Lent Week 5

Psalm: Psalm 130 

Old Testament: Ezekiel 37:1-14 
Gospel: John 11:1-45 
Epistle: Romans 8:6-11

This Sunday is the fifth Sunday in Lent and our passages find us in the midst of despair and death. Each passage explores the depth of humanity’s, and even God’s people, sin and fragility. In Ezekiel, we read the famous passage of Ezekiel being told to prophesy to a valley of dry bones. I know I have said this before on this blog, but sometime the prophets are told to do some crazy things by the Lord.  Ezekiel is told to walk to a valley, a traditional place for battle, and prophesy to dead corpses to rise again. Even Ezekiel seems to think the Lord is asking too much. Verse 3 says, “The Lord said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ And I answered,

‘O Lord God, You know.’” Ezekiel doesn’t see a way for these bones to come to life.

The dry bones, dead for so long there isn’t any trace life left on them, represent God’s people Israel. Israel at this point had been conquered and many of the people sent into exile into Babylon, and it must have seemed like there was no life left in Israel. Their God had been conquered and all they had believed about who God was and who they were had been shown false. Israel was no different than any of the other people groups and was perhaps doomed to be forgotten as a nation and be subsumed into Babylon.

It is into this context that Ezekiel prophesies and breathes life into the dead bones. Notice that it is a two part process that mimics the creation story. First, the bones are given flesh and come together to resemble people, but there was no life or breath in them. Next the breath, in Hebrew the Ruach, which was present at creation over the waters, is breathed into the bones. Notice the similarities to the story of Adam receiving the breath of life as well.  After Ezekiel has prophesized, the slain warriors stand in the valley a vast army. (No word where they go or what they do after this.) Finally, the Lord explains to Ezekiel that these bones represent the house of Israel, and the important line, “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, my people, and I will bring you into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, my people.” (12-13)

What does this strange passage have to do with our lives or even with our other passages? Well, the New Testament reading from John is about Lazarus being raised from the dead. There are some interesting elements and parallels to the Ezekiel story. First, Lazarus is one whom Jesus loves; much like Israel is the one whom God loves. In both cases, Jesus and God care about the one who is dead.  Notice also that Lazarus’ sickness will be “for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” (4) Later on, Jesus actually says he is glad that Lazarus has died when he had not yet arrived so that the disciples will believe.  So Jesus remained two days where they were before heading to Bethany and upon arrival found Lazarus to be dead already. We get the shortest verse in Scripture, “Jesus wept,” (35) and Jesus, deeply moved, goes to the tomb and calls Lazarus forth from the dead.  John doesn’t leave us with any mystery about what happened. Jesus prays audible to the Father so all can hear so that they, and us, will know it is the Father, through the Son raising Lazarus. And then John writes, “The man who had died came forth.” Of course, this story leads some to believe and follow Jesus, and others to be resentful and jealous and turn from him.

We don’t have space to explore the Romans and Psalm this week because I want to focus on the idea of the resurrection in these passages. As I read these two passages in particular, I couldn’t help but think of what Jesus said in Matthew 22:29-33, especially when he said that God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God of the living, not the God of the dead. All through Scripture this is the case. God calls, there is unfaithfulness, followed by punishment and consequences, but then followed by restoration and resurrection.  Ezekiel’s dry bones, Israel, were about as dead as nation could get.  Yet, God had plans to restore them and resurrect the bones, and give his Messiah through them. Lazarus, dead for 4 days, is raised from the dead and restored to his family. Jesus, killed on the cross, in the tomb for 3 days, is resurrected to Glory.  And Jesus’ words stand that God is the God of the living, not the dead.

In our lives, in our churches, in our world, in history, you name it, there has been death, decay, and weakness.  From the strongest empires to the weakest person, death seems to have the final say.  Yet the Resurrection, which we celebrate at Easter, says no to that.  The Resurrection declares that God is the God of the living. We serve a God who has conquered sin and death and the dry bones in our lives and communities can be resurrected by the breath of God. 

This is the Good News that we celebrate and witness to in our lives and in our gathering on Sundays or whenever we meet. We have an amazing story to tell-- that God, through Jesus, by the power of the Spirit, is the God of life and resurrection.  He can take the driest bones, dead as a doornail, and raise them to his purposes. Even when this might not seem like the case, even when we experience pain and death ourselves, God is on the throne, and His victory is assured in Christ’s Resurrection. Thanks be to God.

Grace and Peace.