Scripture/Sermon of the Day

The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6 I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

11 A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in the town of Bethany, where Mary and her sister Martha lived. 2 Mary was the woman who later put perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. Mary’s brother was Lazarus, the man who was now sick. 3 So Mary and Martha sent someone to tell Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

4 When Jesus heard this, he said, “This sickness will not end in death. It is for the glory of God, to bring glory to the Son of God.” 5 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 But when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days. 7 Then Jesus said to his followers, “Let’s go back to Judea.”

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the daylight, he will not stumble, because he can see by this world’s light. 10 But if anyone walks at night, he stumbles because there is no light to help him see.”

13 Jesus meant that Lazarus was dead, but his followers thought he meant Lazarus was really sleeping. 14 So then Jesus said plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes I was not there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him now.”

17 When Jesus arrived, he learned that Lazarus had already been dead and in the tomb for four days. 18 Bethany was about two miles from Jerusalem. 19 Many of the Jews had come there to comfort Martha and Mary about their brother.

20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you anything you ask.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will have life even if they die. 26 And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Martha, do you believe this?”

28 After Martha said this, she went back and talked to her sister Mary alone. Martha said, “The Teacher is here and he is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Jesus. 30 Jesus had not yet come into the town but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 The Jews were with Mary in the house, comforting her. When they saw her stand and leave quickly, they followed her, thinking she was going to the tomb to cry there.

32 But Mary went to the place where Jesus was. When she saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 When Jesus saw Mary crying and the Jews who came with her also crying, he was upset and was deeply troubled. 34 He asked, “Where did you bury him?”

41 So they moved the stone away from the entrance. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. 42 I know that you always hear me, but I said these things because of the people here around me. I want them to believe that you sent me.” 43 After Jesus said this, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with pieces of cloth, and a cloth around his face.

I. Both readings today are about rebirth. Jesus told Nicodemus he must be born anew. The process of death and then rebirth is the way we grow. When John the Baptist and then Jesus told the crowds: “Repent!” — it was the same thing as saying “Die, and — be reborn!” If we don’t die, we stop living. We will be the same person at 70 we were at 17.

II. These readings anticipate Easter. Easter is the symbol in the Bible of change. Resurrection. Ezekiel had a vision of a valley full of bones. They were “very dry.” God said to him, “Can these bones live again?” Well — of course they can’t. We can’t go to a cemetery and dig up a grave and make the dead live again. But it was God asking so Ezekiel said, “Lord God — only you know.” God said: “Tell these bones, LISTEN! The Lord God says, ‘I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live again.”

IV. In the gospel, Lazarus was dead four days. Jesus told Lazarus’ sister, Martha, “Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” It was the same question God asked Ezekiel — can the dead live again? Martha said, “Yes Jesus — if you say so.” Jesus shouted, “Lazarus come out!” And with a few words, the dead man was reborn.

V. These are stories we need today because we live in a land of dry bones and a country that kills the spirits of thousands of people every day. Right now, money from the legislation called “The Big Beautiful Bill” is being used to maintain and expand DETENTION FACILITIES across the United States. “Detention facility” is a misleading way of saying “concentration camp.” I’m surprised that that word has not appeared yet in any of the news stories — which are rare because the government is keeping the construction and operation of these camps secret.

VI. Another valley of dead bones is THE GLOBAL CATASTROPHE OF THE IRAN WAR that is costing a billion dollars a day. Defense Secretary Hegseth wants 200 billion dollars more, saying: “It takes money to kill bad guys.” As of last week, the U.S. has struck 7000 targets in Iran, we’ve used a lot of ammunition, and we need more.

BUT THERE’S GOOD NEWS — God calls us like Ezekiel and Jesus to use words of power to return the dead to life. Why did God use Ezekiel? God could have made the bones live without the prophet. And God could have taught us the way and the truth and the life without Jesus. Why use humans to do God’s work? This is one of the greatest mysteries of the Bible. For some reason, God wants the words that revive the dead to come from our mouths. Today.

VIII. We don’t know when or how God will need us to speak these words, but it will happen. There will be times every day. Janet was on the playground with her class. It was time to come in. One of her students didn’t want to — he was having too much fun on the playground. He came to her sad and indignant and said: “I am not OK!” And Janet, like a prophet, said to him, “No — you are not OK.” And miraculously, her five words — which were just a repetition of his — cured him. He became OK! Just showing him, with her words, that she heard and understood what he said moved him from sadness and frustration to peace. Janet watched her student walk out of the tomb of heartbreak and into the light of contentment — with just a few words.

In the movie Good Will Hunting, Robin Williams, who played the therapist, said to Will, played by Matt Damon, “It’s not your fault.” Those simple words, repeated, freed the young man from 20-plus years of living in a tomb shame and violence — and fear of intimacy.

In our two readings today, God calls us to speak words of truth and compassion, forgiveness and love, that have power to revive the dead, dry bones and lifeless corpses that we will encounter, maybe as soon as today.