For
Sunday, March 22, 2026 ~ Readings: Ezekiel 37:1-14, Psalm 130, Romans 8:6-11,
John 11:1-45
Image is from Bible.art
He said to me "Mortal, can these bones live?"
..."Prophesy to these bones and say to them: O dry bones hear the word of
the Lord...I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live. I will lay
sinews on you...and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know
that I am the Lord." [Ezekiel 37:1a, 3-5, 6b]
Out of the depths
have I called to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice...For there is
forgiveness with you...I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for him; in his word
is my hope. [Psalm 130: 1, 3a, 4]
But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin,
the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised
Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give
life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. [Romans
8:10-11]
Martha said to him, "I know that he
will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus said to her,
"I’m the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though
they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never
die." [John 11:24-26]
Ezkiel’s raising of the
bones is or used to be known more because of the old Spiritual “Dem Bones.” The
lyrics and melody were composed by author and songwriter James Weldon Johnson
and his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson, and first recorded in 1928. Obviously
inspired by the very passage we’re reading this Sunday in Ezekiel 37:1-14, it’s
actually quite an anatomy lesson and has morphed into a variety of lyrics
without losing the “connections.” But of course, trying to imagine Ezekiel
being dropped into the valley with the vast scope and number of the
disconnected bones he sees, his conversation with God is seemingly calmer than
one would expect, if that is all you have read or know about him. The Book of Ezekiel
is a narrative of his visions and prophesies which tell of his many
conversations with God, many God-given prophesies, and these bones, simply, if amazing,
had their own story.
As for the dryness of the bones, I know people who have had to hunker
down in full-on desert sandstorms in Iraq. They tell me it's blinding,
abrading, choking, and all-around frightening. The dunes shape-shift so swiftly
as to bury and lay bare concurrently. When the particles settle, the air is so
dry it's nearly electric. Without shelter and protection, flesh peels off limbs
in sheets and, in the aridity of the desert, you cannot tell the old bones from
the new. I saw a jawbone of what I was told was a camel in the Negev Desert in
southern Israel many years ago. I thought it must be ancient. “Not so,” said
the guide explaining that because of the extra dry conditions in the desert, it
was more likely to be weeks or maybe a few months at the most.
The bones of
Ezekiel's valley were very dry, empty, and scattered, each from the other.
I’m sure even in his vision, Ezekiel had difficulty in imagining them
re-connected, re-fleshed, and re-animated, yet through God’s instructions and
Ezekiel’s obedience in prophesying, they were. We, as Christians, see this as a
foreshadowing of Jesus’s Resurrection from the dead. The Pharisaic teaching,
that Martha and Mary knew, was that all the righteous would be raised on “the
last day.”
Martha and Mary
must have felt shattered and lost at the death of their beloved brother; especially
as they believed that had Jesus come sooner he would have healed Lazarus. It
was so painful a loss that Jesus also wept when experiencing the grief of the
sisters. Who among us cannot understand that, while shedding an ocean of
tears in the midst of immediate grief, there can be a sense of emptiness
that feels as vast, as dry, and as deep as the sands of the Sinai? They
wondered why Jesus, who could have saved Lazarus, didn’t come sooner. The
teaching of the time was that a soul lingered nearby for 3 days after death.
Mary was clear to Jesus that Lazarus was now dead 4 days. All seemed truly
lost, until…
We don’t expect or
believe that Jesus will call our loved ones out of the grave and restore them
to full life and health in this life. We hope for it, perhaps dream about it.
But the reality of the earthly loss arrives very quickly and never truly leaves.
Yet Paul reminds us that setting our minds on the flesh of this life is
death to eternal life. We are to set our minds on the Spirit which is
life and peace. No, it definitely isn't easy, especially in the times
of life when we feel blown about as in a sandstorm; frightened of the next few
days or weeks or months as in the time of the recent pandemic. Some of us are
covered over and some of us are laid bare. But no matter the age or wellness of
our bones, hope is always the best antidote to despair and the best
place to find hope is in a community of faith.
A community exists
even when we are at a distance from each other as do family members who live in
different states or countries. Some of our Church family simply fell out of the
habit of being in Church during the days of the COVID pandemic. Some are
physically unable and reaching out regularly is heart-giving for the one who
gives as well as the one who receives. For those with whom we have simply lost
regular contact sending an email, a note, or a phone call may be all that's
needed to say I'm thinking of you and you are missed, you are still part of
"us." Even if the outcome doesn't change, the effort is still worth
the time in the family of Christ.
We all believe and
hope in different ways for different outcomes in life’s events, but as a
community we must gather our bones, re-connect often, and come alive together in
whatever ways, old and new, we can discover or rediscover. The psalmist
says in his word is my hope. The Word of the Gospel can
re-animate our hope as we seek the Spirit of Christ within us. We are not
alone, even at a distance from each other whether across deserts, oceans, or
one street, as long as we choose hope and reach out to each other
in love. Through Christ we can be unbound from the fear of the unknowns in life
yet to come if we allow it. The Light of Christ fills and surrounds us, and distance
fades as we gather together in faith.
LET US, GOD’S
PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ Most Merciful God, unbind
us from the fears of the unknowns in this earthly life that dry our souls, our
hearts, and our bones. Set our minds on the Spirit of life and peace, that we
may seek, believe, and follow Christ Jesus, who is the Light, the Resurrection,
and the Life.
O Lord, our God
RESPONSE:
Rest
Your hand upon us
~ Most
Merciful God, endow those who govern with the capacity for justice, compassion,
foresight, and willingness to act for the benefit of all Your people throughout
this Community, this Nation, and this Planet. We pray especially
for: add your own petitions
O Lord, our God
Rest Your hand upon us
~ Most Merciful
God, bestow Your healing touch upon all in ill-health, emotional turmoil, or
despair; and for all who give them care, grant rest for today and hope for
tomorrow. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add
your own petitions
O Lord, our God
Rest Your hand upon us
~ Most Merciful
God, let our tears be dried and our grief released, for as Jesus called
Lazarus from his tomb, You call our loved ones to the joy of new and eternal
life. We pray especially for… add your own petitions
O Lord, our God
Rest Your hand upon us
~ Most Merciful
God, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt
thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or
silently… add your own petitions
O Lord, our God
Rest
Your hand upon us
~ Most Merciful
God, hearten the spirits of those sent to us to lead Your Church as they
prophesy Your Word, and bring us into the Light of Christ. We pray
especially for: add your own petitions
O Lord, our God
Rest Your hand upon us
The
Celebrant adds: Lord God
of us All, breathe into our mortal bones and awaken us from the death of
sin, as our waiting souls turn toward the radiance of Your mercy, forgiveness,
and everlasting life. We ask through Jesus, our Redeemer Christ; and the Holy
Spirit, our Compass and our Guide; who together with You are One God, now and
forever. Amen.
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