Dearest e-votees-
This Sunday is the high holy day of Pentecost. It is when we as the church remember the dramatic dispensation of the Holy Spirit on the newborn Christian church.
One of the optional texts for this day is the account of Ezekiel's vision of the dry bones. Sometimes this can get lost with all the excitement of Pentecost. That is too bad because it is such a vivid text.
Peace,
Karl
------------
1 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. 2 He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 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.”
7 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. 8 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. 9 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.” 10 I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
11 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.’ 12 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. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. 14 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.”
Ezekiel 37:1-14, NRSV
When I think of this text I always try to imagine how it would appear in film. I sort of imagine something like what Ray Harryhausen might have created (watch Jason and the Argonauts). I can sometimes hear the bones rattling together. I can visualize the flesh and sinew being stitched across the skeletons in some strange time-lapse effect. The rush of the wind coming into the bodies and re-animating them. It would be a powerful scene indeed.
But even before Ezekiel had the chance to utter the Lutheranest of queries "What does this mean?" it is offered to him. The people who are lost and cut off will be restored. Those who are as dead shall have life again. Those who are in exile shall be returned to their own place. The Lord has spoken and the Lord will act.
How about in your life? Is there a place of dryness? Are your bones all too apparent? Do you feel cut off? Are you on soil that is not familiar nor desired? Do you feel separated from your people? Do you feel separated from your God? Are you in need of breath/spirit/wind from God? Are you wondering, as you look at the skeleton looking back at you in the mirror, "Can these bones live?"
God gave this picture not just to Ezekiel and those in exile but to us. God wants us to draw hope and inspiration (literally breathing in) from this life-giving image of the work of God's Spirit. We may not know our future but God does. God wants us to live and breathe. God wants us to hope and dream. God wants us. God has spoken. God will act.
God, thank you for Ezekiel's vision. Help our eyes drink in its fulfillment in our own lives. Amen.
This Sunday is the high holy day of Pentecost. It is when we as the church remember the dramatic dispensation of the Holy Spirit on the newborn Christian church.
One of the optional texts for this day is the account of Ezekiel's vision of the dry bones. Sometimes this can get lost with all the excitement of Pentecost. That is too bad because it is such a vivid text.
Peace,
Karl
------------
1 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. 2 He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 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.”
7 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. 8 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. 9 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.” 10 I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
11 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.’ 12 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. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. 14 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.”
When I think of this text I always try to imagine how it would appear in film. I sort of imagine something like what Ray Harryhausen might have created (watch Jason and the Argonauts). I can sometimes hear the bones rattling together. I can visualize the flesh and sinew being stitched across the skeletons in some strange time-lapse effect. The rush of the wind coming into the bodies and re-animating them. It would be a powerful scene indeed.
But even before Ezekiel had the chance to utter the Lutheranest of queries "What does this mean?" it is offered to him. The people who are lost and cut off will be restored. Those who are as dead shall have life again. Those who are in exile shall be returned to their own place. The Lord has spoken and the Lord will act.
How about in your life? Is there a place of dryness? Are your bones all too apparent? Do you feel cut off? Are you on soil that is not familiar nor desired? Do you feel separated from your people? Do you feel separated from your God? Are you in need of breath/spirit/wind from God? Are you wondering, as you look at the skeleton looking back at you in the mirror, "Can these bones live?"
God gave this picture not just to Ezekiel and those in exile but to us. God wants us to draw hope and inspiration (literally breathing in) from this life-giving image of the work of God's Spirit. We may not know our future but God does. God wants us to live and breathe. God wants us to hope and dream. God wants us. God has spoken. God will act.
God, thank you for Ezekiel's vision. Help our eyes drink in its fulfillment in our own lives. Amen.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment