“Ezekiel: Valley of Dry Bones”

Ezekiel 37:1-14

(sermon note: 12-07 sermon note)

¹The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones. ² He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out. ³ Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?”

“O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.”

⁴ Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! ⁵ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! ⁶ I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

⁷ So I spoke this message, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons. ⁸ Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them.

⁹ Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’”

¹⁰ So I spoke the message as he commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army.

¹¹ Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones represent the people of Israel. They are saying, ‘We have become old, dry bones—all hope is gone. Our nation is finished.’ ¹² Therefore, prophesy to them and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again. Then I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³ When this happens, O my people, you will know that I am the Lord. ¹⁴ I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the Lord has spoken!’”

This morning’s reading reminds me of the one about a guy who went to a museum to see a dinosaur bone exhibit. He walked around the galleries and was quite impressed by the reconstruction of these ancient animals–a T-rex, a triceratops, and more. He saw a guy who worked for the museum standing near one of the dinosaurs and said to him, “They’re quite a sight! How old are they anyhow?” The guy who worked for the museum said, “This one, the T-Rex, is 66 million years old and six months.” “Wow,” responded the guy. “It is amazing that they can be that specific. How do you know that info anyway?” “Well,” the worker said. “He was 66 million years old six months ago and that’s when I started working here.”

Nothing like a little bone humor to get the day started, eh? Well, as we heard, the lectionary creators thought it would be particularly clever to reflect on the prophet Ezekiel’s vision of walking among dry bones on this second week of Advent. We might as well have a little fun with it! It appears as if we’re not done with the wisdom of the prophets as we prepare ourselves for yet another Christmas. We spent all last month with the prophets in preparation for this Advent season and I guess we’re going to continue to walk with them on our run up to Christmas. There are certainly worse authors in the Bible that we could be asked to reflect in this season of preparation. The books of Ruth or JOB would be terrible books to reflect on as we prepare our hearts for the birth of Jesus!  At least the prophets can be hopeful at times when they’re not condemning us for pulling away from God and disobeying God. Yes, the prophets can be full of hope and eager to share that hope with us especially in times when we need hope.

It’s no coincidence that these weeks leading up to Christmas are literally the darkest weeks of the year. For us early risers, we get up in the morning and it’s still dark outside. We go to work all day and just about when it’s time to head home it gets dark outside again. The month of December is literally a dark month! Not to mention a cold and snowy month. Not the coldest or snowiest month but boy, add the snow and cold to the darkness and it can sure make for a miserable month. We need hope now more than ever! We need the warmth and love and light of Jesus now more than ever! And in just a few weeks we’ll get it! We will celebrate the birth of Jesus once again and perhaps his light will shine on someone who is in desperate need of it. Perhaps his light will shine on someone who has been living in darkness for a long time. This is the hope we have each and every year. For those of us who live in his light each and every day, it can kind of seem like a redundant celebration. What’s the big deal about celebrating Jesus’ birth year after year? We know the story, we know the tradition…same old, same old. Well, it’s not just any story. It’s a story that can change lives for the better! It’s a story unlike any story! But I’m getting a little ahead of myself. For today we’ll dwell with Ezekiel and his vision of the dry bones…

Like the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah, Ezekiel was a prophet called to speak words of hope and encouragement to the exiled people of Israel. Recall that these were a hopeless, despairing people. They were captives in a strange land with a 70-year sentence hanging over them. Most of them would never see their homeland again in their lifetime, only the littlest among them possibly. Their situation was grim to say the least. Their situation was without life and hope, much the same way a valley of dry bones would be. But it isn’t really without life and hope because God is still very much a part of it. And God can do some pretty amazing things. God can breathe life and hope into dead situations! After all, He is the source of all life and hope! Nothing truly dies when God is involved. Situations only change from one form to another, and God oversees it all. Sometimes instigating the change, most of the time simply allowing it to happen. But always overseeing it and looking for opportunities to infuse hope and life. Why? Because that’s what God does, infuse life and hope! God loves us and wants us full of life and hope! And God uses people like Ezekiel to show us how eager He is to infuse life and hope in otherwise dead situations.

Ezekiel is not alone in his calling. Many people in scripture were given a similar call. The apostle Paul is certainly another great vessel for God’s hope and encouragement. All throughout his letter to the congregation in Rome he was continually writing words of hope and encouragement. He writes, “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” (15:13) And elsewhere he says, “Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.” (12:12) Friends, Paul was a man filled with God’s hope and encouragement and he couldn’t help but share it with the rest of us! And Peter, the great apostle Peter, was similar in hopefulness. He writes, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3) I know it’s bad form to reference Jesus’ death and resurrection in a time when we’re preparing for his birth but even in his death Jesus was simply being born again. Death is not the end when God is involved. Death is but a beginning to a new life. So there can be hope even in death!

This dark, cold, snowy month of December can be like a valley of dry bones. But God will infuse light and hope into it! And for that we give thanks. Thanks be to God!

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.