Hope for the Hopeless

Hope for the Hopeless
Ezekiel 37:1-14 and John 11


When I read this passage of scripture I couldn’t help but think of the recent devastation of the Tsunami in Japan. The pictures and stories reach you in the pit of your stomach. You ask where God is in these situations. The Tsunami, the Earthquake in Haiti, the earthquake in China, Aids infected Africa, starving children in Ethiopia and right here at home the memories of 9/11 still haunt us. Our technology today brings us images like we have never been able to see. Horrific images of death and of desperation. I imagine the scene there in the Valley of Dry Bones was very similar. Here we have Ezekiel, an Israelite Prophet who is in exile. He has been having all kinds of visions as we see in previous chapters. The script is the kind of stuff that Sci fi movies are made of. Let me take you there for just a moment. At the time of the writing of Ezekiel Israel and Judah had been overtaken by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and Ezekiel was on of thousand of Jews exiled to Babylon. Perhaps the bones were those laid waste that didn’t make it to Babylon. This reminds me of the trail of tears of the Cherokee nation to Oklahoma. Israel wondered if they would ever regain their land. Was this the end for them? This is the setting in which Ezekiel has this vision. So, there he is in the middle of all these dead, sun bleached, scattered, bones. Who knows which leg goes to which hip joint? The scene is nothing less then devastating and gruesome. The left overs from a war savaged land. The scene appears very hopeless. One can hardly bear to look at it. Then God says “Do you think these bones can live again.” You have to wonder if this is where the phrase “Lord only knows” comes from because that is the exact reply Ezekiel gives. You see the natural answer here would be “of course not.” These are scattered, dead bones. Death is final, it’s the end.” However, Ezekiel had experienced God enough to know better than to give the obvious answer. His answer is this: God, only you know.” Ezekiel knew that with God all things were possible. He just waited in anticipation to see what God had in store this time. God commanded him:
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
Can you imagine that scene? Right there before Ezekiel’s eyes, legs were finding hip joints, arms were finding shoulders, all these bones start clanging together and flesh begins being painted upon them…….He notices though, they are not yet alive….Here is what God tells him next:
“Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

The Hebrew word used here for Breath also can be translated spirit. Ezekiel, things look hopeless here in the Valley. But call on the Holy Spirit, The Holy spirit will breathe Hope into hopelessness. The Holy spirit will bring hope to life.
So, why did Ezekiel have this vision? What does all of this mean? Remember the situation we said Israel was in? The nation of Israel laid waste in a hopeless and desperate situation. God was using Ezekiel to be his messenger of hope to a hopeless people. Listen again:
11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: 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. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 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 I have done it, declares the LORD.’”
Israel had not been a faithful people. They easily became discouraged. When things didn’t go as they wished they would turn to idols and pagan worship. They were always searching for something better. They would not find it. Instead they find themselves in an even worse situation that they have created through their faithlessness. At this point they believe that God has finally had enough and has cut them off from his grace and mercy. God sends a word to them through Ezekiel though. I do not give up on my children. What Grave have you dug for yourself my children. I am going to bring you from it. God promises for Israel to be reborn! God resurrects a dead Israel. The Holy spirit breathes life into Israel just as God breathed life into that form made from the clay of the ground and called him Adam!
God is in the resurrection, life giving, business my friends. Take a look at another resurrection story more than 500 years later. Jesus is thick into his earthly ministry and is across the Jordon where he had gone after leaving Jerusalem following conflict there where he had been threatened with a stoning. His dear friend Lazarus is sick and Mary and Martha, his sisters, send for Jesus. The story is a familiar one and it is rich with lessons for us to glean. Jesus stays for two days where he is and then decides it is time to go to Lazarus. They learn that he has already died. The disciples worry about Jesus going to Lazarus because there is much adversity to Jesus there and the fear for his life if he goes. Jesus dismisses these worries and he and the disciples head to Bethany, to Lazarus. Meanwhile many Jewish brothers and sisters (the congregation so to speak) have gathered at Mary and Martha’s house to sit with them and comfort them. Martha hears Jesus is approaching and she rushes out to him. “Jesus if only you had been here our brother would still be alive.” Does that sound familiar? In the face of tragedy, grief, unspeakable devastation it is so easy to fall into the role of seeking blame, of wondering where God is, of feeling abandoned. When Martha goes to tell Mary that Jesus wants to see her, she has the same response. Jesus, she weeps, if only you had been here. When Mary leaves the congregation thinks she is leaving to go to the tomb to grieve so they get up and follow. Her weeping hurts them in the depths of their hearts and they weep with her. Jesus is moved by the love he has for Mary, Martha and the congregation and here we have the shortest verse in the Bible. “Jesus Wept.” Jesus did not weep out of guilt…..He wept out of a deep, loving compassion! So, they go to the tomb. Jesus tells the congregation to roll the stone away and then he commands Lazarus, “’Come forth” and Lazarus does, resurrection happens, people are astonished. Jesus then tells the people to free him from his burial clothes, to unbind him. Lazarus lives. Can you imagine that scene? Word spreads to the Sanhedrin and while many persons came to believe Jesus as Messiah, there were those who were just angered by these actions. It was at that moment that the plot to kill Jesus began…….leading to the ultimate resurrection of all; the resurrection of Jesus Christ! Yes, friends: God is in the business of resurrection. God breathes life into the ravages of Japan through the kindness of strangers, through stories of love and hope as we hear of a woman who puts a sign out that says “my toilet works, please use it”, as we hear of a rescued dog reunited with its owner, as we hear of complete strangers helping one another. No longer are there divisions of male or female, democrat or republican, lower class or upper class, Asian, or American or the number of other things that divide humanity. It is in these times that we see glimpses of the Kingdom, glimpses of common regard for all life by all persons. For you see in each of these stories God partners with humanity to bring life. He used Ezekiel to speak the words; The Holy spirit Breathed the life. He used the Jews to roll the stone away from the tomb and unbind Lazarus; He breathed life back into Lazarus.
We are living in desperate times these days. It’s easy to feel hopeless sometimes and wonder where God is. Where is God when a family member has a devastating car crash, breaking her neck and leaving the family waiting for arrival, fearful of what this will all mean for her young daughter? God is there breathing hope through paramedics and ambulance drivers who are skilled enough to keep her stable on the long journey to the hospital, he is there breathing hope through skilled surgeons, and He is there through grandparents who briefly take over the care of their grandchild. Where is God when a young man sits by the side of the love of his life cradling their baby who was born without life, feeling like his world has come crashing in around him. He is there in that room breathing hope through the large family that surrounds them, breathing hope through the visits of caring friends, breathing hope through the love that can only be described if one has experienced that, breathing hope through the wise words of a pastor at the funeral, through the words of a song sung. Where is God when a loved one begins to lose their memory and you only get to see glimpses of who they once were? He is there breathing hope through the stories you get to here, through the precious time you get to spend in caring for them and giving back to them just a little of what they’ve given you. Where is God when you have to leave the home that you’ve known for years to live amongst strangers? He is there, breathing hope through caring nurses, a kind card, and unexpected visits from volunteers. Sometimes just sometimes he is there in our tears, weeping with us as we ride those rivers of tears through the storms till we got on the other side and wonder how we got there. I can tell you how we get there; we get there on the wings of the spirit, breathing hope into our hopeless situations.
Perhaps you can not connect with those feelings of hopelessness. Perhaps you’re gifted at seeing the positive in things and you’ve well learned that God can and does bring good out of the worst of situations. What do these stories have to say to you? Well, you could be the congregation of people who are sent to be there and sit with those who are in hopeless situations just as the Jews sat with Mary and Martha. Perhaps you are one of those that Jesus commands to remove the stone and take off the bindings. How can you assist someone out of the ties that are binding them and keeping them in a hopeless situation? Perhaps, like Ezekiel, God needs for you to be a messenger of hope to someone feeling hopeless. Look for opportunities in your daily life to be instruments of God’s hope in this world.
Perhaps like the Israelites, you feel all dried up and separated from God’s Grace and Mercy. Today the message for you is to open yourself up to the Breath of God and recognize that God is still with you.
Surrender it all dear friends. Surrender the hopeless moments. Breathe out the hopelessness and breathe in the breath of our life giving savior.