Ezekiel 37:1-14.                      God gives new life!!                           27/5/12

“The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.  He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.  He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know."  Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!  This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.  I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'"  So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.  I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.  Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'"  So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet--a vast army.  Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.  Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.  I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.'"

            [An old dry bone will be held up as an illustration at various times]

Today as we celebrate Pentecost, we have a very interesting picture presented to us; One that has a real lesson, for us, and many others as well. It is a picture of old dry bones – rattily, old, dry, dead bones. Now I don't know if we'd appreciate being referred to as an old bag of bones: A bag of bones that has got about as much life in us as this old bone [old dry bone]. This bone we would say is without life; without hope; without a future; it really hasn't got much going for it: It is just another reminder of the death and decay that is all around about us.

Can you imagine being Ezekiel stepping into that valley and seeing just one great mass of old, dry, dead bones  - human bones - millions of them. What a disaster must have struck them, and caused such mass destruction. Sure, there wouldn't have been the stench of death any more, just a mass of old, dry, reminders of a death long gone. It would have been quite disturbing in a way.  Particularly in light of what his nation was facing at the time. And here God placed Ezekiel in midst of all this to give him, the Israeli nation, and you and I, a very important lesson.

At this time of Ezekiel, the people of Israel felt all dried up - like this old bone. They were without hope and could see no real and positive future. They were exiles in a foreign land. Slaves of a people who merely wanted to use them for their own dirty work. Their homeland had been taken over by these other peoples. Their temple was in ruins, and they were being made to worship the king of this new land and to desist from any allegiance to their God. As a race of people, and as God's once great nation, they now had about as much life in them as this bone. It seemed to them that all was finished, and there was now no hope and seemingly no future.

And today is it any different. We may not be taken over by another country and taken off to live elsewhere as their slaves.  However there are many, who, in the same way feel hopeless and without any real future. They are in trouble in one way or another and they know it. Perhaps they have lost or losing their business or livelihood: They are sick or even facing death itself. Perhaps they are like so many young ones today, who see life as rather pointless and futile; we are merely products of an evolutionary process where the survival of the fittest and best is all that counts. Or they see the morality of our nation going greatly downhill; the political scene in a mess; or the Church seemingly dying with many thinking that they don’t need to attend church very often; and I could go on. But as a result there are many who have lost or are losing hope, and who don't see much of a future ahead. In many ways they have got about as much life in them as this bone.

Now of course, there are many others who would like to think they are better than this. That yes, they have a good set of bones holding them together, and a good lot of muscles on them, and so can still get a lot out of life. They would like to think that they have got something between their ears, and a future out there for them to get out of it what they can. But in reality, they haven't got a thing because they haven't got what is important; they haven’t got anything here (heart), in heart and soul. They haven't got that which gives life itself, and that which gives life its meaning and purpose. They haven't got God's Spirit within them. So in reality they are only a rotting bag of bones, rattling around in their own self-importance.

Now can they- we - come back to life? Is there any hope for our world that is seemingly without hope? Is there a future out there for us and for our children? Is there any hope for our Church? Well that depends, If it is going to look to human strengths and technology and that kind of thing; looking where the rest of the nation is looking; and if in the church we are going to focus on me, and what I want, and my feelings; No! We will continue to rot away and decay. Yes, outwardly it may look fine at times, but in reality it is dead.

However, there is One who can and does give life. There is hope, and there is a great future ahead for us. As much as this bag of bones might be dry and useless as it is, there is One who can bring it right back to life and give it the best of everything.

So listen! Listen, all you who are without hope! Listen, our country Australia! Listen Church! Listen to the Word of Lord; “I will put my Spirit into you and bring you back life”. Yes, God has, is, and will come to you, into you, so that there is life, hope, and a great future ahead. With him there - here within us – we have everything going for us. So listen – listen, to the Word of Lord. Have good look in here [Bible] – your Bibles. Have a good look at what God has said and done down through the ages. This is not fairy tales. Check out what happened to these Israelites after God had given this vision to Ezekiel. And if you don't want to trust this book alone, go and have a look at your history books, and you will find that they did end up back in Jerusalem not that long after this, and they rebuilt their Temple again.

And right through history the same thing has applied, when the people were prepared to listen to the Word of the Lord, instead of avoiding it, rejecting it, and changing it to suite themselves, or having as little to do with it as possible. When they sought out God's healing, forgiving, and loving Word, they found that the most lifeless of situations were changed. Not by themselves, but by God: His Spirit, bringing life back in all of its fullness. New strength and vitality had come into their lives; peace, hope, love, joy, and all the rest abounded. Instead of death, there was life.

And it is that Spirit, which does all this, that has also come to you. Since your baptism he has been there in your life, and he has come to you to give you hope and a future. He is there now in your life seeking to give you all that he has promised. He is there, wanting to bring all of this to you too. So listen - listen to how he wants to bring all of this into your life. Listen again, and you will not be disappointed. Open up your Bibles and read it; study it; and listen to what your God is saying. And do it often; and it will surprise you what God can do. Through that Word his Spirit will transform life. Come also to the Lord's Table as often as you can and know that Jesus died so that YOU might be forgiven and have life in all its fullness, and that he goes with you throughout your life. Yes it is there in the Word and the Sacraments that God’s Spirit will bring life to any, and every, old dry bag of bones.

Remember also that it is he alone that can do it. You can't do it on your own; you can’t pull yourself together and be the sort of person that God, and even yourself, wants you to be. Nor will education, wealth, stars, clairvoyants, eastern meditation, or anything else, other than the Holy Spirit. Nor will we as church be able to build the Church back up if all we are going to do is to look to ourselves and what we do; that is, if we are going to focus on what we want, feel, and that kind of thing. And the same goes for our nation, when we look here, to ourselves, we are in trouble.

But with God anything is possible. This vision of Ezekiel’s shows that. So listen to him - listen to the Word of the Lord, and then you will know that God is for real, and there will be a rattle of bones, and the hope that you will have will surprise you. So listen! The Holy Spirit of Pentecost will bring life in all of its fullness to us.      Listen, for the Lord has spoken. AMEN.

 
PastorRoger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish