Let
us pray: Almighty God, your Son came
into the world to free us all from sin and death. Breathe upon us the power of your Spirit,
that we may be raised to new life in Christ and serve you in righteousness all
our days, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Devotional Reflection for Lent 5
Ezekiel 37:1-14 and John 11:1-45
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Earlier this week I was part of a prayer group in
which we were asked to share a word that describes how we’re doing.
When my turn came, I said that I was feeling
“sobered”—sobered by how heavy this whole pandemic is feeling.
One of the things I’ve found especially sobering is
that little “death ticker” in the upper right hand corner of our TV screens
during the news networks non-stop coverage of the pandemic. That “death ticker” reminds me of another
“death ticker” that I saw decades ago while watching Walter Cronkite on the CBS
nightly news, during the war in Viet Nam.
That old death ticker is back, because another “war”
is being fought—this time a war we’re waging with a viral disease—a war that’s
taking its inexorable toll, day by day.
With our eyes glued to all our electronic screens,
we grimly watch the fatal numbers go up--reminding us of both the magnitude and
the tragedy of each victim’s death.
So as we approach the Fifth Sunday in Lent, we
“sobered ones” really could use a respite, a break from death….
…and yet as weary as we are of dealing with death,
our scripture lessons seem (at first) to grab us and force us to stare right
into the jaws of death again.
So, in our reading from Ezekiel we witness the
aftermath of the mass destruction that Israel as a nation experienced in
exile. And that aftermath is deeply
haunting…because Ezekiel shows us a valley of human bones, very dry bones,
“dead as a doornail” bones—bones far past any reasonable hope of living again.
Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones impresses upon us the
enormous magnitude of death…
….and our gospel reading from John 11 exposes the
wrenching tragedy of each and every death.
For this is the story of just one dead man, Lazarus,
beloved by those closest to him including Jesus—who is so overcome by grief
that he joins the other mourners bewailing their loss.
As if you and I weren’t already sobered by the
relentlessly rising death toll of this global pandemic….today’s scripture
lessons force us to look again at realities we’re weary of seeing.
If we had our druthers, we’d opt for some wishful
thinking….about the possibility that this whole thing could be over soon, with
life returned back to normal—maybe even by Easter….
….but wishful thinking will not take us where we
need to go…and God—out of love for us—will not let us take any shortcuts to the
happy ending we long for.
These two scripture lessons show us no easy escapes
from death. Rather, these lessons draw
us to look deeply into all that’s happening to us….just as the prophet Ezekiel
looked deeply into the death valley right before him…just as Jesus insisted on
grieving with all the other mourners near Lazarus’s tomb.
And here—precisely here—is where biblical wisdom
diverges from our temptation to embrace wishful thinking….for in addition to
making us take the full measure of death’s awful presence in our lives….these
stories also point us beyond this present moment, by opening up for us a vision
of God’s promised future.
In the valley of the dry bones…and centuries later
in Bethany’s cemetery where dead Lazarus was buried….as we stare into the
starkness of death…we also behold God taking on death, beating back death,
depriving death of ever having the last word with us.
And just how does God do that? Not with a magical wand or a mysterious
incantation or some secret potion…but with God’s own living Word..a Word that
always does what it says.
“Prophesy” God commands Ezekiel---“prophesy to the
bones, prophesy to the breath,” shout my death-defeating, future-opening Word
right into this catastrophe!
In the same way, God does this again, when Jesus,
standing downwind from the tomb where Lazarus’s body is already
decomposing—Jesus roars God’s life-restoring command: “Lazarus come out!”
What’s happening in these two wild Bible
stores?
What’s happening is that just when all seems utterly
lost—Ezekiel and Jesus, God’s messengers pay complete attention to the disaster
that’s right there….even as they also peer beyond that disaster to behold God’s
final future…in which God restores life, for us and in us and in all of God’s
creation.
My dear friends, strengthened by God’s Word, let us
take full stock of what’s happening all around us and let us resist
sugar-coating this public health crisis.
As we do so may we also look beyond these harsh realities…to behold what
God has in store for us and God’s whole groaning creation…may we keep our eyes
fixed on God the LifeGiver, the LifeRestorer making all things new, in God’s
good time.
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
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