Dem Bones

By Pat Lee

(Based on John 11:1-45; Ezek 37:1-14)

When I read the story of Ezekiel and the valley of the dry bones, I can’t help thinking back to the fifties and a song that was popular on the radio then. “Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones (x3), now hear da Word of da Lord”!

[My thanks to Michael K Marsh for aspects of the following reflection.]

Last week how blessed we were to have Psalm 23 as our appointed psalm. It was exactly what we needed to hear. We needed to be reminded that the Lord is our Shepherd and we shall not want. We needed to be assured that all shall be well.
Last week we stood in the valley of death. This week we stand in the valley of the dry bones. They’re not too different. Look at what is happening in the world today with so many nations at war. Reading about the valley of the dry bones – it’s exactly what we, our country, and our world need to hear. Why?
Because it’s a story of hope. It’s a story of promise. It’s a story about a people who have a future. If ‘all shall be well’ is the theme that runs through Psalm 23, then ‘you shall live’ is the theme that runs through the valley of the dry bones.

Three things came to mind about Ezekiel. The first one was that he saw. The Lord brought him to the valley of dry bones where there were not just a few bones, but thousands. This made me wonder what his first reaction was at seeing them. I think my reaction would have been to weep over seeing so many people who, most probably, had been slain in battle.
Back in 1987 I visited one of the burial grounds in Germany where my father-in-law, who was a pilot during the Second World War, was buried. The sight of thousands of graves of young allied airmen, was so overwhelming that the tears flowed, hence my wondering about Ezekiel. Did he feel emotional about what he saw?

The second one was that he listened. The Lord told him to prophesy over these dead bones so that they would come together and be covered with flesh and tendons. And again, to prophesy that the winds would come and fill the bodies with breath. At this stage he was probably feeling very uncertain and powerless.

The third one was that he obeyed. He prophesied as the Lord had commanded him to do and the bones came to life. Wow! What a sight that must have been. I think it would also have been a great relief.

Then the Lord said to Ezekiel, “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. Then you my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and have done it, declares the Lord.’” (NIV)

There is a link between the story of the dry bones and the Gospel reading, a difference being that only one man was brought back to life this time. But what else is in this reading that links back to the Ezekiel story? It’s another example of a story of hope, promise, and a people who have a future.

Jesus was more than just an acquaintance with this family. He was a family friend. So why did it take so long for him to go to Bethany, less than two miles from Jerusalem, when he knew Lazarus was ill? It was because Jesus had a message that wasn’t just for Martha and Mary, but for all who had come to comfort the sisters in their loss, and for us.
Martha went out and met Jesus when he was still some distance from Bethany. You can hear the anger, bitterness and even admonishment as well as disappointment in her voice when she says to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Perhaps that was her grief talking – a natural reaction when someone we love dies.

Mary went out to meet Jesus too, and fell at his feet, and also said the same thing as her sister. “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.” Unlike her sister though, only disappointment seems to be in her voice. As we all experience disappointment in our lives, especially when things don’t turn out as we expect them to.

They both wanted answers and explanations, just as we do.

Attempting to insulate ourselves from disappointment, and demanding once and for all answers to life’s questions, is to close ourselves to the vulnerabilities that make possible real life, love, intimacy, and relationships with God, and with one another. It limits what we are willing to risk giving or receiving. It leaves the stone in place over Lazarus’s tomb, and refuses to consider God’s question to Ezekiel, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

While we might want to escape our disappointments, life wants to use them. Life will not waste our disappointments, and Jesus always stands in the middle of life. Disappointment calls into question our assumptions about life, ourselves, each other, and God. Disappointment opens our eyes to a different way of seeing.
Isn’t that what he’s doing with Martha and Mary?  “I am the resurrection and life.” “Take away the stone.” “Did I not tell you that you that believed, you would see the glory of God?” “Lazarus come out.” “Unbind him and let him go.” With those words Jesus is holding before Martha and Mary the valley that they are currently walking through. “Son of Man, can these bones live again?” He’s asking them to take a risk; because the body has been dead for four days. He’s asking them to trust, just as Ezekiel had to do.

Did Jesus have disappointments in his life? He sure did. He not only had the disappointment of the death of Lazarus, but the crucifixion, Peter’s drawn sword and violence, Judas’s betrayal, the disciples sleeping in the garden, the way his Father’s house had been turned into a ‘den of robbers’, his disciples arguing about who was the greatest, the disciples’ misunderstanding of who he is, the world’s refusal to receive him … and in myriad other ways.

So, what is the valley that you are walking through right now? A broken relationship with family or friend, a death of someone you loved, a terminal diagnosis of a loved one, of ongoing pain, depression or grief? We all have our valleys. Whatever it is, it’s a place where Jesus has walked and shown the way forward. It is not the dark place we often think it is. We need to take it to him because he is the Shepherd who will lead us out of that valley.

The valley that is the question mark of life becomes the exclamation mark of God: the exclamation mark of love, the exclamation mark of life and light, the exclamation mark of mercy and forgiveness, the exclamation mark of wisdom, beauty, and generosity, the exclamation mark of hope, healing, and compassion, and, ultimately, the exclamation mark of God’s “yes” to you, me and our lives.

“Son of man, can these bones live again?” The answer to that question echoes throughout the valley that we are walking through right now. Yes they can! Yes they do! Yes they will!