“Can Dry Bones Live?”
Lent 5
Ezekiel 37:1-14; John 11:1-45
March 9, 2008
INTRODUCTION
The first of the friends said: I would like them to say, he was a great humanitarian, who cared about his community.
The second said: He was a great husband and father, who was an example for many to follow," said another.
The third friend said, I would like them to say, "Look, he’s moving!!" When God meets death on Easter all will be able to say of Jesus – “Look, He’s moving!” Death is mastered!
Dry Bones
By the Spirit of the Lord," Ezekiel testifies, "I was set down in the midst of a valley; it was full of bones." Perhaps these were the bones of an army that had been trapped in this valley by hostile forces and had been summarily slaughtered. The flesh had long ago fallen away. Now there was nothing left but a pile of bones baked by the sun. In Ezekiel's words, they "were very dry."
Amidst this scene of death, decay and destruction, the Lord asks Ezekiel a powerful question--a question that is important to your life and mine, "Son of man, can these bones live?"
A young man in a wheelchair, crippled by an accident, asks his friend, "Do I have a future?"
A couple sits in a counselor's office, "Can our marriage be saved?"
A widow sinks into a chair. Only a few hours before they lowered into the ground the casket that contained her precious husband. "Can I go on?" she wonders as she softly cries.
On woman wrote online looking for help. She wrote, “My 19 year old daughter is addicted to heroin. She is diagnosed with Bipolar and Borderline Personality Disorder and has a long history of self injury. It's, all about coping.
She is unemployed and quasi-homeless. If it's not nailed down, she will steal it. If it breaths, she will con it. She has traded sex for her drug.
She agreed to enter a dual diagnosis treatment center 3000 miles away and is now, 3 weeks clean. She says she is "cured" and wants to come home. She is delusional.
She has no money, no credit card and no ID, with her. The alternatives are, as I see it, fly her back home, enable the addiction by giving her food and shelter and easier access to our stuff or give her the choice to stay put, in the treatment center and get help or survive on the streets. What should I do?
"Can these bones live?" Is there any hope in these lost causes? Can a situation that has been written off as hopeless be recouped, revived, and resurrected? Is there any hope?
Many, many people live in the valley of dry bones. Some live in that valley for a long time, all of us at least for a season. Mary and Martha were in that valley when their brother Lazarus died. They sent for the Master as soon as he fell ill, but Jesus delayed coming. Now Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. "Lord," said Mary, "If you had been here, my brother would not have died." Then she began to weep. Her tears were so moving that Jesus began to weep as well. For a time Mary and Martha were living in the valley of dry bones. Some of you have been there. All of us will be in that valley at some time in our lives.
There in that lonesome valley we will find ourselves asking, Is there any hope? Can I go on? Can these bones live again?
The answer is a resounding yes. There is hope. You can go on. These bones can live again. The question, then, is how? How can we find hope in the midst of desolation, courage in the face of impending collapse, comfort in our distress? The answer is, by the word of the Lord.
"And he said to me, "˜Son of man, can these bones live?' And I answered, "˜O Lord God, you know.' Again [the Lord] said to me, "˜Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.'"
The answer is in the Word of the Lord. Remember, it was with a word that the world was created. "And God said, "˜Let there be light,' and there was light" (Gen. 1:3). It was by the Word that God revealed the fullness of His love for humanity, "And the word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). And it was by a Word that Christ brought Lazarus back from the dead, "[Jesus] cried with a loud voice, "˜Lazarus, come out.' The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth."
A FRESH WIND BLOWS
Just when it seemed impossible God tells Ezekiel that those bones will live again. In his vision ol’ Zeke sees them bones come together and the flesh reappear and finally breath is given that makes them live again. And God tells ol’ Zeke that just as the winds brought breath to those lifeless bodies, so too God will breathe His Spirit on the people. “I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live…”
Friends there is good news. God will enter all those dead places, where we are cut-off, dried up, and without hope and give us a fresh spirit, a new life, a new hope. When it seems like our life is almost gone and we are living in a grave God causes life to happen. “I will open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my People.”
I will be the first to admit that there are many people more knowledgeable of the Bible than I. But I do know that in its words we find the good word from God that he wants to give you life. Sooner or later you and I will find ourselves in hopeless situations. Sooner or later we will be entombed in impossible circumstances. Sooner or later we will be lie on the ground like so many dry bones. Sooner or later we all have an appointment with the tomb. The good news is that God does not allow the last word on his people be about despair, depression, fear, disease, or even death. In all of those dead-end roads when all hope is lost, the word will still speak and that word is Jesus.
Conclusion
Tony Campolo tells the story of a black Baptist preacher in the inner city of Philadelphia who preached a sermon Tony says he'll never forget. Tony preached first. He was "hot," so "hot" he says, that he even stopped and listened to himself. He sat down and said to his pastor: "Now see if you can top that one!"
"Son," said the black pastor, "you ain't seen nothin' yet." For an hour and a half the pastor repeated these words over and over again: "It's Friday, but Sunday's a comin'."
"I've never heard anything like it," Tony said. "He just kept saying it. The congregation was spellbound by the power of it."
"It's Friday. Mary, Jesus' mother is crying her eyes out. That's her son up there on the cross. He's dying the agonizing death of crucifixion as a criminal. But it's only Friday," the preacher said. "Sunday's a comin'.
"The apostles were really down and out. Jesus, their leader, was being killed by evil men. But it was only Friday. Sunday is a comin'.
"The Devil thought he had won. 'You thought you could outwit me,' he said, 'but I've got you now.' But it was only Friday. Sunday is a comin'."
"He went on like that for 30 minutes, 40 minutes, an hour. Each time he said, 'It's Friday,' the crowd began to respond, 'but Sunday's comin'. An hour and 15 minutes.
"It's Friday and evil has triumphed over good. Jesus is dying up there on the cross. The world is turned upside down. This shouldn't happen. But it's only Friday. Sunday's a comin'.
"It's Friday. But Sunday is comin'. Mary Magdalene was out of her mind with grief. Her Lord was being killed. Jesus had turned her life from sin to grace. Now he was dead. But it's only Friday. Sunday is a comin'."
The place was rocking. For an hour and a half. "Friday! But Sunday is a
comin'. Friday. But Sunday is a comin'.
Friends, whenever we experience a Friday, know that with God, Sunday is a comin’.
