It has been said that we all have a
closet with skeletons. This phrase is
not a compliment as it refers to those situations, choices, and things that we
just assume that no one else knew about.
They are not always “bad” and often are more embarrassing than anything
. . . but, we would prefer that no one know about them. This closet full of skeletons is where we
place those things that make us anxious, nervous, embarrassed, sad, regretful,
and even mad. We shove them in there . .
. ignore them . . . deny them . . . and hope that the door never gets
open. All the while those bones lie
there as a reminder . . . not so much about death, but about despair . . .
despair in life . . . our lives.
So it is that we all have our own
“valleys of dry bones” in life, though we refer to them as a “closet full of
skeletons”. Thus it should come as no
surprise that despite the depressing and gruesome image of the prophet
Ezekiel’s encounter with God in our reading this morning that we find
hope. We are right there with Ezekiel .
. . hanging onto every word spoken by God . . . hanging onto every movement of
God’s breath as it brings forth promise and hope in the valley of despair.
Ezekiel is called upon by God to bring
hope to the people as they are in exile in the land of Babylon. Exile brought on by their own rebellion
against God and God’s will. Exile
brought on by their defiance against a powerful enemy. It is a sort of perfect storm that culminates
with the people of God being invaded, conquered, and made captives in a strange
and foreign land. This is no slapping of
the hand and sending the people back . . . this is an out behind the barn
whipping and being grounded from life as they knew it. It was a sad, depressing time as the people
longed for what they knew and once had . . . they wanted to go home. They were filled with despair at the prospect
that it was not going to happen too quickly . . . maybe not even in their
lifetimes. They were sitting in their
own valley of dry bones. The covenant
has been broken with both the people and God dealing with unspeakable
loss. The people proclaim: “Our
bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.”
There is no denying that the people of
God got themselves into this situation.
They wandered away from God . . . maybe at first by a lack of focus, but
then later by just ignoring God and God’s will completely. Despite the great blessings of God upon them,
they chose to wander away and forget . . . to forget that their blessing came
from the fact that they were in an intimate relationship with God . . . a
relationship based on wanting to do whatever it took to be lovingly committed
to one another . . . to please one another.
The people chose to please themselves and ignored the will of God. In doing so they brought this demise upon
themselves by separating themselves from God.
Now the time has come to deal with the bones.
It should be noted that this encounter
between Ezekiel and God is not a quickie miracle that God is going to enact upon
the people. No, it is far from
that. It is a demonstration of something
that is to come later, but in the meantime it stands as the model for Ezekiel
to use to deliver the message: with God there is hope . . . with God there is
life . . . with God all things are possible; but, it has to be with God. These bones do not represent the death of a
nation or even God’s people . . . these bones represent the despair of the
people from being cut off from God and their homeland . . . these bones are the
bones of their lost love and commitment to God . . . of being in relationship
with God and one another. These are the
skeletons in the closet that must be exposed and dealt with before “life” can
be restored. But, there is hope. Hope in the presence of God . . . a presence
that is as close as the breath the people breathe.
Though this is a helpful and hopeful
message delivered by God to Ezekiel about the future of the people . . . the
people are going to remain in exile.
They are still going to have to deal with the whole mess that they have
created . . . the loss of loved ones . . . the loss of their homes . . . the
loss of their nation . . . the loss of a familiar way of life. They are going to remain in exile and while
mourning they will be challenged to find a new way back to that relationship
with God. But, God will be with them . .
. that is the reassurance of the encounter between Ezekiel and God . . . God is
going to be with them. Because God is
present, they can breathe . . . and stand ready for the future, looking forward
in hope.
I would imagine that some folks think
of the season of Lent as a death march through the valley of dry bones. I would think that they feel this way because
it is in the season of Lent that we are challenged to look at our lives . . .
to throw open the closet of skeletons . . . and, to deal with that which
separates us from God. To deal with that
which screws up our intimacy with God.
To deal with that which makes us want to ignore God . . . to rebel
against God and God’s ways in our lives.
Remember, none of us really wants to open up that closet full of
skeletons . . . there is a reason we threw them in there in the first
place. But, that is what the season of
Lent challenges us to face . . . the valley of dry bones.
I am not even going to attempt to name
the various skeletons . . . the dry bones . . . any of us have in our closets
or valleys. Those barriers that separate
us from God and one another are as vast and divergent as the human race. What is a barrier for one of us may not be a
barrier for another; but, the fact is, we all have barriers separating us from
God and one another. The issue of the
matter is whether or not we are going to sit in our despair or are we going to
breathe deeply, hike up our pants, and deal with finding a way to get ourselves
back to God and one another . . . to rekindle that intimacy . . . that love.
There is hope in this valley of dry
bones . . . God’s presence is there.
God’s presence is everywhere like the air that we breathe. That is the promise of God to each and every
one of us . . . God will never abandon us . . . in in our darkest and driest
times in life. God will be with us. That knowledge alone has to serve as our hope
. . . we will make it because God is with us.
But, we have to be willing to acknowledge the bones . . . the skeletons
. . . in our lives and to deal with them through God’s presence.
The question: Can these bones live?
Of course they can. Just as Ezekiel discovers in his encounter
with God in the valley of dry bones, those bones can live. Those bones can live because of God’s
presence . . . with God, all things are possible. So, breathe . . . breathe deeply of God’s
presence and learn to live. Amen.
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