Cemetary Hope
| 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.' " 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. (Ezekiel37:8-12) |
This is one of the most evocative visions in Scripture:
A valley of dead bones - remnants of a bitter war - a picture of broken society and broken hearts.
What would we expect to feel on seeing this valley?
- Incredible sadness at the loss?
- Anger at the futility of it?
- Festering rage (unforgiveness) towards those who did this?
- Horror at human brutality?
- Profound depression at the inevitability of our brokenness?
I think that most of us would feel most of the above.
This is not heroes acre where we are grateful for those who gave their lives.
There are no plaques or statues or memorials - just rotting bones.
This is just tragic and heart-breaking.
Our headlines are often just one decaying skeleton after another.
A relentless parade of sadness, brokenness and heart-ache.
We are filled with the same emotions listed above...
But God offers hope.
He will reconstitute us.
He will breathe His Spirit into us.
He will stand us up on our feet and bring us together.
In Lent I recognise that my own soul can become a dried out corpse.
But we can listen to and hear the Word of the Lord.
He can breathe His Spirit into us.
We can stand and find community.
Why not ask for it now?
