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The Fifth Sunday of Lent A, March 26, 2023

A sense of finality weighs upon these words.  The Lord speaks and it is so.  The Lord speaks reality into existence:  the reality of all creation… the reality of all salvation… the reality of your salvation.  In this account of Ezekiel and the Valley of Dry Bones, the Lord takes the occasion of his speaking a people (the dry bones) into existence and declares, “You shall know that I am the Lord” (vs. 6).  The Lord says this twice:  first at the resurrection of the dry bones and second, at the resurrection from the grave (vs. 13).  The Lord’s speaking provides for both resurrections.

Nothing in the reality of the dry bones… nothing in the reality of the people’s graves… nothing, except the Word of the Lord spoken into their empty reality, put breath in those bones or brought life from those graves.  This witness to the Lord’s bringing something out of nothing… this witness provides our certainty that this Lord is THE LORD!

This witness provided to Ezekiel and promised to the Lord’s people has come to you.  It has arrived through the words of scripture such as these from the prophet Ezekiel.  It has arrived through the words of your preacher who takes this particular word from scripture and applies it to you, a particular people in a particular place and of a particular time.  It has arrived by your baptism into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  It arrives each time the body and blood of your dear Lord Jesus Christ is handed over to you, his betrayers, in the bread and the wine.  The witness comes to you through these means of grace.  It comes to you so that you will know that your Lord is THE LORD.  By these means, your Lord works faith in you, giving you the certainty that this Lord of yours speaks a new reality into existence.  Your Lord speaks his Word and you, a believer, are created out of the nothingness of unbelief.  Your Lord speaks and the new creation in Christ is established for you amid this old, passing-away creation.  Your Lord speaks and the grave of your mortality is opened.  Your Lord, THE LORD, has spoken and his Word is the final word.

Table Talk: Discuss the reality established by the Word of God as it contrasts with other realities.
Pray:  Heavenly Father, you are the Lord that speaks my faith into existence; hold me in that certainty.  Amen

Ezekiel 37:1-14 English Standard Version

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. ² And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” ⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. ⁶ And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸ And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophecy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

¹¹ Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴ And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”