear the word of God … Bible-speak for:

o Pay attention!

o Drum roll & Blaring trumpets … herald something VERY IMPORTANT!

WORD of God = promise of renewal ~ rejuvenation ~ new life for these bones

· Bones will move … bone to appropriate next bone / joint (REMEMBER song: “toe bone connected to …)

· Once bones joined … sinews appear ~ ligaments / muscles / cartilage / stringy matter that holds bones in place … form a perfect skeleton

· Flesh come over the bones … “meat” / fatty substances / blood vessels and organs … body warm / soft / TAKING SHAPE

· Skin will cover all … protective covering / give form & shape / recognizable as human being

· Breathe in you AND YOU WILL LIVE … lungs functioning / animation / everything working in sync & harmony / LIFE!

AWWESOME ACHIEVEMENT! FROM piles of picked clean / pale dry bones, TO a living / breathing / fleshy / upright human being!!!

⁷So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied,

suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.

⁸I looked, and there was sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them,

and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them.

SO I PROPHESIED! Imagine what was running through prophet’s mind / reaction …

· “Yeah! Sure!” Piles and piles of dry bones!

· Death and destruction everywhere!

· NO forensic science yet … no CSI units available

· NO guarantee that each body’s bones is laying next to each other / no easy way to put even 1 body together

· Anybody’s guess as to WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN!

BUT … prophet~ a man of FAITH and TRUST ~ obeys God … does AND says just as God directed … AMAZING RESULT!

· NOISE! RATTLING SOUND as bone sought its companion bone!

· Imagine sound ~ Hollow! Brittle! Growing in intensity! Haunting!

Prophet watches as bodies take shape … as prophesy is fulfilled … AND what is formed LOOKS HUMAN / APPEARS NORMAL … LIFE out of DESTRUCTION

BUT … something is missing … NO BREATH. Bodies are FORMED but are NOT LIVING … NO SPARK of LIFE … NO SPIRIT ~ IOW: an EMPTY SHELL!

I think we can relate to this feeling! Aren’t there periods in our life when we are:

· Upright / taking nourishment / doing what needs to be done … BUT

· No matter how carefully you plan or how hard you work at what you want to do … life is flat / hollow / not quite right.

· You are beyond being merely physically tired

· You are emotionally drained / You feel lost / insecure about your present and you unsure of your future / you are uncertain of what really matters in life.

STOP HERE for a moment … did you HEAR what I was saying? Did you notice how many times I said YOU?

As humans, we are take charge people: We look / see what has to be done and we DO IT … GET IT OVER AND DONE WITH!

BUT: stop and think for a moment:

· As we continue to set the agenda and call the shots, aren’t we limiting God’s ability to act in our lives, guide our footsteps, energize our thoughts & activities?

· When we act solely as our own independent person ~ in charge of everything ~ aren’t we, in essence, putting God into a box … to be taken out only 1 hour, 1 day a week OR maybe only 1 day a week OR only when we deem we need His help?

· Aren’t we denying ourselves the challenge and pleasure of working in partnership WITH God?

· When we pay more attention to our own desires and wants, listening ONLY to ourselves, then it becomes IMPOSSIBLE to listen to God’s continuously speaking voice … OR to feel God’s spirit dancing inside us & among us … moving us into new & wonderful adventures.

And, without God’s animating spirit, we THEN are no better off than one of those unanimated flesh- AND skin-clothed bodies … lying on the valley floor in front of Ezekiel.

⁹Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath:

Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath,

and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”

¹⁰I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them,

and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

Fortunately, our God is a persistent God. And He had a very willing partner in the prophet. Ezekiel prophesied, as directed, to the bones and they re-formed themselves into human bodies.

At God’s command, Ezekiel prophesies to the 4 winds ~ to the breath of God ~ to come and fill these bodies. AND it does!

We can’t seek the wind, can we? We FEEL it ~ blowing against our skin. We HEAR it ~ howling during a ferocious storm. We SEE its effects ~ gently stirring leaves & laundry on the line.

IN THAT MOMENT, as he prophesied to the winds, Ezekiel SAW the awesome effects of the breath of God, the Spirit of God ~ filling AND animating lifeless bodies … giving them the life-force to stand and move. A breath-taking moment … experienced in utter silence.

¹¹Then He said to me, Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel.

They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely,’ ¹²Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves,

nd bring you up from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴I will put my spirit within you,

and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil;

then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.”

OUR SCENE SUBTLY SHIFTS … God & Ezekiel are still talking.

BUT focus is NOT on the bones … BUT on the VISION Ezekiel has just experienced.

YES … VISION!

The graphic depiction of the valley, filled with dry bones … AND of the clothing and re-animation of the countless dried up bones was God’s VERY VIVID way of sharing WORDS of HOPE and PROMISE with the people of Israel …

· people living, for many years, in EXILE after defeat / capture by Babylonians.

God’s WORDS of HOPE offer a vision of rebirth for a dismembered / displaced nation.

· Dried up lives will be rejuvenated

· Graves will be opened ~ NOT literally but figuratively … as the darkness of captivity is blown away by the breath of the Spirit of God

· The exiles will be returned to THEIR land … AND people will be renewed & revived by the action of God’s Spirit working in them.

· Desolation & despair NO MORE ~ enlivening activity of loving, compassionate God

And aren’t these words that we need in our lives today … We may NOT be in physical captivity to a conqueror … BUT we are living, in our world, in bondage to …

FEAR WORRY DEBT SIN

LOSS of LOVE / COMPANIONSHIP / SENSE of PURPOSE & DIRECTION

We long for reassurance / God’s message of HOPE and PROMISE

We hear SAME MESSAGE OF HOPE and PROMISE at conclusion of today’s Gospel lesson.

· Jesus comforts 2 sisters AND weeps @ tomb of friend.

· Jesus’ request to move stone receives objection of sisters … Lazarus is dead 4 days ~ HE STINKS!

· Jesus prevails ~ stone removed … and, AT JESUS COMMAND … Lazarus emerges from tomb ~ wrapped in funeral linens & face covered.

· BUT … NO stench of decay & rotting flesh … JUST sweet smell of God’s love permeating a body restored to health and new life. Message for us of restoration and new life through Christ.

Our Lenten season is drawing to a close. As we ponder our scriptures today, we are challenged to ponder where we stand in relationship to God:

· What stumbling blocks have we placed in our paths that prevent us from freely following God’s call to renewed life?

· What stones do we need to roll away from the doorways of our life so that God can enter in AND act freely IN and ON our lives?

We are also challenged to take some time for ourselves and to seriously examine our life journey as well as our faith journey. And to ask ourselves if this might be the perfect time:

· To remove the tight bands of cloth that bind us securely and tether us firmly ONE place AND ONLY one place and limit our movements.

· To take off the blinders that narrow our vision and to then search diligently for the people and places where we can share God’s message of HOPE and PROMISE

· To release the fetters of fear that keep us from honoring our traditions and heritage so that we can boldly following the example of our ancestors in faith and experiencing new ways of honoring and worshiping God

· To unravel the ropes knotted tightly around hands and feet so that we can move out and offer radical welcome and Christian love to all whom we encounter

· To shed the shackles that stifle our exuberance so that we can joyfully dance with the Spirit of God in our lives

God’s message of HOPE and PROMISE brings new life to a world filled with despair and to people who have lost their vision. God’s message of HOPE and PROMISE invites our eager participation in this gift of new life. May we embrace this message of hope and promise with open arms … even as we open our hearts to the renewing and reviving e of God’s Spirit in our lives every day.

Amen.