Let us pray

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, during this season of Lent, as we follow Jesus, Your Son toward the cross and His death, deepen our appreciationfor His sacrifice, that we might be freed from death’s grasp on our lives. Through the power of Your Holy Spirit, give us confidence in your power to bring life out of death. Help us to recognize our failure to live as your redeemed people, empower us to embrace the new life you give us. This we ask in Christ’s holy name. Amen

Hear the Word of the Lord: “Then He said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel Behold, they say, ‘Our bones aredried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off. Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open yougraves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your ownland Then you shall know that I am the Lord; (Ex 37:11-14) “Jesus said to [Martha], “your brother will rise again. Martha said to Him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrectio n on the last day. Jesus said to her , “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live , and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die…When He had said thing He cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” (John 11: 25 -27, 43) “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death…if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If theSpirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8: 1 -2,10-11)

On this last midweek worship before the start of Holy Week and the Passion of Christ, we arepresented with not one, not two, but three texts that offer us a valuable lesson about a topicthat none of us easily engages – the end of life. Death is so out of the norm in life, as it shouldbe. I suspect that all of us struggle with death. It is not easily embraced. It abruptly brings toa stop the cycle of the living. And when death strikes close to home, it also triggers in ourhearts and minds the ominous reminder that our days here are finite.There is though, an opportunity presented to us in these texts to focus not on the end of lifethrough death, but on the assurance of new life from death. There is an old 14 th Century LatinAntiphon, the first stanza of which says, “Media vita in morte sumus.” “In the midst of life we are in death”. For the Christian, though, this stanza may more appropriately be spoken, “Media M orte in vita summus.” “In the midst of death we are in life.” For in these God-inspired words from Ezekiel and St. John, and the Apostle Paul, we are brought humbly to our knees by the power of God overdeath and life, and the grace of our Lord whose love for His human creation knows no bounds.The prophet Ezekiel ’s eerie and disturbing vision of a valley littered with dismembered and dried up bones of soldiers who had died in battle, could only be more stomach-churning ifthe bodies were still attached, bloated and rotting in the heat of the day. Still, just thespectacle of bones strewn all over the valley floor would be unnerving. God, who is directingthis startling revelation to His prophet, asks Ezekiel, “Can these bones live?”

Of course they can’t! They’re bones – no life here. Right? To Ezekiel’s credit , he knows he’s talking with God and that changes everything . “O Lord God, you know.” God then tells Ezekiel tospeak to the dry bones. And as he did, he witnessed signs of life – muscles appearing, newskin covering the bones, bones now rattling to life by the power of God over death and life.