PENTECOST AND DRY BONES

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Acts 2:1-21

How interesting that our Common Lectionary has paired this passage from Ezekiel with the story of Pentecost and the birth of the Church.  I wonder, was God rattling dry bones that day in Jerusalem?  Were Ezekiel's vision and the events of Pentecost stand as isolated incidents or are they still happening today as part of God's ongoing mission of redemption and salvation?  And will we choose to participate in the mighty work of God's grace through Jesus Christ?

Cacophany:  A loud din or racket filled with disonance and discord like the sound of a great crowd of people talking all at once or the barrage of noise, messages and voices that bombard us in our culture.

Amid the cacophony of the Pentecost crowd gathered in Jerusalem, came the Breath.  It came from the four winds and gathered in a roar in a room.  It had been prophesied and promised to them, these followers of Jesus.  And they waited for its coming in prayer and worship.

It blew in, chasing the cobwebs and dust of the past away and bringing with it the beginning of something new and exciting.  It carried  with it a power that sent their hearts on fire, a power to give God's long-given promises flesh and bone, hands and feet, heart and voice.

Under the cacophony of the Pentecost crowd and the voices of men and women speaking in languages they never learned, were there echoes of ancient dry bones, rattling, coming back together as Peter and the others prophesied life to them?

"Jesus, who was crucified is alive!  God through miracles and wonders proved to the world that He is the Messiah.  Turn from your sins.  Turn to God and be baptized and receive forgiveness of your sins and new life."

And the graves of a hopeless, sin-sick and foolish culture were opened that day, and a multitude, three thousand, accepted Christ and were baptized.  That day, the church, the Body of Christ, was born as they gathered together to worship, to learn and to grow in Christ and love for one another.

I believe that wherever the people of God find themselves, they are there because God brought them to that place, to a place where dry bones wait to be rattled, flesh put on bones and new life breathed into them, and if we are not careful, we can become as dry as the bones around us.

Look around, and you'll find churches where people have put dust covers over their faith and allowed the cobwebs to gather in the corners.  They go through the motions, but there is no spirit, no life.

Maybe the roar of the Breath has been deadened by fears of the future and change.  Perhaps the flames of the Spirit have been extinguished by old resentments and wounds.  Maybe they are afraid to leave the safety of the now because they lack confidence in the power of Christ to provide the ways and means of making God's future for them happen.  

In Philippians 2:12, Paul tells us that we work out our salvation with fear and trembling.  When I received the call to go into ministry, fear and trembling described my feelings.  Trembling because I was so overcome with awe and excitement that I had been called, but so aware of my own growing edges and the challenges of financially paying for seminary as meeting the academic challenge.  Fear because the call came from God, and with that call came sacrifices and major changes for both my husband and I.  

But my call was not about me and who I am and what I am able to do.  It is about God, who calls the willing, not the able, and with the power that raised Christ from the dead and can do even more, makes all things possible.

It is not about us, as a church, or what we as individuals can do, or what we have, but rather it is all about God.  Pentecost is a promise to all of us that if we rely on God, the power and the resources will be provided, and new life is brought back into dry bones.

So let the Breath come from the four winds and fill this place. Open the doors and let God's power blow through us like a mighty wind, rattling our bones and renewing our spirits.  Fling open the windows and let tongues of flame rest upon each of us, reviving us and filling us with God's living Word.  With Christ's help, let us put flesh to bones, hands and feet and heart and voice to God's future for us.

Then, we can go out into the cacophony of a hopeless, sin-sick and foolish culture to:

• To share God's love with our neighbors;
• To prophesy forgiveness and hope to dry bones;
• To welcome and invite others in to experience abundant life through Jesus Christ.

Let the Spirit of God come!