Fifth Sunday in Lent – April 6

 

Ezekiel and the Valley of Dry Bones

John Roddam Spencer Stanhope – The vision of Ezekiel – Valley of the Dry Bones” Photo by Will; flickr

The Fifth Sunday in Lent packed so many miracles into the lessons, it made it difficult to choose which incredible story would best show God’s infinite greatness.

The Old Testament lesson in Ezekiel transported the prophet to a valley full of extremely dry bones—the kind that have baked in the sun for a long time, after the vultures and animals cleaned the flesh down to a pure white. The dialogue between God and Ezekiel reassured me, for God asked the prophet, “Mortal man, can these bones come back to life?” (GNT v3)

I found myself nodding with the prophet’s answer, because it was couched in doubt. He replied, “Sovereign Lord, only you can answer that!” (GNT v4).

I’ve had doubts whether God will do something miraculous for me. Not because I doubt that God can, but because I doubt God would. I haven’t felt deserving (any more than others) and I haven’t seen the reason for my blessing to be miraculous.

Many blessings could be consider wonderful, but not ‘miraculous’ in the order of the universe—babies, falling in love, marriage, being called of God. They coud be classified as miracles that we’ve seen in the routines of life.

But here, God asked the prophet if the prophet believed in God’s power to bring flesh and blood back into and around the wasted and blanched bones. The prophet acknowledged God’s power, but didn’t jump to a ‘Sure-I-believe’ answer. Uncertainty underscored the prophet’s belief that it would happen, just as uncertainty has underscored our own beliefs in God intervention in today’s world with a miracle.