Fourth Sunday of Lent
©Thomas B. Cundiff
Ezekiel 37: 1-14
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. 3He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” 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.”
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 were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. 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.
11Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel
Romans 8: 6-11
6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, 8and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
I. BONES – THE TV SERIES
I’ve never been one to watch the network television series “Bones” – a show that has some pretty good ratings. I am amazed at the wide range of topics and issues these networks come up with in creating some of these shows!
This particular series, debuting in 2005, is based on the characters of an FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) and a forensic anthropologist, Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan (Emly Deschanel). There is always some kind death or dead body or bones – always a mystery to be solved.
An important dynamic between the characters in this series is the ongoing disagreement between Dr. Brennan arguing for science and evidence whereas FBI Agent Booth argues for faith and God and issues that cannot be scientifically resolved.
What I didn’t know is that this television series is loosely based on the actual work of a real forensic anthropologist, Dr. Kathy Reichs, that engages several disciplines of forensics, anthropology, osteology – in solving real-life mysteries.
Of course this television show came to mind in my thinking about preaching on the scriptural story as told by Ezekiel of the “Valley of Dry Bones”.
II. REAL VALLEYS
In the real world the study of bones is the eerie and humorless business of looking at the atrocities of the world that have left numerous valleys of dry bones around the globe….just a few examples:
1. In July of 1863 during the civil war, the 50,000+ American casualties at one battle lasting only three days -- the battle of Gettysburg.
2.The holocaust of World War II with over 6 million European Jews dying at the hands of the National Socialist Regime of Germany and the Nazi Regime.
3. In World War II the aerial attacks of Japan Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 ….leaving nearly 2500 people dead, many at the bottom of the harbor.
4. Our bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945…..our not liking to be reminded that in this country we took the lives of as many as a quarter million people with those two nuclear bombs. Look it up. A valley not of bones but radio-active dust!
5. Fresh on our minds, the September 11, 2001 and the al-Qaeda attack on our nation and the World Trade Center in New York City…..nearly 3 thousand innocent victims who died along with 19 suicide terrorists….fields of bones and ashes of human sacrifice…not to count the over 5000 American casualties of soldiers lost in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—and over 100,000 Americans wounded.
6. And recently, in just the past few weeks in the Muslim city of HOMS in SYRIA, the tragic deaths of thousands of people in this city the size of Philadelphia (900,000 people). And the criminal dictator Hafez al-Asad who seems totally committed to destroying everyone in this city….going door to door systematically eliminating all who would oppose him. I can’t forget the evening on Feb. 24th, a picture of a eight little babies lined up that had been intentionally shot/murdered….babies! I literally had to turn my head the scene was so graphic….and the TV networks show this stuff on during the dinner hour?
7. On Friday actor George Cluney was arrested in front of the Sudanese Embassy protesting the tens of thousands of people dying from starvation every day – a man made famine – valleys of dry bones. George Cluney had one call to make – to his mother. Hoping to never have to go to jail again.
Turning to scripture and the voice of the prophet Ezekiel we read about the historic “valley of death”: The year was 587 BC—before Christ—during the rule of Nebuchadnezzar. This was perhaps the lowest point in Israel Israel
It is interesting to go back and read through the book of Lamentations, during that period of time, between the Old Testament books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, to get a sense of these struggles. Sharing with you a few verses from Lamentations:
Chapter 1:1
“How lonely sits the city that once was full of people! How like a widow she has become, she that was great among the nations!”
Chapter 3: 1-6 & 6-19
The Israelite people who were alive were taken prisoners, chains around their necks, and dragged back to Babylonia . The Jewish nation had become like the dead skeletons strewn across the desert floor in Death Valley . The Jews began lamenting to themselves, “God can’t help us. God won’t help us. There is no God. God is punishing us for our sins. We are here to rot and die in the desert. We have become like dry bones.”
Ezekiel was a survivor. From scripture, the Lord took Ezekiel out into the valley of death and together they looked around the desert floor and the Lord asked Ezekiel: “Shall these bones covering the desert floor live again?
And we hear the VOICE of Ezekiel wisely replies, “Only you know, Lord, if these bones shall live again.”
Then we have this climactic moment…..the Lord God breathed the breath of life into those dead bones. God’s Spirit enters human life! Hope is again on the horizon…..just like all the other tragedies mentioned…..God’s Spirit instills hope once again into the human soul.
Again from Lamentations these words of hope that sing: -24
But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.
IV. OUR LIVES
What about our lives? Our spiritual lives? The spirit of God bringing life to these “old and creaking and arthritic -- frail bones of life’? In the face of calamity and disaster and despair? There are times we find ourselves in the “parched desert of the soul” feeling there is no hope. We often ask: Why did this happen? Why me? Why do so many people have to suffer? God, where are you? We need to hear your voice.
God, where are you? Speak to us!
God, where are you? Speak to us!
When Israel
Speaking personally: I sometimes get this knot is my stomach. Things just aren’t right. Maybe it’s the bad weather? It’s hard getting around with so many “aching old bones”
…..dem bones, dem bones, dem OLD bones…..dem aching bones!
In the next two weeks leading to Easter there is a spectrum of emotions that give me this same knot in the stomach. It doesn’t seem to matter how many times I have walked through this Lent and Holy Week with you…..I feel the pressure of bringing life to scripture on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter in asking: What is God calling me to preach? The juncture where the real world meets our lives and the struggles in our lives, how do we bring God’s spirit into our worship – our lives – through the risen Christ?
These are tough times for many of us as we face hard questions that God puts before us…..about human suffering, hunger and poverty in the world, the possible war with Iran
My challenge:
Let us open our hearts to hear God’s voice? The voice of hope that will bring us, spiritually, through the valley of dry bones?
IV.
Turning to the New Testament, the Apostle Paul calls us to meditate on these same words he shared with the Romans:
“9But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.”
I hope some things might become quite clear for us as we approach the last couple of weeks before Easter….in our journey in renewing our faith in Jesus.
What do we know for sure? God wants us to open our hearts to receive the fresh breath of God’s spirit. This is a spirit of refreshment and hope.
For me,
I plan to continue to preach “encouragement” …searching for ways we can together nurture teamwork, trust, fellowship – understanding of our interdependence among ourselves and this community and with God.
I plan to continue to preach the need to repent…to turn from sin and brokenness. I plan to preach forgiveness if sins.
I plan to continue to preach the love of God known through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.
I plan to continue to search for the VOICE OF GOD and preach what I hear….as each and every day we strive to live faithful to God in our day to day lives – individually, as families, and as Christ’s church.
I pray that together, we recognize “HOPE” -- hope grounded in “FAITH” in Jesus Christ – hope and faith breathes into our bones the love God wishes for all of us.
May we have the same hope Ezekiel proclaimed.
May we discover God’s loving presence with us each and every day…..
May we continue to hear God’s voice saying – wake up dry bones! LIVE! LOVE! And HOPE in better days to come.
