“Dry Bones, Hear the Word of the Lord”

Meditation on Ezekiel 37:1-14

May 24--Pentecost--2015

    

     “The 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. He led me all round them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, ‘Mortal, can these bones live?’ I answered, ‘O Lord God, you know.’ Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I 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.’

      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. 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. 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.’ I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude. Then he said to me, ‘Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.” Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.’”

***

    I am happy to share with you two exciting things that happened this week. The first is that our newly forming “Nurture” group met for the first time on Tuesday night. So far, the group is small--but mighty! They have hearts of compassion and they are generous, giving of themselves and their time to make visits and calls, send cards and bring hope and joy to the sick, elderly and shut in, lonely, and otherwise needy in our congregation. We will meet about once a month for prayer, sharing, and a brief lesson from Stephen Ministry founder Kenneth C. Haugk’s book, Christian Caregiving: a Way of Life. My main purpose for organizing this group is to encourage and help build up the people who have been so faithful to quietly and lovingly minister to others, humbly using their spiritual gifts for God’s purposes. I want each of them to know that they have everything they need to minister if they keep the Word of God in their hearts and allow themselves to be guided by the Spirit that lives within us. They are Christ’s peaceful presence amidst the suffering, a healing balm and tool of comfort as they love and serve the Lord by caring for God’s people.

      Then on Thursday, our confirmation students completed their program by sharing their faith statements with session. And we rejoiced in the Spirit, that rushing, “violent” wind that first came to us at Pentecost and continues to live and move and breathe and work among us. We cannot take credit for this new generation of sheep in our flock. We can only give thanks for the Spirit’s work, leading one lamb at a time to accept God’s mercy and grace and seek to follow God’s Son, Jesus Christ. 

      We expect a lot of our confirmation students--as we do all of our active members. We have all vowed to be Christ’s faithful disciples, obeying His Word and showing his love. We have all promised to be “a faithful member of this congregation,” to “share in its worship and ministry” through our “prayers and gifts” and “study and service,” fulfilling our calling to be Christ’s faithful disciples.  Friends, it is good for us to regularly examine ourselves and consider if we are, indeed, keeping our vows and living out our calling as active members. For we can’t expect our youngest members to keep the vows they made today and live out their calling to be Christ’s faithful if we don’t help them by encouraging them and setting a good example for them to follow.

    Our constitution of the Church tells us the ministry of members, “is a joy and a privilege. It is also a commitment to participate in Christ’s mission. A faithful member bears witness to God’s love and grace and promises to be involved responsibly in the ministry of Christ’s Church. Such involvement includes: proclaiming the good news in word and deed, taking part in the common life and worship of a congregation, lifting one another up in prayer, mutual concern, and active support, studying Scripture and the issues of Christian faith and life, supporting the ministry of the church through the giving of money, time and talents, demonstrating a new quality of life within and through the church, responding to God’s activity in the world through service to others, living responsibly in the personal, family, vocational, political, cultural, and social relationships of life, working in the world for peace, justice, freedom, and human fulfillment, participating in the governing responsibilities of the church, and reviewing and evaluating regularly the integrity of one’s membership, and considering ways in which one’s participation in the worship and service of the church may be increased and made more meaningful.”

***

    Studying the Pentecost Scriptures this week, I began to see the question of fulfilling our calling to be Christ’s faithful disciples as not a question of whether we are doing what Christ has called us to do, but, instead, a question of whether we have the faith to live out the calling. For what we say and do comes from what we believe--not just what we say we believe, but what we truly carry in our hearts and hold so dearly that we cannot help but seek to live it out.

     Our belief in the Holy Spirit is foundational to our faith! We talk about the Spirit’s work and seeking to be guided by the Spirit all the time in the PC (USA). In fact, our denominational logo is a blue cross with three symbols of the Spirit; 2 red flames burst from the base and a descending dove forms the top of the cross.

     The Spirit in God’s Word opens our hearts and minds to the truth, convicts us of our sins, and transforms us into new creatures in Christ. At Pentecost, the Spirit is poured out on the whole assembly --not just select individuals-- as they gather for worship and prayer. The Spirit enables the disciples to proclaim the gospel in the native languages of the devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. The Spirit that enters us at baptism continues to dwell with us as God’s people, uniting us in Christ. The Spirit empowers us with gifts, such as love, joy, gentleness, kindness and patience. The Spirit reveals God’s will; and enables us to obey.

     But a major problem in congregations today is that so many have lost faith in the power and presence of God’s Spirit with us. We are tempted to place our trust in worldly things, such as our own logic, experiences, or worldly wealth and ideas that lead us to measure congregational “success” by number of members or children in Sunday school.

    But the biggest temptation of all for churches, I believe, is focusing too much on MONEY, giving money too much power and importance to the ministry of our congregation. As human beings, we are rarely satisfied with the money that we have--no matter how much we have! We always want more and think we need more. This is how money can become an idol in the church. Yes, we need to be good stewards of God’s resources. And we are called to give generously and joyfully to the Lord! But we can easily move from good stewardship to idolatry if we stop relying on the guidance and power of the Spirit and begin to rely on our own ability to provide for ourselves and make ourselves “successful” by worldly means! Likewise, if we place our trust in the power of money to secure our future as a congregation, we have turned the Church of our Risen Savior into a human organization. We have quenched the Spirit and failed to be God’s faithful disciples! We are as lifeless and barren as Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones in a desert valley.

***

     Ezekiel is a prophet and priest living in Jerusalem when the Holy City and the Temple are utterly destroyed. He is one of many whom King Nebuchadnezzar exiles to Babylonia in 597 B.C. Ezekiel dwells on the question of why God allows such bad things to happen to God’s people. He concludes that it is because the people have been unfaithful to the Lord. He wonders what the future holds if God has abandoned God’s own people. Is all hope lost?

     And then the Spirit of the Lord carries Ezekiel to the valley of the dry bones, a battlefield graveyard filled with the bones of dead soldiers, symbolizing the death of Israel. When God speaks to Ezekiel, the Lord calls him “mortal”-- for that is what we are! We are only human. The Spirit leads Ezekiel all over the valley and the bones are “very dry.” And God says, “O mortal, can these bones live again?” Ezekiel replies, “O Lord God, only you know.” And the Lord tells Ezekiel to preach--“prophesy over the bones!” Say to them “O dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord!”

    The promise of life is there for Israel, friends--and for the Church. We are just dry bones if we try to be the Church on our own, solving our problems by trusting in our own skills and abilities, logic, or worldly possessions. Let go of any fear for the future and stop worrying about money. Be more like our newly forming Nurture group that focuses on loving and serving the Lord through prayer, visitation, and other compassionate acts for members in need. Be a good example to our newest, youngest members--our confirmation graduates. Be Christ’s faithful disciples by giving generously and joyfully, trusting that the Spirit of God that was poured out on the believers at Pentecost still lives and moves and breathes amidst the assembly of believers, gathered for worship and prayer.

    Remember Ezekiel’s words of hope to God’s people in their suffering. “O, dry bones! Hear the Word of the Lord!... I will put breath into you, and you shall live again.  And you shall know that I am the Lord!”

Let us pray.

Holy One, thank you for your Spirit that continues to dwell in our hearts and amidst the assembly of believers today! Thank you for the Body of Christ, the Church in every time and place, and for this congregation in this small, rural community. Lord, we want to be Christ’s faithful disciples. Remind us that we are only mortal and that we need you for our very lives. Help us to hear your Word and obey! Forgive us for our worldly attitudes, for our love of money and desire for more, and for when we have given into the temptation to trust too much in ourselves, our own abilities and our own reasoning rather than fully trusting in your Spirit to be our wisdom, power, protection and support--our hope for the future. We pray your Spirit will strengthen our newest and youngest members, as well as those of us who have been members for many years. Change us all into the likeness of your Son and remind us often that we Church belong to you. And that without faith, we are merely dry bones in a desert valley. In Christ we pray. Amen.