By The Rev. Bernard W. Poppe, RectorIn the book of Ezekiel we read, "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..."
Every clergy person who has ever had to preach a sermon has at one time or another said the phrase "That'll preach!" It's an exclamation like "eureka!" to signify that the fortunate clergy person has come across an illustration, story, anecdote, life situation or joke that will fit perfectly into a sermon to convey a point or lesson. There are times when this illustration may in fact not even have a particular sermon to be attached to, but the industrious preacher will make a note or a file to contain them to be drawn out for some future sermon. (Don't ask me if I have such a file, because I won't tell.)
I wondered if Ezekiel had that moment of "eureka" when he was walking through the valley and saw these dry bones. It's easy to speculate that Ezekiel simply happened upon the site of an ancient battle where the fallen soldiers remained uncared for until their bones lay bleached in the sun. There they lay until that day when Ezekiel walked through the valley. I imagine he paused looking at them. Perhaps he felt sorrow at the waste of life for some battle fought long ago and forgotten as well. What could have been so important that these soldiers fought and died? I wonder if even in his sadness he said to himself "That'll preach." These bones were to him like the people of Israel who suffered through their existence without the spark of life in them that gave them joy or meaning. The people that had suffered under foreign rule and wanted better lives for themselves and their families.
The ears of his faith heard God tell him to prophesy to the bones, and as he spoke to them they rattled and came together but still remained lifeless. He spoke to them some more and the flesh came on, but they were still without movement. And finally he spoke to the winds, the breath of the earth, and the bodies were filled with life giving breath, the breath of God and they stood.
With the ears and eyes of faith Ezekiel heard and saw this wonder and knew that God would give the people back their lives -- their hope, their meaning and their homeland. It's an illustration that preaches.
In John's Gospel, the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead echos the miracle of God's life giving spirit when hope is gone. Martha was the plain speaking sister of Mary and Lazarus -- all friends of Jesus. Martha, you may recall is the one who had some sharp words to say when she was stuck making dinner and cleaning up while Mary sat and listened to Jesus some time before this event. Her complaint went unheeded then and her implied criticism of Jesus also went unheeded when she told him that if he had only been there Lazarus would not have died. When it became clear that Jesus intended to raise Lazarus from the dead, Martha was the first to say "No" because after four days the body would be already be engulfed in a stench. Still, beyond the hope of any present, Jesus brought life to his friend Lazarus and in doing so restored the life of his other friends Martha and Mary.
God has the power to restore life. It's that simple. Whether it's people who have been termed clinically dead or the spiritually and emotionally dead who are healed through prayer or divine breath flowing through their hopeless souls, God restores life.
People have a tenacious ability to live. There are amazing stories of people lost in wilderness environments who survive impossible odds, or live through operations or life threatening illnesses on what appears to be sheer force of will. The will to live. And conversely there are people who have given up and seem determined to die no matter what. One of the sparks of life that keeps even the most hopeless going is joy. Without it we are lifeless. Joy in family and friends, joy in ones life and meaning. More than money, power or prestige, joy in relationships and personal meaning. That is life giving and life saving. Love is the breath of God that brings life. Love is not easy, it often takes work, but it is a holy work and produces far more than we can imagine.
In our opening collect this morning we prayed for God's help to keep our eyes fixed where true joys are to be found. And I ask you to consider, where is your joy to be found? Where are you happiest, what are you doing or who are you with that brings you joy beyond all else? Take a moment and consider. When is the last time you took a deep breath knowing that what filled your lungs and heart was the deepest joy you have ever known? Is it a person, an activity or a place that you can identify readily? Is it a recent memory or one so old that its bones are gleaming in the long forgotten battles of your life?
It is vitally important to find our joy and live into it. That is where our lives radiate the most and where we find God most clearly. Unfortunately, we sacrifice our joy for so many things. However, it's worth trying to sacrifice many things for our joy. Not the capricious shallow enjoyments, but the deep soul joy. God opens channels of opportunity as we seek our deeper selves and that deeper joy. We've often heard it said that God helps those who help themselves. I believes that's true. For as powerful as God is, God is no match for our ability to shut off our access to God's grace. Like Martha we have often so much given up on what seems impossible that we close our eyes to what God is able to do.
The NY Times Magazine this weekend has done a series of articles trying to understand what makes people give. And by this, they mean give charitably. They speculate is there really such a thing as "altruism?" Isn't it a fancy word for a form of selfishness that gives one a "warm feeling" or even a competition with one's friends to see who's the noblest of us all?
Spiritual teaching is that giving is a form of gratitude for what we already have. It's a way of participating in the cycle of love that gives life to the world and indeed, life to ourselves. Cynics will dismiss charitable giving if one gets a warm feeling because they get something out of it, so it's not really freely given. Since when did "joy" become suspect motivation? What's wrong with joy? Are our values so backward as to suggest that if we feel any kind of joy or satisfaction in our work, businesses or giving that we are somehow cheating? There seems to be an acceptable level of martyrdom that places one's long suffering as the true nobility of life. In John's Gospel, Jesus once told his disciples that he came that we might have joy, and that our joy may be full. If giving is tied up with joy, then the fullness really seems to be a good thing. During our stewardship campaign one of our members often quotes the saying, "don't give til it hurts, give til it feels good." There is a joy in giving that should be cherished and explored. There is life in that joy and death in the cynicism that would find joy suspect.
Whether in giving or living, the presence of joy and love is the essence of life and that is the very breath of God giving life to our bones or flesh covered, otherwise lifeless forms. Joy and love are to be found, nurtured and shared. Now that'll preach! Amen.
© 2008 St. George's Episcopal Church, Maplewood, NJ
Posts
