March 9th. St Mary’s 9.30 and Ayot St Peter: Colin Hull

Lent 5

Texts:
Ezek 37: 1-14
John 11: 1-45

Theme: Dry Bones and New Hope

1. Introduction

Your country is invaded and you and your family are seized and taken a few thousand miles away to a foreign country. You are not held in prison and are allowed a reasonable level of freedom. But you cannot go back to your homeland. You must live in this new and alien culture with a different language and religion. You are reasonably comfortable but homesick.

This was the situation of Ezekiel in Babylon in about 597 BC, living in strange culture far from home. Far away from the temple he had loved and which now lay in ruins. Then he began to have a number of strange visions of God, not only for himself, but also for his exiled community, and ultimately for his entire nation. The visions begin with explaining God’s departure from the defiled temple in Jerusalem because of personal, national and social sins. But God has not abandoned His people and in later visions a new temple is re-established in Jerusalem and the glory of God returns there. God will resettle all His people back home.

2. Dead people

The vision of the valley of dry bones comes in the second half of the book. This half is about deadness and restoration and renewal of the community of Israel. The people are dispirited a depressed in their alien surroundings. They are like dead people and feeling beyond hope.

There are many who may live in situations of despair. We may think of modern time exiles and refugees. Many who have lost homes, financial security and hope of jobs. They are also literally longing for the home they have lost. Or some bereaved over lost relationships. Some for whom the world has crumbled around them, numb to life, even suicidal.

But there are others who are dead in another sense. They may be quite well off but have no commitment to God or to Christ. They have no vision or hope beyond trying to be secure and have reasonable a happy life for themselves and their family. Or those mainly young people who can think of nothing better on a Friday or Saturday night but go out and get regularly drunk just for fun. It may not be popular to say so but they are spiritually dead.


3. Hope for the dead

The vision of the Valley of Dry Bones is part of the visions of restoration to a new life, first for the Jewish exiles. But this is about a God of releasing and the character of God who is ever The Restorer of Life. As God was revealed as the Restorer of Israel but He is also the Restorer of all People, a New Life giver in other situations.

This comes out in the Gospel story as Jesus reveals His character as the Resurrection of Life. John records the story of a friend of Jesus that he raised to life. Other gospels tell the story of the raising of Jairus’ daughter and also the son of a poor widow without any other means of support. In all these instances the compassionate Christ responds to their grief stricken relatives and restores them to life. John records this story of Jesus as one of the signs of who Jesus is. ....sure sign who He is and what is to come for many others.

4. Hopes dashed

Yet even with hope like this, things may go wrong. What seems like a restoration may not be permanent. Even in the midst of triumph there is disappointment as things in the world intrude again. As a matter of history, Cyrus the Persian king conquered the Babylonians and in an enlightened policy allowed those who wished to return to Israel. But when the exiles got back it was not as glorious as they thought it might be. Changing the government had not changed people. Problems in their society remained and new conflicts and problems were encountered. It had not all changed all for the better.

We can reflect on many other situations in history. Many a glorious revolution has failed with a new government not quite living up to expectations. The reality not living up to the propaganda. I have been reading a novel Usha bought “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by the Afghan writer Khaled Hosseini. It is the story of two women living through the cataclysmic events of the end of Soviet rule and the Islamic revolution in Afghanistan. Many had been hopeful of a new future under religious law and good leaders who honoured God. But it all turned bad with a new and repressive government that promoted a distorted form of repressive Islam leading to more conflict and restrictions, and into a war that is still going on.

A sense of apparent shattered dreams is also found in the gospels. After the Jesus’ raising Lazarus from death the authorities become even more determined to end Jesus’ popularity and shortly after, Jesus Crucifixion shatters the disciples’ hopes and dreams. The story therefore goes from hope to despair before the final culmination in the Resurrection of Jesus Himself.


5. Hopes rebuilt

Normally this Sunday the readings point us to Jesus’ suffering and the Cross. But we are encouraged today look beyond that. What happened on Good Friday was to shatter the hopes of the disciples before they could appreciate what He was really about. They could only really understand what it all meant later. Jesus resurrection rebuilt some new dreams and new hopes. It is Jesus Resurrection that is the basis of our hope in an often disappointing world. The Resurrection confirmed Jesus as the Restorer and the One who Brings Resurrection and Renewal. As I said earlier there are all sorts of situations of “deadness” and despair and Jesus Resurrection was to show that He was the final answer to it all.

Because of Jesus’ raising of Lazarus and the other dead people, and because of his own Resurrection, we have the hope of personal change and continued hopes for our nation and the world. Because of Jesus Death and His Resurrection we can find the new dreams and the new hope in whatever comes our way. And even those who don’t think they have a need for God or Christ may be summoned to a new life, new hopes and dreams.


6. Conclusion

Ezekiel gave hope to his exiled countrymen. Despite the facts of later disappointment others kept his vision alive in recorded memory, to be written down to remind us of who God is and what He will do as the bringer of life to all sorts of dead and despairing.

For what Ezekiel saw of God is forever true. This prophetic hope seems to contradict all the badness of life and evil in the world. In times of shattered dreams and loss it might seem that only bad ever happens. In times of bereavement it may seem there is little left to hope or live for.

The Prophetic Hope seems a sharp contrast to this deadness, almost unbelievable at times but with the capacity to help us see that all can still be different and better. And that Prophetic hope of God’s New Life was renewed and shown again in Jesus’ raising up Lazarus and others.

Jesus also shared in the worst and the seeming deadness of the world and end of all hope. He faced up to all that was degrading, abusive and dead and showed none of that was Final. What was Final was God’s sign of continued renewal and raising back to a new life. We may live in that Hope of God’s Renewal and Restoration, against the dashed dreams and contradicting evil.

We live with the Prophetic Hope against all the apathy and unbelief. It is a Hope that may at times seem beyond all we can expect but it is the Final and sure answer to everything bad and degrading.

The Spirit asked Ezekiel “Son of dust, can these bones live?”

Yes Lord, you know they can and will!

A-men