Sermons from the past...

New Life

Ezekiel 37:1-14

I’d like to begin this morning by taking you on a journey.

Close your eyes, and picture this scene:

God’s hand touches your shoulder and transports you to a valley. Now this isn’t your typical valley. As you look around you see bones, thousands upon thousands of dried up, bleached out, withered bones. You notice quickly that these aren’t just any old bones, these are human bones. Skulls, femurs, rib cages lay lifelessly around the dirt covered ground. The air is heavy and stale. The sun has scorched the land, everything is brown and dried up. You can still feel God’s hand upon your shoulder. Slowly he guides you around the bones. Carefully you step over the bones, so not to crush them. You walk delicately throughout the valley allowing your mind to catch up with your senses.

Softly, God’s voice breaks through the silence. He asks you, “Can these bones live?” You respond “Lord, only you know.” Still in shock of what you see, God tells you to prophesy to these bones and so you do. You mumble a few words and before you know what is happening you hear a rattling sound and watch as the bones attach to one another. You stare in disbelief as they are stitched together by ligaments and tendons, flesh comes over them, and they are covered with skin! These dried up bones have become bodies before you, but they lay lifeless. You’re standing in the middle of a valley comprised of corpses. And so God commands you to prophesy again by summoning the breath to enliven them. You respond with the word Ruach, go ahead and say it. Ruach… it means breath, wind or spirit and with that word the breath of God enters the bodies and they come alive.

Open your eyes.

You just witnessed the vision of Ezekiel. What a creative and rich story of how God brings the dead to life. For the people of Israel, the dry bones symbolized themselves, lost in exile with no hope of ever going home. Ezekiel was prophesying to a dead people. The temple lay in ruins, the people were cast out, and they found themselves facing not only a national disaster but a crisis of faith. The people of Israel found themselves questioning whether or not God was even with them. Did he care at all?

When I hear Ezekiel describe the valley of dry bones, I recognize the landscape; it’s the same landscape that Mary and Martha found themselves in when their brother Lazarus died. I, too, have spent some time there, so have many people I know. It’s a place of hopelessness where struggle and defeat appear on every corner; where no comfort or relief can be found. We find ourselves in these valleys when a loved one dies; after a marriage or relationship breaks down; when depression sets in like a heavy, wet blanket; when an illness strikes; when a job or security is lost. All of us have at one time or another experienced the valley of dry bones. You may be in a valley right now.

It’s tempting to stay in those valleys for long periods of time, they can consume you. The truth of the matter is that when we look at much of the world we see valleys filled with dead dry bones, and we see no hope within them, no chance for breath and life. That’s the real answer to God’s question, can these bones live? If we’re honest with ourselves and with God, the real answer is “No, we don’t think the dry bones of the world can ever live again.”

Ezekiel shows us a different answer to God’s question. Ezekiel challenges his fellow exiles and generations to come to view their circumstances not through their own eyes, but through God’s eyes. Can these bones live? Of course not, but look at them through God’s eyes, and watch bones rushing to their suitable partners. Watch as ligaments bind them together, flesh blankets them, and skin seals them tightly. Watch as God’s spirit, God’s ruach, which heals hopelessness, infuses them, so that they rise up again.

Both the Old Testament and the gospel reading for today confirm that through God the dead can live. God has the power to breathe new life into every single one of us and every situation we find ourselves in. Every broken relationship, every dead spirit, every painful loss, every doubting thought, every unknown future. He makes us alive through his spirit, his breathe, his Ruach.

I want you to think about breath. I’d like to share with you a quote from Barbara Brown Taylor, a renowned preacher and author. She says, "If you have studied earth science, then you know that our gorgeous blue-green planet is wrapped in a protective veil that we call the atmosphere, which separates the air we breathe from the cold vacuum of outer space. Beneath this veil is all the air that ever was. No cosmic planet-cleaning company comes along every hundred years or so to suck out all the old air and pump in some new. The same ancient air just keeps recirculating. Which means that every time any of us breathes, we breathe stardust left over from the creation of the earth.

We breathe brontosaurus breath and pterodactyl breath. We breathe air that has circulated through the rain forests of Kenya, and air that has turned yellow with sulphur over Mexico City. We breathe the same air that Plato breathed, and Mozart and Michelangelo, not to mention Hitler and Lizzie Borden. Every time we breathe, we take in what was once some baby's first breath, or some dying person's last. We take it in, we use it to live, and when we breathe out it carries some of us with it into the next person or tree or blue-tailed skink who uses it to live."

It’s the breath of God that we are inhaling. Pastor Anne Robertson writes, “It was the ruach of God that hovered over the waters at creation. It was the ruach of God that came into Adam and gave that clay life. It was the ruach of God that raised Lazarus from the dead. And it's the ruach of God that Ezekiel asks to come and breathe upon the valley of dry bones, so that they may live.”

When you breathe, you are breathing in the breath of God, the breath that's gives life. When you go outside and you feel the wind come across you, that's the Spirit of God reaching out to you, to touch you. How different would our lives be if we were conscious of breathing God in and out every time we took a breath. It's a different way of thinking, and it helps us realize that life is not just connected bones and sinews and flesh. For existence to become life, we need the breath. We need the breath of God that animates us, that causes us to truly live, and not just to be connected bones.

It is the ruach of God that will bring us back to life. The ruach of God that helps us turn a valley of dry bones into a place of life and wholeness. This spirit and breath is what we are called to share with those who are spending a little too much time in the valley. So think, who in your life needs the spirit of God? A spouse, a son or daughter, a grandparent, a neighbor, maybe a colleague, or friend….Who are you going to breathe life into?

Take a deep breath…..you just breathed in God. Amen.

Sermons from the past...

Seductive Serpents

Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7

Anyone who really knows me would know that I am petrified of snakes. This is not a fear that I take lightly. A few years ago, when I was a camp counselor I had an encounter that scarred me for life. I took a group of senior high teenagers on a tubing and rock climbing trip. Half of the group was scaling the mountain while the other half went tubing along the river beneath the cliffs. I happened to be tubing on this particular afternoon. I, along with some teenagers were taking it easy just floating freely down the river. Six or seven kids were in tubes while I and a few others were in the water. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a water snake coming straight for me. So like any responsible counselor, I quickly grabbed one of the kids on the tube, threw them in the path of the snake, and jumped into their inner tube in order to save myself.

I wasn’t joking when I said I was petrified of snakes. I’m not alone in this fear. Countless people share this same phobia of snakes. However, there was a time when snakes weren’t feared at all. Our Old Testament lesson for today shows us the bold relationship between a serpent and Eve. Historically, we tend to view this passage as the downfall of humanity. We automatically assume that the snake is seductive and evil. Yet, if we take a closer look at this story we would see something much different a seductive serpent.

This familiar story begins with God’s command to eat freely from any tree, except from the tree of knowledge. Simple enough. Next we encounter the serpent and Eve. From the very beginning we see that Eve was not afraid of the snake. In fact when the snake enters the scene Eve shows no fear or surprise or concern. Instead they begin a conversation. Happens all the time- you know snakes talking and all. The snake raises a question about the amount of freedom God has given humans. The snake continues by sharing his idea of what would happen if she ate from the tree: that their eyes would be opened and they would be like God, knowing good and evil.

The serpent has only presented some possibilities. The snake doesn’t coerce her, or twist Eve’s arm, nor does he entice her by presenting to her the fruit from the tree. Instead the snake uses words that make Eve question God’s command. Eve focuses only on the potential the tree offers. How can knowing the difference between good and evil be a bad thing? Aren’t we supposed to be more like God? Free will, a conversation with a snake, and a desire to know more changed the history of mankind forever.

Today is the first Sunday of Lent, otherwise known as Serpent Sunday or Temptation Sunday. Every year on this particular Sunday the readings draw our attention to the temptations that we face daily. The truth is the things that separate us from God, the temptations that we face daily aren’t as black and white as we would like to believe. Allow me to explain. In both the Old Testament and gospel reading for today we find a pattern:

1. Neither Eve or Jesus were afraid of their “tempter”

2. The encounter began through a conversation

3. Both Eve and Jesus were offered something from their tempter

4. Both responded to the temptation. Eve fell for it while Jesus overcame it.

This is a pattern worth exploring. You see, temptations often come from people we aren’t afraid of. Our friends, family members, even people we trust and admire can tempt us without us even knowing it. A friendly conversation can quickly turn into a temptation to gossip, to put down others, or to speak ill of someone. Without even realizing it we fall to such temptations through a simple conversation with a friend.

Or here’s another classic example. You’re at the elks having a beer after a long days work. You’re getting ready to leave and another elk’s member, out of generosity, buys you another drink. This person means you no ill harm, yet without thinking twice you down that drink. Temptation wins again. Finally, here’s just one more example. Your boss impressed with your work asks if you can stay an extra few hours to finish up a project. Tempted by money, or the pride, or the desire to please someone else you begin staying longer each day. Soon you realize that you haven’t spent any quality time with you family. Temptation wins yet again. These are the things that can damage our relationships with God and with one another.

You see, we are often offered things that at first glance don’t seem like stumbling blocks at all. How can having a conversation with a friend be a temptation? How is working extra hours a bad thing? Since when did the internet, cell phones, and television become a barrier between me and God? These are serious questions that need serious answers. The reality is we don’t always see clearly, we don’t always know what is good or bad for us or what hurts our relationship with God. We don’t always know we are being tempted.

There was one difference in the temptation stories of Eve and Jesus. In the Genesis story Eve succumbs to the temptation and eats from the tree of knowledge. In the Gospel Account Jesus overcame the temptation for power, greed, and self reliability. I think the difference between the two is the fact that Jesus knew what was good and evil because Jesus had a deeper relationship with God. He studied scripture; he had regular conversations with God, and drew his strength from his Creator.

On Ash Wednesday, Bill preached a sermon about prayer. He talked about how important it is to have conversations with God regularly. I couldn’t agree more. Prayer is going to be critical this Lenten Season if we are going to find our weaknesses and truly triumph over temptation.

Since the beginning of time people have been tempted and that isn’t going to change anytime soon. What choices will we find our self making this Lenten season? Are we going to choose the forbidden fruit or are we going to triumph over such temptations? Are we going to blame the serpent or are we going to take responsibility for our actions? For the next forty days I challenge you to ask God what your weaknesses are. What are the barriers that stand between you and God and you and your neighbor? We might be surprised at the response God gives us.