From Burial Ground to Birthplace

Scripture lessons:

Ezekiel 37.1-14
Acts 2.1-21

God said to me, ‘Mortal, can these bones live?’ I answered, ‘O Lord God, you know.’

Ezekiel 37:3 (New Revised Standard Version)

An entire valley of human bones: leering skulls, femurs and rib cages. We are not told what catastrophic event led to the creation of such remains. But Ezekiel sees this devastation and is confronted with a question that stretches belief and imagination to the breaking point. God said to Ezekiel: “Mortal, can these bones live?”

The question is a haunting one, for it has as much relevance for us as it did for the prophet. When we look at devastated inner city landscapes, or once vital churches now boarded up, or broken relationships, the ancient question appears with renewed force: can these bones live?

Ezekiel’s answer to this question is brief and humble: “O Lord God, you know.” He does not present a technique, guarantee or three-step method to assure renewal. Perhaps Ezekiel really does not know whether there is a power enlivening enough to put flesh on bones and breath back into bodies. But his reply gives God room to work, and that turns out to be all that God really needs to begin the process of resurrection.

A miracle took place in the valley of dry bones: a burial ground became a birthplace. Who knows what miracles God may fashion in the breathless places of our lives, if we open ourselves to the possibility of resurrection?

 

Prayer: O God, save us from despair when we survey the devastations within us and around us. Show us how to be participants in your healing work and to make way for the essential gift of your Spirit, which fills the world with life and love; in Jesus’ name. Amen.

~ by Immanuel Congregational Church on May 25, 2007.