Day of Pentecost
2024 Day of Pentecost
From Death to Life
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Acts 2:1-21
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.
From time to time I am in a cemetery officiating at the last portion of a Funeral Service. Everywhere I look, I see memories. Every grave and tombstone is a story, whether the life was long or short. For each person, there was love, parents, probably siblings and cousins. I do appreciate when folks start telling stories about those in the graves. These kinds of memories are meant to be shared.
This experience of a cemetery is a far cry from the experience that Ezekiel 37 describes. The Lord brought Ezekiel to the Valley of the Dry Bones. We do not know where this is, but wherever it is, it is not a well-cared for resting place of the beloved who have been carefully and respectfully lain in their graves and await the great resurrection.
No, these bodies are exposed. They died on the ground and they lie where they died. There has been no human care. Are they the remains of a slaughter? Are these the soldiers on the losing side? Callously left by the victor for nature to take care of? Is this yet another example ethnic cleansing or genocide? We do not know.
What is apparent is that in the Valley of the Dry Bones are the remnants of the lost, condemned, forgotten, who have been deemed by someone to not be worthy of a simple burial. Their names, families, relations, loves, all the things that make them distinctive are no longer recognizable. It’s just a bunch of dry bones – not even sure what skull goes to what collection of bones.
Ezekiel is often described as a difficult book to understand, but what is clear is that Ezekiel the prophet is swept up amongst the exiled. When Babylon broke down the walls of Jerusalem in 587BC, they enslaved most of the inhabitants and marched them into Babylon. God used Babylon to punish the leaders and people of Jerusalem for their vile idolatry and wickedness. At some point, through the preaching of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and other prophets, they finally understood the invasion was NOT simply the movement of history in the rise and fall of nations, but this is God’s punishment for the wickedness and refusal to heed the Word of the Lord. They hardened their hearts chose not to listen to God’s judgment, begin to repent, and return to the Lord’s ways. When hearts and minds turn away from the love and respect of the Lord God, love and respect for neighbors is not far behind. Jerusalem’s wickedness included greed, brutal business practices, extortion, violence, abuse of workers, servants, and even the earth itself.
All of this persisted instead God said, “Enough! My patience is run out.”
In came Babylon, their successful military campaign, and the enslavement of all that would prove useful to the furthering of Babylon’s development. So, the once reckless, sinning but free Judeans and Jerusalemites, find themselves along a river they do not know, having lost their identity and their homeland, now doing their master’s bidding and slowly coming to the realization that they have sinned. They had become as the dry bones in the valley: lost, far from home, forgotten, dead in their trespasses, scattered, with no life of their own.
The people of Judah and Jerusalem knew what happened to the northern kingdom and their ten tribes a mere 135 years earlier. Assyria was the superpower then that God used to enact His judgment upon them for repeated refusal to heed the Word of the Lord. They conquered the northern kingdom, enslaved the people, and spread them out for use in the Assyrian kingdom. Those tribes disappeared from history. Is this Jerusalem’s fate too?
King David was no stranger to sin and its ramifications. Yet, he eventually listened and returned to God. He wrote Psalm 103. He testifies that
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;[a]
he remembers that we are dust.(Ps 103:8-14)
The Lord brings Ezekiel to the desolate valley of the Dry Bones. The Lord demonstrates His power. The Spirit of the Lord, working through the preached Word, brings forth life. The scattered bones are arranged back into the form of skeletons. The flesh is restored. Life is restored through the Spirit. The third person of the Trinity is the breath, the wind, and the Spirit that gives life. What was moments ago dead is now alive.
In the Valley of the Dry Bones, Ezekiel witnesses God at work. In obedience, Ezekiel speaks the Word of the Lord. The people receive God’s Word of Promise. When the time of judgment reaches its fulfillment, God promises that the exiled will return home to rebuild the temple and the city. God’s spirit will make this happen.
Jesus promised the Holy Spirit. He explained to the disciples, even before his death on the cross, that he must ascend into heaven so that the Helper, the Holy Spirit can begin its work. The Holy Spirit comes upon the Disciples on the 50th day after the Resurrection. The Spirit’s purpose is similar to what happened in the valley of the Dry Bones. The Holy Spirit causes the disciples to speak God’s Word, to bear witness to Jesus as the Lord who is crucified, risen, and now ascended into heaven for the salvation of the world. The people hear all of this in their native tongues, which only increased their marvel.
The spectacle of Pentecost leads to the gathering of future believers. The Holy Spirit breathes faith into the listeners hearts and minds. Faith in the God who created the universe and who led His people out of the bondage is now focused onto faith in Jesus, God’s own Son, who is sacrificed on the cross for the all of humanity’s sins.
The Holy Spirit gathers, instills faith within them so that they confess that Jesus is their Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit unites those who were divided by language into a common confession of faith in Jesus as the Christ. Jesus is the righteous one who is slain for all sinners so that they may be declared righteous on account of Christ. They are sent forth by the Holy Spirit to bear witness that Christ Jesus comes to lead all people to the Promised Land.
The feast of Pentecost reminds us of what God has done in the past while at the same time encouraging us to look around and see the Spirit at work today. Dead bones are coming to faith. Lives are renewed and given new purpose because of the Holy Spirit.
Pentecost is the culmination of the Easter season. This is the eighth Sunday of Easter. The Holy Spirit brings the gifts won by Jesus on the cross: faith in Christ Jesus, faith that we are forgiven on account of Jesus’ cross; by faith we receive the Good News that we are declared righteous on account of Christ; that we are part of the Church, which is an international entity that knows no boundary of place or time. On account of the graciousness of Christ, we are promised that we will join with our family, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, in the Promised Land of heaven to enjoy the Presence of God forever.
Alleluia! Christ is Risen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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