I answered, “Lord GOD, you alone know that.” Then he said to me: Prophesy over these bones, and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: See! I will bring spirit into you, that you may come to life. I will put sinews upon you, make flesh grow over you, cover you with skin, and put spirit in you so that you may come to life and know that I am the LORD. I prophesied as I had been told, and even as I was prophesying I heard a noise; it was a rattling as the bones came together, bone joining bone. I saw the sinews and the flesh come upon them, and the skin cover them, but there was no spirit in them.
Then the LORD said to me: Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say to the spirit: Thus says the Lord GOD: From the four winds come, O spirit, and breathe into these slain that they may come to life.
I prophesied as he told me, and the spirit came into them; they came alive and stood upright, a vast army. Then he said to me: Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They have been saying, “Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off.” Therefore, prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD: O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land; thus you shall know that I am the LORD. I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD. (Ezekiel 37:1-14)
Why do skeletons hate winter? Because the cold goes right through them. What did the skeleton say while riding his Harley Davidson? I’m bone to be wild. What did the skeleton say to his girlfriend? I love every bone in your body. What is a skeleton’s favorite Star Trek character? Bones. I could go one, but I won’t.
Today’s reading from Ezekiel is one of the best, in my opinion and is a model for the sort of television shows one frequently sees on the SciFi channel. It also reminds me of the 2005 long-running television show, “Bones,” a comedy-drama, crime series in which a forensic anthropologist helps solve crimes by examining skeletal remains of victims.
We can all relate to bones, especially when they are broken, and a visit to the emergency room is in order for x-rays, diagnoses, and casts. With me it has been fingers and toes. One of my sons had a collar bone broken during the last game of his senior year in high school. Gotta love that pad-skimpy game of lacrosse – a game of slashing sticks and high-speed balls.
Our passage from Ezekiel reminds me of ER doctors. We enter the hospital with pain and worry. Sometimes we seem lifeless. They put our rattling bones together, bone joining bone. They repair our sinews and stitch our flesh. They raise our spirits though their care and healing work. For many of us when our injuries are dire and we are near death, they bring us back to life. In a way, they open our graves that we’ve fallen into when our EKG has flat-lined and our pulse is no more.
Of course, this reading is really about the dryness caused by little or lost faith making us appear as dry bones: no flesh on the bone. And we’re not alone. We have many companions in the center of the plain filled with bones. But, as Ezekiel says, our bones can come to life. This happens when we hear the Word of the Lord, and the Holy Spirit then breathes life back into us.
And how is that life regained? Our Gospel tells us how: by loving the Lord, our God, with all our hearts and by loving our neighbor as ourselves. This is the prescription for putting flesh on our bones, opening our graves, and having us rise.
Deacon David Pierce
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