03/26/23 - Dancing Bones - Westminster Presbyterian Church Westminster Presbyterian Church | Serving God and others with open mind, hands and heart - 03/26/23

03/26/23 – Dancing Bones

DANCING BONES

March 26, 2023
5^th Sunday of Lent
Ezek.37: 1-14; Ps. 130; Rom. 8: 6-11 John 11:1-45
Rev. Denise Clark-Jones

Back in the 90’s Tom and I used to watch a British comedy series called “Waiting for God.” The setting was a retirement community. The title was humorous then, but a bit foreboding now that I am approaching official “senior citizen” status with my upcoming 65^th birthday. Every day my mailbox is filled with mail directed toward my new demographic label. The ginormous 1200 milligram Calcium with vitamin D pill my doctor advised me to take every morning reminds me, even though I am pain free, I have old bones. Hence, reading God’s question to the prophet Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones: “Can these bones live?” resonate uncomfortably. This question serves as a warning, but more importantly it is a challenge that sparks hope.

Today we have two tales of miraculous death to life transformations. The one from Ezekiel is corporate, metaphorical and spiritual. The other, from John’s gospel, involves a single individual, has a metaphorical component in that it prefigures Jesus’ death and resurrection, and is both physical and spiritual. It isn’t hard to understand why these two bible stories are paired in the lectionary and are placed the Sunday before Palm Sunday, which begins Holy Week.

The book of Ezekiel contains 6 visions, which the Lord God gives to Ezekiel. This book is foundational for both Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature. Although resurrection of the dead is only presented as a metaphorical vision of renewal for the people of Israel following exile, many of the passages have been used by Christians as a proof text of the resurrection of the dead. This is an idea which first became part of some Jewish sects. 1. (Carey, p.121 )It is not until the book of Daniel, believed to have been written around 160 BCE 2. (Frick, p.532), that resurrection of the dead is presented in the canon of the Hebrew scriptures. The book of Daniel, an apocalyptic writing, which was popular in several cultures from around 300 BCE to the early 2^nd century CE, contains the first expression of the theological concept in the Hebrew scriptures. An example of Christian apocalyptic literature is the book of Revelation.`

At the beginning of the book of Ezekiel we are introduced to a young man who is both a prophet and a priest. In the span of this book, we read about the Babylonian conquest of Judah in 587 BCE, the Babylonian exile, and God’s vision of the new Israel. Our reading today is one of these visions. Ezekiel, an exile, did not live to see the return of the Jewish exiles to Israel, but God had given him glorious visions of a people restored, so that he might inspire and energize a new generation.

Ezekiel had accompanied his people, marched off to be exiles in a foreign land. He had seen his homeland reduced to a bare skeleton of what it once was, both literally and figuratively. The Valley of the Dry Bones was probably a battle site where many men were killed, with their bones left to dry in the desert sun. He watched helplessly as his country was ruled by a puppet king who served, not God, but Babylon’s king Nebuchadnezzar. Historians have observed that the average lifespan of an empire is 400 years. Israel lasted less than two. The United States is just approaching its 250-year mark.

The author makes it clear that the valley of the dry bones is metaphorical. Ezekiel testifies^{: “}Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel” (v. 3) Ezekiel 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.” (v.4-6) That was what it was all about, the people understanding who God is and what God can and chooses to do. God instructs Ezekiel to prophesy to a people whose hope has dried up to the point they could not move forward. With their country taken from them, they cannot not see a future as a people. Without flesh and sinews, their bones can no longer move. With the Word of the Lord to Ezekiel, the dry, dead bones are contrasted with the living force of “ru’ah,” the Hebrew word meaning “breath” or “spirit.” God gives life and spirit. Ezekiel and the other “mortals” of Israel cannot accomplish a renewal of the community of faith, but God can. Israel will be resurrected, not as a political power, but as a spiritual community. Without God’s spirit, there would be no life in the valley of the dry bones; but with God’s Holy Spirit those bones would take on flesh and have a second chance to live as God intended. Similarly, in our epistle reading from Romans, the Apostle Paul reiterated the necessity of the Holy Spirit to bring us to the abundant life God offers with Christ: “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. (Rom. 8:6)

Sixty years after Jerusalem fell to their Babylonian conquerors, the world power dynamic had shifted. Babylon was conquered by the Persians. The Persian king was not threatened by people who practiced different religions. The exiles were allowed to return to their homeland, rebuild the temple and reshape their lives. The Jewish people became a cohesive faith community that thrived, even under foreign rule. They were restored to life. It wasn’t the life they had expected, but it was a new life, lived closer to God and one another.

These words: “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. ¹³And you shall know that I am the Lord when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people,” (v.12-13)” are significant to the theological concept of resurrection of the dead, which links the Ezekiel passage to our gospel reading in which Jesus raises Lazarus from death and foreshadows his own resurrection. The verse predicting God would bring people up from their graves was probably later used by Jewish theologians to support the idea of the resurrection of the dead at the end time, which was asserted more fully in the book of Daniel. This was a bone of contention (pun intended) in Jesus’ time between the Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead and the Pharisees who did.

In our gospel reading from John, Jesus, God’s Word made flesh, was asked to save the life of a good friend. If Lazarus, the brother of his friends, Mary and Martha, meant so much to Jesus, why did he wait three days to come to Lazarus after his sisters sent word it was a matter of life and death? Who has the patience to wait three days when every second counts? It appears the wait was the metaphoric foreshadowing of Jesus’ own death and resurrection, which transpired over three days. At the time, it was believed that after three days, the soul leaves the body. What makes this story unique in the accounts of Jesus’ healing miracles is his personal investment. The scripture tells us Jesus loved Lazarus. The Greek word translated as “love” was not “agape,” meaning love for humanity; the word used was “phileo,” “brotherly love.” The shortest verse in the bible, though one of the most poignant, shows us Jesus’ reaction to the news that Lazarus was dead. We read: “Jesus wept.”

Jesus did not cause Lazarus to die, but he grieved, nonetheless. Christ, fully human, suffered as we suffer. Christ, fully divine, is present with us in our current suffering. Sometimes, God does not answer our prayers the way, or within the time span, we want. Jesus did not come immediately, as the sisters hoped when he learned Lazarus was gravely ill. John doesn’t tell us what he was doing which delayed his coming. For Mary and Martha, Jesus’ failure to arrive before Lazarus died felt like a betrayal.

Haven’t we all felt like that toward God when our suffering seems too great to bear? When we lose someone or something we can’t imagine living without?

Jesus understood that this tragedy could be redeemed. Lazarus would once again die, as all mortals do, but at this time God had another plan. God answered Jesus’ prayer to raise up Lazarus from the dead. Jesus explained what Mary and Martha could not understand themselves. God gave Jesus the power to resurrect Lazarus to demonstrate that the power of God worked through him. Jesus also used the raising of Lazarus to prepare his disciples for what they could not imagine – his own death and resurrection.

Jesus hastened his own death, by saving Lazarus. More people believed in him, but the opposing powers became more set against him. Jesus demonstrated his own words: “Greater love has no man than to give up his life for a friend.” (John 15: 13) Jesus also commanded and commissioned his disciples on the night he ate his final meal with them: “Love others as I have loved you.” (John 13: 34) The message for us is that the dry bones of enmity and apathy, are restored to life as God intends with love.

These words of scripture we heard today, challenge us to oppose anything that brings death. There are many kinds of death that we can defeat if we make them a priority. There are dry bones that need to be raised up from death to life: crushing poverty, hunger, war, oppression, injustice and violence. There is death in systemic injustice and economic inequality. There is death in addiction, depression, and other forms of mental illnesses. There is death when we lose hope. As Christ’s disciples, we are called to bring life to a world that deals in death. But we are Easter people. We do not just celebrate Easter on a particular day, we celebrate the Resurrection whenever we see life restored.

With the psalmist, we cry: “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope.” We wait for God to make all things new, but we do not wait in idleness. God is also waiting for us to take hold of the life God offers and use it bring life wherever we see death settling in to destroy. We wait in hope because Jesus has promised us:

“I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live,²⁶and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25)

This is true for the world, for our church, and even our own dry bones. We may not see the bones dancing, but our next generations will see and learn from the steps we take. Like Ezekiel, we are challenged to demonstrate a vision of new life for them. These dry bones can live!

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!

1. Carey, Greg. Death, the End of History, and Beyond: Eschatology in the Bible (Interpretation: Resources for the Use of Scripture in the Church). Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, KY, 2023.

2. Frick, Frank S. A Journey Through the Hebrew Scriptures. Harcourt Brace College Publishers, New York. 1995. p.532.

My Story

“Throughout the week, there are many worldly things pulling me away from my commitment to God. I come to church on Sunday at Westminster to reconnect and renew my relationship with Him. Part of my worship is to ask him for forgiveness for my lack of faithfulness. I leave, reminded that he loves me, forgives me, and walks beside me every day. What a profound blessing that is!”