God was at work.
Ezekiel was about to be taught.
Plopped in the middle of an arid
valley . . . dry bones spread out as far as the eye could see . . . the
conversation began with a simple question to the prophet: “Son of man, can these bones
live?”
Isn’t that the question on everyone’s
mind?
The recent information that was shared
from the Pew Research Center should not have come as a shock to those of us
sitting in the actual pews . . . research shows that Christianity is losing
ground in our society. The research
indicates that our society—as a whole—is becoming more secular. Research indicates that the fastest growing
religious group in society is not the conservative Christian movement . . . not
some fancy fangled new age group . . . or even those other religions out there
like the Muslims. No, the fastest
growing religious group in society is those who have become known as the
“Nones”.
The “Nones” are those who
respond—“none of the above”—when asked about their religious affiliation or
preference. The “Nones” include those
who consider themselves to be “spiritual but not religious”. This shift has been well documented inside
and outside of the church for years, and the Pew Center’s research just
confirms that the gap is widening. The
response of a lot of religious leaders who were overlooking the valley of dry
bones that once was the church was, “Tell us something that we don’t know.”
And, they want to know, “Can these
bones live?”
It has been a tough year in the lives
of many of you sitting in the pews this morning. There have been major changes in your
personal lives that have changed the way that you go about your daily
lives. There have been drastic changes
in the lives of your family that have rippled across your lives. There have been days when it seemed as if the
darkness of the night would never end . . . days when it was a struggle to get
up and do it again. Days that felt as if
you were standing in the midst of the dry bones . . . wondering and praying . .
. “Can these bones live?”
Isn’t that what everyone wants to
know?
Ezekiel was a prophet in exile. Living in Babylon he was called upon by God
to deliver the Lord’s word to the people.
As part of the Judean side of the family, he was taken in captivity to
Babylon after an unsuccessful rebellion. There he was called upon by God to prophesy
about the eventful fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple; to tell
of God’s judgment against those who held God’s people—Judah and Israel—in
captivity; and, to give them hope . . . that there would be a brighter
future. This was not an easy job when
one considers the ravaging destruction that Babylon put upon the people of God
. . . wiped them out and left nothing standing . . . took away their land,
their temple, and their identity . . . leaving nothing behind but a symbolic
valley of dry bones. To this scenario
God calls Ezekiel to bring a message of hope.
As he is looking out over the waste that was once a proud nation . . .
that once believed themselves to be the “chosen ones”, the “children of God” .
. . he wondered whether or not there would ever be life in those dry bones.
Thus it was that God threw the
question back at Ezekiel: “Son of man, can these bones live?”
Ezekiel did not know: “O
Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
Not quite the answer God was hoping
for. What follows next is a
demonstration of God as the Spirit moves to bring those dry bones to life. God breathes upon them. As the children’s song goes . . . the toe
bone connects to the foot bone, foot bone connects to the leg bone, and on up
until life is totally restored. In this
vision Ezekiel sees the power of God through the Spirit to bring life to what
seems dried and wasted . . . he sees that through the Spirit the people of God
will find life . . . he sees that there is hope in new beginnings. God knows . . . God knows new life.
And, so it would come to be . . . at
least for a while until the people of God screwed up again; but, that is
another story for another time. The fact
is the Spirit of God brings new life even out of the driest of bones.
Now flash back to the story we have
been hearing over the past few weeks about that time shortly after the
crucifixion of Jesus. Jesus had led a
revival of the Jewish faith. It was a
revival that changed the world and brought hope to an oppressed people . . .
that brought a promise of new day. It
was a revival that brought hope to all those who followed him. With his arrest, trial, and eventual
crucifixion that was all changed in the wink of an eye. The followers of Jesus were at a loss as to
what would happen next. Their dynamic
and charismatic leader was gone. All the
momentum they had built was gone. They
were a scattered group . . . hiding . . . hiding for their lives. The devastation was total . . . the valley
was scattered with dry bones in all the directions that they looked.
How were these dry bones ever going to
live?
Well, we know the Easter story . . .
Jesus lives. Easter is filled with the
stories of the living Jesus coming to the disciples while they are in hiding .
. . teaching and showing them that there was hope . . . that there still was a
way. Over and over again he tells them
that the time is coming when God will breathe on them and that breath will
bring to them new beginnings . . . new life.
The Spirit will be upon them. And,
then he was gone.
Bewildered, the disciples were still
wondering: “Can these bones live?”
Yes!
While together on the Feast of
Pentecost God breathe upon them . . . the Spirit moved among them. “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a
violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were
sitting. They saw what seemed to be
tongues of fire that separated and came to rest upon each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (Acts 2:1-3, NIV) Others in Jerusalem for the celebration
heard the ruckus and came running . . .
Jews from every nation . . . a large crowd gathered. They looked . . . they listened . . . and,
they understood. They understood because
they too had the breath of God in them; they, too, had the Spirit. It was new life in dry bones.
With Ezekiel, God showed the power of
the Spirit . . . the power of God’s breath . . . and its ability to bring new
life even to a pile of dry bones. God
showed Ezekiel that with the Spirit there was new life . . . that there was
hope.
Jesus’ followers—his disciples—learn
too of the power of God’s breath . . . of the Spirit. Out of the darkness of hopelessness a spark
kindles a fire of promise and hope. It
pulls the bones together. It gives them
life. Though the people come from all
walks of life . . . come from different nations . . . speak different languages
. . . live differently . . . the Spirit brings them together. They understand one another. There is hope. There is new life.
On this Day of Pentecost there is
always hope for new life. As we look
around the world we live in, it is true that we wonder if “these bones can
live?” As we pause and consider our own
lives with their struggles, we have to admit that there are moments when we
wonder if “these bones can live?” We
wonder . . . and, we know. We know that
God knows.
And, what is it that God knows?
God knows that there can be new life.
God knows that through God’s breath
even dry bones can live again.
God knows that through the breath of
God . . . through the Spirit . . . new life is born.
God knows new beginnings . . . new
life. God’s breath is upon us all. There is hope in new beginnings . . . where
shall the Spirit lead us? Amen.
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