June 11, 2000
Pentecost Sunday

LECTIONARY READINGS
from the Revised Common Lectionary

Acts 2:1-21 or
* Ezekiel 37:1-14
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Romans 8:22-27 or
* Acts 2:1-21
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
  [ * Used in today's discussion ]

[ Read the texts at the Vanderbilt Divinity On-Line Library ]
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Can These Bones Live?

A Vision of Dry Bones

The prophet Ezekiel has a vision where he is taken by God's Spirit into a valley filled with dry bones.  It is a bizarre vision.  The valley is full of human bones and Ezekiel is led in silence all over the valley. You can only imagine the feelings that would emerge if you had to have such a powerful confrontation with human mortality. 

The silence is broken by the voice of God.

"Mortal -- can these bones live?"

There could be only one answer under normal circumstances.  "Of course these bones can't live.  Dead is dead and the condition of these bones suggests that the finality of death must have come to these people long ago.  The devastation must have been horrible."

Can these bones live?   Of course not!

Unless...   unless something extraordinary, something supernatural should take place.  Only a miracle could bring life to these bones.

And so Ezekiel's response to the Lord God is not the normal human response which would be, "Of course not."  Because he is speaking with the Lord, Ezekiel says:

"O Lord God, you know."

And isn't it like that with us in so many ways?  We are confronted with some of life's toughest times and wonder what the outcome will be.  You have probably used the words, "God only knows!" When we encounter the seemingly impossible, God alone has both the knowledge and the ability to see and control the outcome.

One of the amazing things that happens in Ezekiel's vision is that God does snot simply say, "Watch this.." and zap the bones into life.  Ezekiel is to have a role in the miracle that will take place in the valley.  It is the prophet who speaks the words of God to the bones.  God gives the words and the words are delivered by the prophet. [See notes under Ezekiel on "Word of Life"]

There is a commercial for a stock brokerage company that says, "When Smith-Barney talks, people listen."  There are a lot of people whose words are highly respected.  There are media commentators and newspaper columnists whose words are highly valued.  When they speak, lots of people listen.  There are times when we might wish that some of them would not talk so much!

No matter how powerful the words of any person or institution might be, there are no words powerful enough to give life to a valley full of dry, dead bones. That is -- there are no words powerful enough to give life where there is death, except  for the words of God which are delivered by a messenger of God.

"Prophesy to these bones..." the Lord commands Ezekiel.  "Tell the bones to hear the word of the Lord."  And just as the old spiritual, "'Dem Dry Bones" said, the bones began to come together in response to the word of the Lord. [Link to the song and melody.]

The bones begin to come alive when Ezekiel speaks the words, but there is only the appearance of life.  There are bodies without "breath" -- an eerie kind of life -- there are bodies, but no "breath."  Ezekiel has to call upon the breath or winds to give authentic life to the bodies. The picture calls to mind the creation of Adam.  Adam is formed from the dust of the ground, but there is no spirit -- no soul -- no image of God until God breathes into Adam, "the breath of life."  Then Adam becomes "a living soul." So also, when the words of the prophet call out to the wind,¹ the people come alive and speak of their deadness and hopelessness.  "Our bones are dried up, and hour hope is lost; we are cut off completely."

Ezekiel's vision is quite clear.  He identifies the valley of dry bones as the Nation of Israel cut off from God.  Apart from God they have no life and the prophet's vision spells out for Israel, both the problem of their spiritual "deadness" and the promise of God for restoration of life.  "I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live..."

The point of course, is that the people of God will know to whom they belong and where their life comes from.  God's promises are as good as the deed done.  "I the Lord have spoken and will act!"

A Perpetual Question

"Can these bones live?"

The question certainly needed asking in the days following the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  If you take a careful look at the group which assembled behind closed doors for fear of the enemies of Jesus, the prospects for a world conquering cadre of Jesus' followers did not look good!

There were no people of influence in that early band.  There were no scholars or priests or religiously noteworthy people.  No one in the group had any worthwhile connections. The budget was a mess and even Jesus had told them that the leader didn't have a place to lay his head. The courage and inspiration of the group had disappeared with the final words of Christ on the cross.

No -- no self respecting management consultant would rate this group as likely to succeed.  In a figurative sense, this was about as big a valley of dry bones as you could get.

The question bears asking in every generation.  Whether it be ancient Israel or the contemporary church, the danger of spiritual lifelessness is always present.  Without the continuing presence and activity of the Spirit of God in our lives and in our church, we immediately begin to deteriorate into a valley of dry bones. Without the continuous energizing power of the word of God and the constant renewing vitality of the Spirit of God, there can be no true spiritual life.

As we ponder the Day of Pentecost and what that early story of the coming alive of the church means for us today, God's question to Ezekiel comes to us in new forms.

"Can we carry out the task Jesus Christ has given to us?"

"Can we become the kind of community he asked us to be?"

"Can we honor and love each other to such an extent that the world will know we belong to Christ?"

"Can we reach out to others regardless of who they are, what they look like, what life has done to them or what station in life they occupy?"

 In other words -- "Can these bones live?"

The answer is the same today as it was the day God asked it of Ezekiel.  There is no spiritual life and no spiritual work can be done without the enlivening work of the Holy Spirit.

The Day of Pentecost

On the Day of Pentecost, the most unlikely collection of people were empowered by the Spirit of God and Jerusalem was set on its ear!  The fishermen, tax collector and friends began to let the world know that Jesus Christ was Lord of all.

Peter stood and raised his voice with a new power.  This was not the same Peter who fled from danger and followed Jesus from afar on this night of his arrest.  This was not the Peter who vehemently denied with curses that he even knew who Jesus was. This Peter dared to address the crowd which gathered from all over the world and declare, "Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

What began on the day of Pentecost exploded across the face of the world as the seemingly impossible words of Jesus to take his message to all nations began its unstoppable journey.

It is easy for us to view the Day of Pentecost as a strange event that took place far away and long ago... an event that is so far removed from the reality of our modern world that it bears no relevancy to contemporary folk.

And yet, when the church seems so powerless to bring the reconciling love of God to a hostile world, or brothers and sisters in the church seem unable to live in the love of Christ -- we underscore the question.  "Can these bones live?"

Just as the bones from Ezekiel's vision declared that they were without hope and cut off from God, so the church in every place and time has discovered over and over again that there is no power to bring the rule of Christ to our lives and the lives of others apart from the ministry of the Spirit of God.

You will experience times in your life when it feels as though God is far away.  You sense that you are somehow lost in a dry and thirsty desert where there is no meaning and no hope. You ask, "Is this all there is?"  And there is no meaningful answer.  And there are times when the church seems simply to plod along, struggling to maintain its own life and you wonder if this is what Jesus Christ had in mind when he said, "On this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." 

It is precisely at these moments that we can open ourselves up more fully to the empowering Spirit of God.  Pentecost was never intended to be simply a day on the calendar -- it was given to be a dominating force in the church. Just when we sense a lack or a loss of power, we need to make the words of the hymn our prayer:  "Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me!"

A Personal Pentecost

The Day of Pentecost can never be fully understood until we open ourselves to a personal Pentecost.  It is not that we will miraculously speak in French or German or Chinese without ever having learned the language, but that we will come to experience a new power in our Christian living.

Every once in a while someone comes along who stuns us with the power of a life which has nothing going for it except the power of God's Spirit.

Such is the life of a young woman who was born in Yugoslavia of Albanian parents. She gained her life's dream when she became a novitiate in a convent in India.  She asked to live outside the cloister and moved to the slums of Calcutta.  With absolutely nothing in the way of earthly value, she became responsible for 81 schools in India alone, 35 mobile medical dispensaries, 28 family planning centers, 67 leprosy clinics, 28 homes for abandoned children and 32 homes for the dying.²

Have you ever thought to yourself, "What can one person do?"

Remember this:  In the hands of God, one person is capable of changing the world.  In the hands of God one church can transform a generation.

All of this takes us back to our original question:

"Can these bones live?"

Jesus' words come to mind.

"With God -- all things are possible!"

²  Quoted in Christianity Close to Life, Rita Snowden: Crossroad, New York, 1982, p.132

Connections in the Text

There is no life apart from the Spirit of God.  Life begins with God's breath in Genesis.  When humanity turns away from God, life departs.  Physical, intellectual, social and emotional life may continue for a time - but the real substance of life as God designed it for human beings is spiritual life -- that life which is the image of God in us.  Without this spiritual life, we are as the zombie-like creatures in Ezekiel 37 which have bones and flesh, but no spirit.  There are tons of grade B movies about the "undead" or zombies who traverse the earth unable to die and unable to live.

The story of Ezekiel is that Israel has no life apart from the Lord and the implicit message of the Acts passage on the Day of Pentecost is that the church has no life without the empowering work of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is God's breath in the church.  The church is just as zombie-like without the work of the Spirit as was Israel in the Valley of Dry Bones.

Can these bones live?  Understood in the broadest context, the question was as relevant for the early church as it was for Israel -- and it is as significant for the contemporary church is it was for the early church.  The gospel of John spells out in more detail what it means to be empowered by the Holy Spirit for ministry today.

Ezekiel 37:1-14

The prophet speaks the message of God which brings life to the dry bones.  There is an essential concept in God's giving the words to the prophet to deliver to the bones. The word of life is delivered by the messenger of God.  There is a strong connection with the "Word become flesh" which brings life to the people of God.  Note 1 John 1:1 "We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life--"   The prophet or the preacher has no new thing to say to the bones - only the message given by God and delivered by the messenger is effective to bring life to the people of God.  Correspondingly, there is no life apart from the word of the Lord.   John 6:63 connects the vision of Ezekiel with the ministry of Christ.  "It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life."

¹  The "wind" (Heb. "ruach") is the same root as the word for "breath."  This is similar to the Acts passage where the wind (Greek - wind "pnoe" is from the same root as Spirit (Ghost) - "pneuma") 

The vision of the valley of dry bones is self-explanatory and ought not be over interpreted.  This comes as a promise of ultimate restoration in Ezekiel's prophetic ministry to Israel.  The restoration will come as a result of direct intervention by the Lord and not by national self-help efforts.

John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

Jesus instructs his disciples about the ministry of the "Advocate" or "Paraklete" who will come and guide the community of witnesses in their ministry.  The disciples can not fully understand what Jesus is telling them, but the Spirit will come and guide them into the truth.

The instruction Jesus gives in the upper room is very evidently "pre-pentecost" teaching. They are in a time of sorrow and will need the intervening ministry of the Risen Christ and then the fulfillment of Pentecost to empower them for witness. 

It is best, Jesus says, that he leave them so that the Advocate can come.  The kingdom will begin its growth in earnest only when the redeeming work of Christ is completed and the community of faith has received the empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit.  This leads very naturally to the Acts passage.

Acts 2:1-21

The disciples of Jesus are gathered together after a time of "waiting on the Lord."  The gathering is in response to the command of Jesus.  The key here is that obedience leads to the empowering work of the Holy Spirit.  In short, we need to "follow the directions" or nothing happens. The theme is consistent throughout the lessons for today.  The word of God is central and attending to the word of God in obedience is the key to effective ministry.

The "witness" given by Peter and the disciples when the Spirit has come upon them is evidence of the divine work -- a fulfillment of the promise of God to pour out the Spirit on all flesh. The mighty rushing wind of Pentecost calls to mind the wind Ezekiel calls from the four corners of the earth.  Here in Jerusalem, people are gathered from all over the earth.

The signs of the Spirit's presence includes the rushing wind (Hebrew - "ruach") and the tongues of fire.  Both wind and fire are familiar Old Testament images of the presence of God.

Old Testament prophets speak when the spirit came upon them and the empowering work of the Spirit likewise inspires Peter to rise and proclaim the news that God has fulfilled the promise of Joel that the Spirit would be poured out in the last days.  The "last days" here point to the inauguration of the work of the church.

( Peter's argument that the disciples were not drunk because it was only nine o'clock in the morning would likely not carry the weight today it did then!)

 Worship Helps

Call to Worship

Leader:   Let us praise the Lord who is Creator of all things.
People:  The earth is full of the glory of God.
Leader:   The Spirit of God is above us, below us and within us,
People:  We are renewed and refreshed by the Spirit's Power.
Leader:   We will sing to the Lord as long as we live,
People:  We will lift up the name of the Lord all of our days!

Prayer of Confession

O Lord God, you are the Provider of every good thing and the Sustainer of our souls. When we walk according to your Spirit and live according to your good will, we know peace and joy.  Yet, we wander far from the path you set before us and choose our own way instead.  We loose the blessing you have set before us and find ourselves empty and dry.  O forgive us of our willful rebellion and renew a spirit of desire to walk closely with you.  Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

The words of our Lord Jesus Christ are spirit and life, brothers and sisters.  Rejoice in his words that all who come to him find rest from their struggles.  Turn to him this day and rejoice in the forgiveness of sin.  Amen.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

We thank you God of all creation.  You are the source of our lives and we rejoice that your love goes before us, walks behind us, reigns over us and lifts us up from below.  There is no place we can go from your Spirit. There has never been a love like yours and so shall there never be.  You gave to us the most precious gift that could ever be and we have the possibility of life eternal because you cared for us even though we did not care for you.

How can we not love you and refrain from lifting up our praise and worship to you today?  O give us songs that shall never end and joy that will never be silent!  We love you Lord and we open up our hearts today that your Holy Spirit might fill us with power to serve you and strength to tell the world of your wondrous love.

We rejoice today in the thing we take too much for granted -- that we should be called "Children of God" and that we should have this family of faith where we are nurtured in love and strengthened for the living of these days.

  Amen

Prayer of Dedication

No gift we bring, O Lord, can ever compare with the gifts you have freely bestowed upon us.  Yet, we bring our gifts in tribute to your redeeming love and we pray that your Holy Spirit would give us wisdom to use these gifts for the transformation of the world.  Amen.