3-22-26      Jn 11 & Ez 37

Catch the breath of the Spirit and be revived by the mercy and grace that Jesus sends you.  

There is a TV series that ties into the stories we are presented in our lessons today. It is coincidently called “Bones.” If you have ever watched it, Dr. Temperance Brennan is an expert on bones. Bodies that are discovered, which have been deceased for a long time or have lost much of their outer layers of skin, are examined by her and her team to discover how they died. A story is constructed by means of minute hints that those bones can tell. I don’t know if the writers were influenced by Ezekiel’s vision but I imagine they checked out that ancient account more than once, for inspiration. They tell about dem bones, dem dry bones in every episode and learn from them. 

Ezekiel was a prophet of God who tried to bring hope and understanding to the people of Israel as they were in exile in Babylon. The wealthy, educated, and skilled individuals of Israel had been forcibly removed from their country and resettled in Babylon. It was a tactic that took the leaders away from their homes so that they would not be available to lead a rebellion against the conquering power. Such tactics are still used. It also gave Babylon access to the most skilled workers who would provide their expertise to them, benefiting their economy and people. Those Israelites often felt abandoned by their God, since they were cut off from the Temple, their land, and their fellow countrymen who remained in Israel. Their situation was compared to the sort of catastrophic event that would result in a whole valley of bones. The scale of the death toll would have been like that of a major famine, plague or warfare. Unfortunately, we can envision it because of the terrible destruction we see on the news daily with buildings shattered, and bodies lined up along the street, in Ukraine, Gaza, Palestine, and Iran and Israel today. We see the hundreds and thousands of people rushing to escape to another place, to get away from the horrors. As Ezekiel explored his vision, the message was clear - there could be no life in such a place, the valley was home only to dry bones. 

The gospel tells of another story of death, this one due to the reality of human frailty & mortality.  Lazarus had been ill and died of whatever it was that proved to be a fatal ailment. By the time Jesus arrives Lazarus had been buried for four days. There can be no question that this man had truly expired, no matter what the cause and the illness he suffered, after being sealed in the tomb that long, he was, without question,  dead! We do not like to think about such events but there is a lesson for us to learn in the harsh realities of life and death. 

The Jewish people who had been marched off to Babylon and forced to create a new existence there, were dead as a nation. Even those who had been left behind, the unskilled and poor, had lost their leaders and their nation was dead to them as well. Their land belonged to a foreign entity, their temple had been destroyed, their capital city, Jerusalem, had been burnt to the ground.  So they had become dem bones, dem old dry bones. In the case of Lazarus, he was no more, no more than drying bones.

The prophet Ezekiel had a message for the people:  7 So 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. 8 I 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. 9 Then 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.” 

Jesus also breaks in with a word that sent the people’s thinking in a whole new direction. He said: “Lazarus, come out!” The goal of Jesus was to teach a lesson, a lesson of faith. It was not a one-time lesson for those gathered outside the tomb, it is a lesson for us as well. Jesus had said to his disciples and to Martha, this would be a demonstration of God’s glory. Then as he expressed to his heavenly God, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.”  

It is all about trust. But you may say you don’t have anything in common with dem’ bones or Lazarus. Think a little deeper. As you think about your life, compare your emotions and attitudes about your own circumstances. Those people had lost confidence in God. In those ancient days, they had made some bad decisions, politically, about who to support and seek help from; in worship they had often strayed into idol worship, not being true to the One Lord. The situation they found themselves in, seemed hopeless. They had lost much, land, family members, their livelihood, and community, even a good future, it seemed. 

Our population is full of those who feel despair about their own lives. Even those among us who are doing well, often worry about all that could go wrong. There are real losses too - the death of a dear friend, a sibling, the downhill direction of increasingly poor health, and the lack of available or affordable health care. It is easy to lose faith in yourself and in your God. 

So these scriptural stories are passed along. When we become dispirited, we can hear about restoration and victory. We are offered the words spoken by Ezekiel, to those who came before us: “ I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived.” From Jesus we hear the word of grace that new life comes from the promise of God in the gift of faith. Many of the Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did believed in him.

Dry bones, doubt, and even death itself, need not be an end. Jesus has shown us that death brings a new beginning. His journey to the cross and the final victory won disproves such thinking. Believing in the possibilities that bring new life is what faith in God is about. 

Paul wrote to the Romans, to emphasize that same expectation: If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. (Rom 8:11). New life comes as the Spirit blows your way. If you feel like dem’ bones, take in a fresh breath, God promises to put His Spirit within you. Hear the Word of the Lord!