Words of Welcome

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 We’ve made it to the end of the road and it’s judgment time. We began this cycle of our life together as church on the first Sunday of Advent, and now the church year has wound its way to this moment when we declare that “Jesus reigns where’re the sun does its successive journeys run; his love shall spread from shore to shore till moons wax and wane no more.” We’ve heard a word of encouragement this morning from the prophet Ezekiel. The prophet spoke these words to exiles living in Babylon. He told them that God is the shepherd who brings the scattered sheep living in exile back home to their own land. In doing this, God seeks out the lost, binds up the wounded, and strengthens the weak. When it comes to the “fat and strong sheep,” well, God will “feed them with justice.”    There are parallels between Ezekiel’s message and the Twenty-third Psalm . Like the Psalmist, the prophet speaks words of comfort and compassion to the flock, but as Wil Gafne...

Ezekiel 37:1-14  God grabbed the prophet Ezekiel and dropped him into the middle of a valley filled with bones that had been bleached by the sun of any sign of life. They were so dry that even the marrow was gone. Then, as Ezekiel took in this sight, God posed this question: “Can these bones live?” How would you answer that question?  I know that part of me would have answered with a tinge of sarcasm, “are you kidding?” But hopefully, I would follow Ezekiel’s example and simply say: “O Lord God, You  know.” That is a prayer of faith that allows for God to do what I may think is impossible.  Each of the Lenten lectionary readings from the Old Testament, speak of acting in faith. Sometimes, the texts describe situations, like  in the Garden,  where the people  demonstrate a lack of faith in God, but there are other texts that tell a different story of faith, like the story of the  call of Abram and Sarai  to migrate to a strange l...

Ezekiel 37:1-14 Do you need a vacation?  Is life pressing in on you? Do your bones feel dry and lifeless? It’s a holiday weekend, the sun is out, summer is near at hand, shouldn’t we all be sitting by a lake enjoying a bit of sunshine and relaxation instead of sitting here listening to the preacher talk about dry bones? Don’t answer that last question!! There’s a song from my childhood that goes like this:   “When you're weary, feeling small, when tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all; I'm on your side.” The words of this song echo those of Jesus:  28 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  (Matthew 11:28-30 ).   So, when you’re struggling with a heavy load and tears are in your eyes, do you hear Jesus calling out?...

John 20:19-23     “He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”    John has his own story of how the Spirit fell upon the followers of Jesus.  It’s different from the traditional Pentecost story, but what he does is connect the Holy Spirit with the very essence of life. In fact, there’s a connection between this story and the story of creation in Genesis 2.  In that story, God created the first human being by forming a body from the dust of the ground, and then God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7).  The biblical words for breath and Spirit are the same.  So to have breath is to have the Spirit.       We see this connection in the book of Ezekiel, where the “spirit of the Lord” took the prophet to the Valley of Dry Bones.  Then the Lord asked Ezekiel – “can these dry bones live?”  God then told Ezekiel ...