The Fifth Sunday of Lent
Year A

Bringing Life to Dry Bones

Readings: Ezekiel 37:1-14; Psalm 130; Romans 8:6-19; John11:1-45

The spirit leads Ezekiel into a valley full of dry bones.  There is nothing but death all around him.  It is a scene that fills him with a sense of utter hopelessness.   "Can these bones live?" Ezekiel is asked.  "Prophesy to the bones."  And hopeless as it may seem to him, Ezekiel does as God tells him.  He prophesies, and the bones come together.  But they are still dry bones; still there is no life in them.  "Prophecy again.  Prophesy to the breath."  Once again he does as God tells him.  And breath comes into those dry bones.  Where there was only death, now there is life. 

What are the dry bones of today?  In our modern world are many scenes of devastation that remind us of Ezekiel’s valley of bones.  
·        The ruins of Hiroshima following the dropping of the bomb … 
·        The desolation of New York City following 9-11
·        A terrorist attack in the Middle East
·        The Tsunami

Whether it be a man made or a natural disaster, whole landscapes can be changed in a matter of a few minutes.  Homes are flattened.  People are destroyed.  "Can these bones live?" we say.   

There are the dry bones of people's lives as well.  We all witnessed scenes of violence this past week.  Four RCMP officers gunned down n the line of duty.  A child dangled and dropped from a bridge by her father on the busiest highway of our city.  His subsequent suicide! We may well ask, what desperation, what hatred could have driven him to such drastic actions?  Another desperate man pouring gasoline on himself and setting himself ablaze! “Can these bones live?” 

In our personal lives we may face dry bone situations.  It is sometimes necessary to be realistic about what has to be faced throughout our lives.  We all encounter death in many disguises within ourselves.  It may be through a serious illness.  There may be difficult relationships.  We may endure periods of economic hardship.  Many are unemployed or underemployed.  What are the dry bones of the situation?  Are we dealing with sadness, pain, frustration, hard work, difficult decisions! How do we find joy, peace, satisfaction, resolution?  “Can these bones live?”

Jesus was often faced with such situations.  He knew how to bring life to dry bones.  A thirsty woman at a well drank deeply of the waters of salvation.  A man born blind came into the light and saw with eye of faith.  A man was dead, and Jesus raised him from the dead. 

The story of Lazarus is a wonderful reminder that God calls us out of the darkness of death into the light of the resurrection.  Lazarus was dead, really dead.  He had been in the tomb for four days.  Jesus called out to him in a voice loud enough to wake the dead.  “Lazarus, come out!”  And he comes out, his hands and feet still bound by the grave clothes.  Life is breathed into him. 

Jesus brought life to some other dry bones that day.  There is Martha who went out to meet Jesus even before he arrived in the village.  “If you had been here my brother wouldn’t have died,” she admonishes him.  “And even now,” she continues, “I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”  Jesus tells her that he is the resurrection.  “Whoever lives and believes in me will never die,” he assures her.  Although she doesn’t understand the implications of this momentous revelation, she responds in faith.  “Yes Lord, I believe that you are the Christ.”  That coming to faith is always a breathing of life into dry bones.  Martha goes to her sister, and together they witness the awesome power of God over death.   

Jesus still brings life to dry bones.  If we open our eyes and our ears we can be witnesses to such stories all around us.  There is the story of Oscar Romero.  He was consecrated bishop of San Salvador because it was felt by his superiors that he would not disturb the status quo.  A quiet, studious person, at first he ignored the deep political problems of his country.  However, through the friendship of some young priests and his frustration and anger at their tragic, senseless deaths fighting the oppression they saw around them, he too began to see his calling as a Christian.  He fought against the violence he had come to see only too clearly.  He was gunned down at the altar of the cathedral as he celebrated the Eucharist.  Before his violent death he said to some friends, “If I die, I will rise again through the people of San Salvador.”  With commitment to the gospel comes renewed energy; life comes into a valley where there were previously only dry bones. 

Every one of us can look back on ‘dry bones’ times in our lives.  Maybe you are going through such a time right now.  “Can these bones live,” you may well be saying.  Can this job be done?  Can there be recovery?  Is there a future?  The power of God to bring new life is not limited by how dead things are, or by how long they have been dead.  God’s loving purposes are not stopped by exile, defeat, destruction or despair.  God’s spirit keeps blowing new life our way. 

If we went around this church this morning we could find as many stories of transformation as we find people.  We would hear stories of how God is working in peoples' lives to bring about change.  We would hear how God continues to strengthen peoples' faith.  We would hear how people reach out to bring life to others. 

Our call as Christians is to renew our dry bones, to bring new life into the situations we encounter in our daily lives and work, and ultimately to renew the face of the earth.  Let us ask God to be present in our midst today, to breathe new life into our dry bones, and to bring life and renewal into every corner of our world.