Choose Your Own Adventure: All Dried Up (MTKA)

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 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 most often begin sermons with a greeting in the tradition of the Apostle Paul’s letters to the early church: Beloved children of God, grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Today, I invite us to begin this part of the service a little differently — by participating in something together. three deep breaths, taken in sync, at my prompting followed by a moment of silence. Ready, here we go. Breathe in… Breathe out… .inhale… exhale… one more time… 

How do you feel? Relaxed? Annoyed? Curious, where is she going with this?!? Ten years ago I started practicing yoga. It’s resulted in countless benefits. One of which concerns the practice of breathing… who knew something so fundamental needed to be practiced? I’ve learned that being mindful of your breathing contributes to physical, spiritual and emotional health. This isn’t earth shattering news. Breath is life. But it can be easy to take it for granted. It’s not uncommon for me to suddenly notice that my breathing is shallow, sometimes I catch myself actually holding my breath — not intentionally — usually because of stress. 

I know I’m not alone — why else would the Apple watch have a breathing app? It’s been proven — we forget to breathe. It’s been happening a lot the last couple years — individually and as a collective whole. We’ve experienced stress at levels we never could have imagined.

In an article I read in The Atlantic last week, there was a crucial difference noted between May 2020 and May 2021. Looking back, having lived through a pandemic (though we’re not actually through it yet) and millions have endured grief, anxiety, isolation and rolling trauma. 

The pandemic has been compounded by social stressors of unemployment, isolation, the rigors of full-time parting without child care and a year of lost opportunities. And we continue to face the realities of racial disparity, polarizing politics; the climate crisis; raging wildfires… breathe… It can be overwhelming to name these things and to live them. We long for relief. We cling to hope.

In our story today, the prophet Ezekiel paints an even more desperate and desolate picture that is the reality for Israel. Ezekiel has a vision. Led by God to a valley, he finds himself in a place of despair. It’s a place void of life, a valley that holds only dry bones. Life in this place has been absent for a long, long time.

The vision dates back to the early sixth century when King Nebuchadnezzar ruled the day. In Israel’s history it’s known as the Babylonian Exile. It was a dark time marked by the deportation of political and religious leaders and the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. Israel encountered trauma, torture, and warfare leading to famine, disease and despair. The exile was a crisis of physical suffering, communal identity and faith.

So Israel knows the place Ezekiel sees. The valley of dry bones is not just how they feel; it’s where they live. They’re not weary or exhausted. They’re well beyond that; they have no hope. Their reality can only mean they’re cut off from God. Their country has died. Their temple and capital city were destroyed. They had once been a great nation, but not any more. They’d once been secure and successful, but now they were completely defeated with no place to call home. I imagine their cries of despair included questions: How did we get here? How did this happen? 

We cannot imagine the hopelessness Israel experienced. They were a people in exile; we are not. We are not displaced. Those in power have not destroyed what’s at the core of who we are. Here in Minnetonka, Minnesota at Bethlehem Lutheran Church Twin Cities — we are not the forgotten or the marginalized. 

Still, this story offers two ways to be strengthened in faith: 1) a glimpse of God’s character — God’s steadfast commitment to being present and providing a way of life; And 2) as we try to make sense of where we’re at, of all that’s happened, of the discrepancies that exist, of the suffering that continues we bring our questions to God: How did we get here? How did this happen? Where is our hope?

We live in a world where 80 percent of the world’s resources are consumed only by 20 percent of the world’s population. How did this happen? Twenty percent of the world’s population survives on $1 a day while another 20 percent of the world’s population spends billions of dollars a year on losing weight? How did this happen? How did we get here? Fires rage. Storms surge. Abuse and injustice comes to light. The pandemic is not over. The rich become richer. The poor are still forgotten. We demonize the “other”. How did we get here? How did this happen? Where is our hope? 

“Can these bones live?” God asks Ezekiel.

“LORD God, only you know,” Ezekiel responded. 

Ezekiel didn’t answer God’s question with “Yes” or “No”. He turned the question back to God. It’s a slight shift but it’s a move that creates space for hope. 

“Prophesy over these bones,” the LORD commands Ezekiel, “and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones…you shall live.”

So Ezekiel prophesied and hope enters in. Suddenly there’s noise, a rattling, and the bones come together, tendons and ligaments and muscles take shape, and flesh covers them all. Then Ezekiel prophesies again, as the LORD commands: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” 

And so they do. The impossible becomes possible. God brings the dead to life. 

I don’t know what part of the valley you find yourself in today. If you’re in a place where all you see is dry bones of discrepancies, brokenness, injustice, suffering and grief, God speaks a word for you: Prophesy! Learn from Ezekiel. God is at work in and through you. Give voice to where you see God showing up. Dare to speak God’s plan for healing and new life. Refuse to accept the status quo. Act as if God’s Kingdom has already come — because it has. It is both already and not yet. God blesses you with courage to live boldly in God’s resurrection promise: nothing separates you, or all of creation from God through Jesus Christ — not even death. Hope lives because Jesus lives. Jesus is alive in the world and on the loose. The gift of faith God plants in you could prove to be a seed of hope for someone else.

And if you’re feeling like you’re more like one of the dry bones in the valley, know that God has not forgotten you. You can’t rise on your own but you’re not in this place alone. You are surrounded by Prophets who speak a word of hope. Hear God’s word for you through those who love and care for you: God’s spirit is within you and you shall live. The Lord speaks and acts. The breath of God comes to you — not when you deserve it and always when you least expect it. Breathe. God is breath. Breath is life. Our hope is in the living Christ. 

We close as we began… as God is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. Let’s take three deep breaths together. Breathe in… breathe out… inhale… exhale… one more time together…