The Day of Pentecost
May 19, 2024
Ezekiel 37:1-14

The audio version of this sermon is available here. The full video of the worship service is available on Trinity’s YouTube channel.

“The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, ‘Mortal, can these bones live?’” (Ezekiel 37:1-3a).

This is surely one of the most haunting scenes in the whole Bible. The prophet Ezekiel sees in a vision a desolate landscape, full of dead bones. These are the lifeless remains of God’s people. God’s people had turned away from God, foreign nations had invaded, and all that is left is a valley of dead and dry bones. The wreckage of God’s people.

Of course, this was not how it was supposed to be. These bones are the house of Israel. They were chosen by God, selected from the nations of the earth. The people of Israel were supposed to be the light of the world, and through them the whole world would be saved. They were to follow the commandments, and by doing that, other people would also follow God. But things had gone terribly wrong. And now they are wrecked. Shattered. Dead and dry bones.

You know that feeling. I know the feeling. The feeling of having lost what should have been. The feeling of looking at my life, and having that gut reaction – something has gone wrong. I was graduating from seminary, having spent three long years engaged to be married, three long years in Virginia. I mean, I had to shovel snow. I thought that I had paid my dues, and where did the church send me for my first job? Waco, Texas. After that, I become the rector of one of the fastest growing Episcopal churches in Texas, and when I discerned it was time to move on, I still shudder at the number of churches that turned me down. I want to be honest with all of you this morning. Even clergy deal with rejection and abandonment. We know that valley. I do not mean to be Eeyore, or to get pity from you. I only say all this because I, too, know what it means to walk this life. And in those moments of anxiety, of depression, of terrible memories, like Ezekiel, I see myself in a valley of dead and dry bones. “Mortal, can these bones live?”

Now, notice, there is never an answer to that question. God doesn’t actually say one way or the other. God doesn’t give Ezekiel some empty platitudes, “oh, don’t worry, things are that bad after all.” Or, “you know, other people have it much worse than you.” Or, “things will work out in the end.” 

No, what God does, is that God does something. The wreckage of the house of Israel is reconstituted – bone to its rattling bone, sinews, flesh, skin. Then God sends a breath, a spirit, a great wind upon these lifeless bodies and they come alive again. Made alive by the very Spirit of the living God. Blessed be that wind! 

This is the same wind that swept over the face of the waters when God created the world. This is the same wind that pushed the Red Sea back so that the Israelites could escape from Egypt on dry ground. This is the same wind that Jesus will breathe upon his disciples. This is the same wind that comes upon the disciples on that glorious Day of Pentecost, when they are given power and grace to speak of the risen Jesus in all manner of languages to all sorts of people. This wind is nothing less than the power of the Holy Spirit. God doesn’t just say that these dead and dry bones can live; no, God does something about it.

And that’s my testimony. That the Holy Spirit can take the dead and dry bones of your life, and do something with them. It’s by that wind, that I am working on forgiving the people that have wronged me, though it is not easy. It’s by that wind that I discovered that Waco, Texas was the perfect place for us straight out of seminary. It’s that same wind, I believe, that brought me here to this beautiful place. It’s by that wind that the people of the Church have the courage to work together through hard things. It’s by that wind that we can come to grips with our mortality and our broken down bodies. It’s by that wind, by the Holy Spirit, that the sin and the wreckage of our dead and dry bones are transformed into the living, breathing, people of God. 

Daniel, this is the same Spirit that is coming upon you today in baptism. And in your life, you may not know yet the potential for bitterness and disappointment. I must say that Holy Baptism will not save you from that. Just because of today, because of the water and the oil and the Spirit of God coming into your heart, that does not mean that you will never walk the valley of the dry bones. But what today does mean, is that when things do fall apart, God has the power and the capacity and the love to put you back together again – bone to its bone, sinews, and flesh.

This is a word for all of us who have been baptized. You might look at where you are in life and say to yourself, “can these bones live?” The answer is yes. Because that’s what God does.

And it’s something for this whole parish at this juncture in our history. This church knows all too well what it means to look out at the valley of dry bones and wonder, “can these bones live?” It’s one of the reasons, I believe, even after all that heartache, that I was brought here. It was also to teach me a lesson, to learn from a people who have surveyed the wreckage of life and yet, still are here. And I hope, to give that lesson back to you. Just think back upon these 183 years of Trinity Church. We don’t have to read the story of the dry bones, we’ve lived it. 

And yet we know that these bones can live. For the real story is not how hard it has been; no, the real story is about how faithful God is. Every Sunday, I see you offering your prayers and praise. Every week, I see you working to lay sinews and flesh on the skeletons of your lives. Every year, we give and serve, and try to love our neighbors as ourselves even though it’s mighty hard sometimes. I mean, those people that own the building across the street, even if they’re selling it, couldn’t they at least cut the grass?

Today I, too, hope to prophesy to the breath. To prophesy to you, Daniel, that yes, day by day you would come alive to Jesus in your life. I hope to give each of you a word, that you would allow that Spirit of the Living God to put together your bones and give you new flesh, even when it would be easier to remain dead and dry, even seems that your life is all played out. I hope to prophesy to this whole church, that we would become something new again – bone to its bone, sinews, flesh, and a heart for Jesus. 

“Can this place live?” And I say, yes. The bones of this place are good, and with God’s help, we are alive. Bone its bone, sinews, flesh. Sure, we’ll talk about the windows and the mortar and the walls, and what we can do to make them look better. But that is not the important part of the Church. The important part of the Church is you. Your flesh, your bones, your heart, your spirit. That you would come alive to the Lord Jesus, day by day.

So Daniel, when you come up against hard things in your life, and you wonder if the Holy Spirit can do anything about it. Just look around. Look around at this room of people who can tell you that yes indeed, these bones can live. 

“Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” And so Ezekiel prophesied, as the Lord God commanded, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude. There is our hope, our vision, our commitment on this Day of Pentecost. That we would be raised up from the graves of our disappointments, and come alive for God.