Old Dead Bones: May 20, I was on the phone The other day With a woman from our church

Transcription

1 Old Dead Bones: May 20, 2018 I was on the phone The other day With a woman from our church And she said yo pastor I m going to send you a photo Of a license plate I saw when I was driving the other day. It says [1 God Will] God Will. Then she made a very clear distinction Not God s Will but GOD WILL And she made sure I knew There was a difference. And I agree. People use the phrase God s Will To indicate Something that has happened In the course of life Whether it s good or bad That they have decided Is the will of God. For them. It s interpreting things that happen to us So that it make sense So we can live with And understand Our lives... For example some will say It was God s will That they got the new job That they applied for. It was God s will That they won the Powerball lottery So they can give 10% to the church And pay off the building! It was God s will That all these good things In my life happen - But people use it in a negative way too.

2 Some people said It was God s will That my Dad got cancer And died when he was 50-some years old. Some say... it was God s will That they lost their job Because something better Must be coming around the corner It was God s will That all this bad stuff happened. This kind of interpretation Is a bit reactive And backward looking. Sometimes it makes us feel better To attribute life STUFF to God s will But sometimes It makes me feel worse. - And quite honestly I don t think As a human I m able to understand Or comprehend Or ever fully discern God s will in the world. It says in Isaiah 55 [8-9] For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways my ways, Declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways And my thoughts than your thoughts. If you ask me God s will in the big picture Is somewhat beyond our human understanding. - But that s not what the license plate says. It says God Will. That s different. It s future looking And hopeful. God will do something. God will act and move In the course of history.

3 God will change my heart And my mind So that I become the person God wants me to be. Fulfill what God has promised. - When we were back in Iowa I had a chance to visit with my family a lot. [2 Sabula] They are fun loving kind people. Who also are a little loud And out of control Around the edges. But somehow I don t know how Somehow We started talking about death. My sister Lynn asked me If I wanted to be cremated I should have said Not yet. But I said I don t know. - She said She felt funny about it In the past But my Uncle Bob died [2a Uncle Bob] In January of this year. And he was cremated And the only reason this influenced My sister s thinking Is because He was such a godly man. Honestly He was a good guy. I remember growing up He and my aunt Donna Would take people Into their homes Who had no other place to go. He lived out his faith. He taught in his church.

4 He loved to worship God. And even the night that he died He sent a text message To his next door neighbors It said Hi you two! This may be the last night on earth. I just want to let you know We have been blessed to have had you For neighbors these last few years.. I know I will be going to Heaven Because of what Christ did on the cross. He died and shed His blood That my sins may be forgiven. God loved us so much That He gave His only Son. That s how he lived his life. And in death He decided to be cremated. That made my sister think If Uncle Bob is cremated Then it shouldn t bother me. - My mom said [2b Cemetery] I don t want to be cremated. She wants a traditional burial. She has a casket picked out She has plot purchased Out at the cemetery in Sabula Right next to Gramps and Grams. She has everything arranged and paid for - Then they asked me. And I said [2c Woods] Well I think I d like to go for a walk In the woods And sit under a tree And then After I take my last breath Just let nature take it s course. They were absolutely appalled. They said no. That s not going to happen.

5 You are not going to let Nature the animals The weather Time Take care of you. It s not going to happen. Now I was kind of teasing them But honestly I like the idea. Of my old dried out bones Surrounded by God s creation Waiting. - So this vision of Ezekiel... about the dry bones.. Is way more powerful Than just some cute little song About how the toe bone Is connected to the foot bone. We have to set the vision Within the real-life historical context To understand the power At this time in history [3 Two Kingdoms] There were two parts Of God s kingdom on earth There was the northern kingdom Which was known as Israel And the southern kingdom Known as Judah. In 722 BC The northern kingdom Israel Was destroyed By the Assyrians But it wasn t just the Assyrians Who were vying for power And land And people There were also the Egyptians And eventually The Babylonians. And the allegiances and alliances Of the southern kingdom of Judah Kept shifting According to who had the most power.

6 The Kings of Judah Made some really bad choices That ultimately resulted In Nebuchadnezzar The Babylonian King Attacking Judah And exiling 10,000 Jewish people To the nation of Babylon. That was in 597BC Eleven years later The remnant who still lived in Jerusalem. Made another bad choice They backed the wrong horse Changed allegiances from Babylon to Egypt Which the Babylonians did not appreciate Therefore on August 14, 586 BC The city of Jerusalem The Temple of God And everything in the city Was burned to the ground. Ezekiel was part of the Babylonian exile He was taken from his home To a strange land. Where he was called by God To proclaim God s Word To God s people. At first it was not good news It was a word of judgement. Against the people Basically God made Ezekiel say This is what happens This is what you get When you forget To love the Lord your God With all your heart and soul and mind When you forget To put God first in your lives. When you choose To follow The powers and the principalities Of this world Around you Over and above your God. You get what you deserve.

7 BUT seven years into his work as a prophet God changed his job description. After everything in Judah. had been destroyed When Jerusalem was gone When the temple was burned to the ground When the people who still loved God Found themselves in a foreign land Without power Without voice Without hope God gave Ezekiel A NEW WORD to proclaim A word of hope. God gave Ezekiel a vision [4 Bones] The valley of dry bones. I love this story First God takes Ezekiel on a tour Of the valley And everywhere he looked There were bones Not just any bones But dry old hopeless lifeless bones And God says to Ezekiel [5 Can these bones live?] Mortal can these bones live? And Ezekiel says The exact right thing. O Lord God you know - God says yes I do make it happen. Command these bones In the name of God That they will live And Ezekiel did He prophesied to piles of old dead bones He commanded them.. In the name of God And the bones rattled And the bones moved And joined together Bone to bone Sinew to sinew Flesh to flesh

8 They joined together And looked like humans But they did not live. There was no breath Within them. - Then God said Prophesy to the breath Command the breath to come And Ezekiel did He commanded the four winds In the name of God Come O Breath And breathe upon the slain So they may live. And the breath of God The RUACH The power of life That fills all of creation Came upon the bones And they lived And stood strong A vast multitude. - And God said This is Israel. They say Our bones are dried up Our hope is lost We are cut off From God. Say to them Thus says the Lord I will open your graves. I will put my spirit within you. You will live. [6 Hope] And then you will know That I the Lord Have spoken And WILL ACT. - Please note The scripture does not say God CAN act We know that Nothing is impossible for God. God is God. That s a fact.

9 And it does not say God MIGHT act As though God hasn t decided yet Maybe yes maybe no Still up in the air. In no uncertain terms The scripture says God WILL act. - So I heard something disturbing The other day. You know The ELCA has seven seminaries Scattered about The United States And this year There are 100 pastors Ministers of Word and Sacrament Who are graduating From the seven seminaries According to a study done In 2016 There will be 422 retirements This same year. Now I m not an accountant But I can do that math = trouble. And when I first heard this The temptation was to freak out To say at that rate There is going to be a clergy crisis And then of course I want to say Ok God what are you going to do Where are you? This is your church This is your problem So where is the Spirit moving Where is the RUACH That calls enlightens empowers people To get into this ministry And do this work. [VIDEO - ELCA] My favorite part of that video is Trust that the Holy Spirit is still moving.

10 - Remember that God is God. And the bottom line is God will. [7 God Will] God will provide what we need God will give us a way To address this need And it might be a new And surprising way Of doing ministry. Continue to bless this world Through the Gospel of Jesus Christ Because Jesus is The source of forgiveness And hope And life That will carry on Into the future. Give us the people And the power And the resources We need To accomplish God s work In the world. And now I want to make it more personal Fill each and every one of us With the power of the Holy Spirit To do God s work Among God s people. Even when we feel like old dried bones. Fulfill every promise That God has made to you Be with you To the very end. Come what may. No matter what. Whether you personally Succeed or fail.

11 Whether you personally Breeze through this life Without any problems or challenges Or have to work your tail off To make ends meet. Whether We live. Or whether We die. God will. Fulfill everything Absolutely everything That have been promised to us. Through Jesus Christ. - So look at your life In particular Those places That feel Beyond hope. And hear what God is asking you Mortal can these bones live? And with all the trust and hope That we can muster Speak the words of Ezekiel O Lord God You know And yes God s knows. And yes God will. Thanks be to God. Amen!