(Ezekiel 58; 1-14)  

 An atheist was enjoying a quiet day of fishing when, suddenly, his boat came under the attack of the Loch Ness monster.  In one easy flip, the beast tossed the atheist and his boat high into the air.  Then the monster opened its mouth to swallow both the man and the boat.  As the man sailed head over heels, he cried out, “Oh my God!  Please help me!”  All of a sudden, the ferocious attack scene froze in frame, and as the atheist hung in mid-air, a booming voice descended from the clouds: “I thought you didn’t believe in me!”  “Come on, give me a break!”  The man pleaded, “two minutes ago, I didn’t believe in the Loch Ness monster, either!”

 Even those who proclaim that they do not need God to live a good life end up seeking God during times of desperation.  There is a certain truth in what St. Augustine saidthat we couldn’t find true happiness until we are in God’s embrace.  Today marks Pentecostthe day that allowed the birth of the Christian church.  After Jesus Christ resurrected and went to Heaven, 120 Disciples of Christ gathered in the attic of Mark’s house and earnestly prayed for the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them, just as Christ had promised. 

As they prayed, the Holy Spirit descended upon them like a pillar of flame, enabling each Disciple to experience the great blessing of the Lord and gave them great utterances, as if possessed, in God’s glory.  After they experienced the advent of the Holy Spirit, the Disciples scattered to the four winds, spreading God’s gospel in many dialects and allowing the explosive growth of the Christian church.  That the start of the Christian church coincides with the advent of the Holy Spirit is one of the facts that we must always remember. 

 As we celebrate this holy daythe Pentecostlet’s reminisce about the great vision that God showed to the Prophet Ezekiel some 2,600 years ago.  Ezekiel was a prophet during the Israel captivity under Babylonian rule, from 593 to 570 BC.  King Nebuchanezzar of Babylon Empire encircled and put Jerusalem under siege, eventually taking King Jehoiachin and several thousand Hebrew nobles back to Babylon as captives (See Second Epistle of Kings 24: 8-17, Jeremiah 22: 24-30, Ezekiel 19: 5-9).  Ezekiel himself was also captured, taken to Babylon as a prisoner; at times, he would ask for repentance by the people of Israel and at other times, he would proclaim the recovery and hope of the people of Israel.  The vision of the life force being injected into the scattered dry bones, bringing them back to life, is a prophesy of God that indicates eventual resurrection and hope of the people of Israel, as witnessed by Ezekiel. 

 Today’s scripture is divided into two parts.  Verses 1 through 10 contain the images of the phantasm that Ezekiel sees in the depths of the valley; verses 11 through 14 illustrate the spiritual interpretation of this vision.  The dry bones scattered on the valley flooras seen by Ezekielrepresent the tragic and hopeless people of Israel, who have been taken captive by the Babylonian Empire.  Just as people of Israel say in the latter portion of verse 11“Our bones are dry, our hope is lost and we ourselves are cut off!”they, like lifeless, dried out bones, have lost all hope and are in a state of great despair.  However, not only do these bones come back to life, the bones are resurrected as a exceedingly great army.  How can these dried bones become a life form, replete with tendons, flesh, and skin? 

 First, we must listen to the Word of God, as prophesied through Ezekiel.  In verse 4, it is stated, “Again He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!’”  In order for the dried bones to be resurrected as a life form, they must listen to the Word of the Lord as prophesied through His servants.  In verses 7 and 8, when Prophet Ezekiel prophesied as he was commanded, “there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone,” and “the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over.” 

 Even though flesh and skin covered the bones to create the form of a man, there was no life force in the body.  Therefore, merely listening to God’s Words is not enough for usthe dried bones lying about in a valleyto become a life form full of vibrancy.  We can be resurrected as a true life form only after receiving the fullness of the Holy Spirit, God’s life force, or His breath of life.

 Second, God’s life force must enter the body.  In verse 5, it is stated, “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.”  The life forcevitality, spirit, breath, or windmeans ‘ruach’ in Hebrew.  In Genesis, the life force of God was the breath of life, as used by God to create Adam and Eve (Genesis 2: 7, 6: 17, and 7: 15).  The Holy Spirit that descended upon the Disciples during the Day of the Pentecost also represents the life force, or the spirit. (Acts 2: 1-4).  According to verses 9 and 10 of today’s scripture, when Ezekiel prophesied as commanded by God, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live,” the bones became alive and stood on their feet as a great army. 

 Third, we must be cognizant of the fact that only God has the ability to resurrect life forms through His words and the Holy Spirit.  In verse 6, the Bible states, “I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live.  Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”  This is a reminder from God to us, to have us remember that He is the only one that can bring life to dry bones and resurrect it to life.  The only paths through which we can become spiritually enlighten and overflow with life is through God’s authority and abilities.  Man’s methods or abilities cannot resurrect a spiritually dead lifedecrepit and empty souls, akin to the dried, calcified bones on the desert floor.  Only through listening to God’s Words and only through receiving God’s spiritthe life forcecan dry bones resurrect into a formidable army; likewise, only God’s Words and Holy Spirit can renew us.

 The image of dry bones coming to lifeas witnessed and interpreted by Ezekiel in verses 11 through 14is a message of hope for the people of Israel, who were taken as prisoners by Babylonians.  As we come upon Pentecostal Sunday, we must take this message as the evaluation of our own spiritual state today.  Like the dry bones on the valley floor, we are spiritually dead.  Dry bones and skeletons abound, all around us.  Our family life, our personal relations have been destroyed, with violence and death teeming around every corner. 

We are enslaved by anger, worry, carnal desires, despair, revenge, and other destructive emotions.  Even though we show up at this holy altar to pray every week, there is no spiritual vibrancy or happiness for us, since our spiritlike the odorous dried bonesare dead.  Too many churches and too many Christians lack God’s Spirit and life force, in its stead leading meaningless lives.  Epiphany Lutheran Church, from 1950 to 1990, lost all but 150 of its 1500 members.  The reason for this decrease is probably many; however, we can be sure that churches and Christians that lose God’s Words and life forcethe epiphany of the Holy Spiritwill become a lackluster, incapable church and Christians.

Americans, on average, produce about 154 million tons of trash annually.  This amount of trash can fill, from floor to ceiling, the New Orleans Superdomethe home of the New Orleans Saints of the NFLtwice daily for an entire year.  The problem rests in the fact that of this amount, over half is recyclable.  We must recycle our soul into God’s spirit and God’s life force.  Only then can we become useful products of God as God’s chosen people.  This morning, I would like to hopeand pray in the name of our Lordthat each one of our souls can be recycled into God’s spirit.  Amen.