Dear People of God,

In my sermon this past Sunday, I made reference to the Old Testament and Epistle Readings which were not read as a part of our worship service (a decision made because of the length of the Gospel Reading).  Those readings were:

Old Testament: Ezekiel 37:1-14
Epistle: Romans 8:1-11 (And as I mentioned in the sermon, in the times we find ourselves in, reading the whole eighth chapter of Romans is a wonderful source of comfort.)

I thought that I would send out a devotion to you all through email based on these passages as this week goes on. First, on the reading from Ezekiel.

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Ezekiel 37:3
And [the Spirit of the Lord] said to me; “Son of man, can these bones live?”  And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.”

Honestly, the numbers are scary.  Turning on the news, you seem to know that in this moment, the question is not “Will the numbers go up?”, but rather “By how much have they gone up?”  And the more difficult thing to realize is that when we hear the numbers–whether we’re counting the infected or the dead–we are not talking about numbers, but the real people who make them up. Each number counted is a child of God’s creating, precious and beloved to Him.

The “vision” we see through the numbers of this pandemic is perhaps not too much unlike the vision that Ezekiel had of the valley of dry bones.  What must it have been like to see that vision of the dead?  Might it have stirred the emotions like the pictures we’ve seen of Italian churches filled with coffins waiting for burial?  Can these bones live?

We pray that for those who have died in the faith of Jesus, these bones will indeed live, knowing Christ’s promise that for us who believe He is our Resurrection and our Life through whom we will live forever.  But, we also need to remember that something has to come before that.  And that something is what God calls Ezekiel to do in the vision he has.

“Prophesy to these bones,” the Lord tells Ezekiel.  Speak the Word to them.  Tell these tired, worn, dry, dead bones that God has promised to give them life.  And this is the Word that we have received from God, which we continue to speak to one another and to the world so that we may both know and have God’s promised gift of life.  This is the Word which is our hope when we feel tired, broken, alone, fearful–when we feel that all we can say is, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.”

And in reply, God has another message.  He tells Ezekiel: “Prophesy to the breath…and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”  The Hebrew word for breath and wind is the same word that is used for Spirit.  It is a beautiful reminder to us that the Holy Spirit which our God has given to each of us in Baptism is the very breath of God which brings us not just that physical life as He first gave to Adam, but that gift of eternal life which is planted and renewed in us through the life-giving Spirit who dwells within us.

“Can these bones live?”  Yes, because of the living breath of God’s Spirit within us, who restores us and our lives, who restores our hope in God in our darkest hours, and who is the seal and promise of that life that is to come where we will come at last to dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  Let God’s Spirit continue to breathe in you as you hear the Word of the Lord restoring you, giving you life and hope and peace, and filling you with joy even in these dark times.

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Speaking of devotions and such…In my last update I mentioned resources available through Concordia Publishing House (www.cph.org) and Lutheran Hour Ministries (www.lhm.org).  I would like to pass on another possible resource for your time at home.

Illustrated Ministry:

We used their art back in 2017 when we created our “Reformation 500 Congregational Artwork” that hangs in the overflow area at church.  They have created free resources for creative devotions during this time, based on the weekly readings, starting with the Third Sunday in Lent, and adding new material for the next week every Friday.  Just go to their website, fill out a brief form, and they will send you a link to their resource archive.

https://www.illustratedministry.com/flattenthecurve

I pray that this will be yet another way to let the Spirit’s breath continue to sustain us during this time.

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Know that I miss you all, that you all are in my prayers, and “May the Lord watch between me and thee, while we are absent one from another.”

Peace and blessings,
+Pastor