Do You Truly Believe This Stuff?

In those times when you say you can’t, do you believe God can? When your faith is too weak to get you through the tough times, do you believe God’s faith is strong enough to carry you through it?

Engraving of "The Vision of The Valley of The Dry Bones" by Gustave Doré

If you could possess just one of Jesus’ miraculous powers, which one would you chose?

​I was asked this question once at a minister’s retreat. And the answers were as diverse as the churches we represented.
 
As you might imagine, changing water into wine topped the list. There were a few who wanted the ability to cast out demons. One wanted healing powers simply because his wife was terminally ill, and it was tearing him apart. 
 
I’m not sure my answer constitutes a miraculous power … but I said I wanted to possess Jesus’ compassion, and not just because I lived with three teenagers back then.

I have seen life giving miracles performed by people embracing and living out Christlike compassion.

​Here’s what surprised me the most from all our answers no one chose resurrecting the dead. ​

Were we afraid of initiating a zombie apocalypse? Or did we just assume God owns this power outright? It goes without saying that one of the main pillars of Christianity is the hope of resurrection. The fact that we believe God actually raised Jesus from the dead is what makes our religion different from the others.

Unlike many critics have suggested, this idea wasn’t something his disciples made up after Easter. The roots of Resurrection go deep into Jewish scripture. Even science suggest it goes all the way back to the beginning of time, at the Big Bang, when something that had died was reborn into something new.
 
Though many fundamentalist Christians would disagree with me on that statement, they can’t deny that God, the giver of life, possesses the power to bring life out of death. Which takes us to another question, one that God asks a young prophet in our reading today from Ezekiel 37:1-14

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 around 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.... read the rest here

 
Let’s take a moment to let this settle into your imagination. Picture yourself being led by God into a vast, desert wasteland where dried-up tibias and fibulas are piled upon ribs and vertebras and skulls. I imagine the place as some strange land inhabited by giants who feast on humans like hot wings; tossing their bones to the ground.
 
Now ask yourself what you would do if God told you to preach to a pile of dead bones? Could you command them to rise up and receive the breath of the life? If you’ve seen “The Walking Dead” then you know this isn’t really a good idea.

But Ezekiel does what God asks him because that’s what prophets do. As he preaches, the bones began to rattle and lock together. Their muscle and flesh and skin returned to what they once were. But still, they're just a bunch of dead bodies.
 
So, God instructs Ezekiel to speak to the breath and tell the breath to breathe upon the dead. This might seem a bit surreal if you didn’t know the Hebrew word used here is ‘ruach’ which means not only breath, but 'wind' and 'spirit.' And in the talmud, it also means 'mind.'
 
We first see this word in Genesis 1:2, when the ruach, or Spirit of God, swept over the dark void in a whirlwind…breathing life into existence. Now, at a time when this life seems to have withered and died, the word is brought out again.

Ezekiel commands the ruach to breathe life back into these dead bodies. And the Holy Spirit responds by regenerating and resuscitating an entire valley of naked people.
 
The author lets us know this is a metaphorical tale, one designed to bring hope to the prophet and the people of Israel who’ve been forced from their homeland to live in Babylon.

​ The hope, we’re told, is that God will breathe life back into the Israelites who are withering away in captivity. They are spiritually dried up, parched like a desert wasteland, and as lifeless as dead bones.
 
We are reminded of something important here. The people cry out to God and God responds. Their bones will rise again. Not only that, but the life-giving breath of God will resurrect Jerusalem. And the Holy Spirit will fill the Temple once more.
 
Although it’s a metaphor for hope, this story also reveals a characteristic of God. All who cry out to the Lord will be heard. And all who turn to God will be resurrected from whatever death they are facing - be it physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual.

​As we progress through Lent, we might consider what these dry bones mean to us as a church and as people on a spiritual journey. Is there a time in your life when doubt, hopelessness, depression, fear, and anxiety has withered your spirit?

​Has something happened to you that has caused you to fall apart like dried bones in the wilderness?
Sadly, there are still too many Israelites being held captive by Hamas. Because of this, there are millions of Palestinians being forced out of their homeland by Israel. Most of us probably have no idea of the suffering both sides are experiencing.

But if you’ve ever had to move away from your friends because your parents split up, or a job demanded it of you, you know how easy it is to feel as disconnected and brittle as these bones.

Likewise, if you’ve ever been trapped in a dysfunctional relationship, or in an addiction where it seems there’s no way out but death, then you know how helpless God’s people felt in captivity. 

If you’ve ever been wounded by the church, or pushed out of a community you trusted in, you know how easy it is to lose faith, or believe God has abandoned you.

It’s in these times we must ask ourselves the question God asks Ezekiel, “Can these bones live?” And Ezekiel’s answer is revealing: “Only you can answer that question, God.”

In those times when you say you can’t, do you believe God can? When your faith is too weak to get you through the tough times, do you believe God’s faith is strong enough to carry you through it?

When your life is stuck in a dark place, do you believe God’s light is bright enough to help you find your way out?

When you feel depleted and broken, do you believe God has what you need to make you whole again?

Lent is a spiritual journey that will take us through dry times. But the season always ends at the same place - a blood-stained cross and an empty tomb. Easter is the ultimate proof of what God can do.

That God hears our cries and comes to save us, even if it means God has to become one of us and suffer like we do. 

You might be in a place where your faith is in doubt, or where you question your beliefs. You might be feeling lost, parched, or separated from where you know you are supposed to be. But do you truly believe God is capable of reviving, restoring, and resurrecting your life?

As Easter rapidly approaches, we have to be ready to ask ourselves can the bones of a crucified man live? For me, the answer is a resounding yes! Even though I can’t prove if resurrection is real, I can point to endless ways Jesus lives in and through and all around us.

No matter where you are, or what you are going through, God’s divine breath brings new life wherever it blows. The sacred breath that first set creation into motion, is the same that fills your lungs today.

The same Spirit that moved through Jesus’ tomb, is the same that moves through Anamesa…breathing life into all of creation.

As Jesus reminded his critics, God is a God of the living, not the dead. While we live amid the painful and death-dealing realities that plague our world today, we are called out of our graves to live a life of abundance. And so let us go out into the space between, inhaling and exhaling the goodness of the Holy Spirit, in all the ways we love God, love others, and serve both

As resurrected people we are called to live a resurrected life in imitation of Christ Jesus. Through him we have been given the assurance that death no longer has the final word (c.f. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57). Only God does.

In the challenges of life when you say you can’t, do you truly believe God can?

Ezekiel stood among the dry bones. The disciples stood looking in an empty tomb.

​Today, as we stand in our spiritual wilderness, God is asking, “Do you believe these bones will live again?”

May your answer always be a resounding "Yes."


 
Work Cited
​Adapted from Human Reality, March 15, 2015 (www.jesusnotjesus.org)
Bartlett, David L., Barbara Brown Taylor, Kimberly Bracken Long, ed. Feasting on the Word Lenten Companion. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2014).
There might be more people who deserve to be cited here but my original notes are missing and my original sermon didn't make note of any cites. If I used something you wrote please accept my sincere apology for not giving you credit.