‘Fear not little flock, for I am with thee, I have called you by name’

March 26, 2023

Scriptures: Ezekiel 37:1-14, John 11:1-45

There is certainly no shortage of ‘Dooms-day’ predictions flying around today. No lacking in those wringing their hands as yet more difficult news emerges. So much so that, as David Burpee shared with us several weeks back, such seemingly ‘Bad News’ far outweighs the fleeting moments of ‘Good News’ on all of the major media outlets every night. In fact, it seems that the most common litany heard today is that we are living in a ‘greatly divided’ or ‘deeply polarized’ nation. So much so, that it is a rare individual who is full of hope for the future, or who seems to be brimming over with enthusiasm.

        Just this last week I had a lengthy conversation with a close friend who is retired, and who spent his life working for IBM. I consider him both thoughtful and wise, as well as one who I know has a deep faith. And we discussed exactly this topic…namely the state of affairs today both in the world at large, as well as more particularly in our own nation. And I found him to be in a deeply worried place that seemed to hold out little hope for a bright and sunny future. It seemed that the more we spoke together, the more dire the conversation became, as multiple possible solutions were not able to stand up to the incessant onslaught of negativity and fear that is now woven so deeply into the fabric of our society.

        However, I am not planning on just jumping on this bandwagon of railing against all the powers of darkness and fear this morning, but rather, I’d like to try and share with you what I feel is truly a valid response to the situation we do find ourselves in…here in our country, our community, and in our neighborhoods. I believe that there is a way forward, or at least a path we can follow which leads to a place where hope still is possible, and where the power of love outweighs all the forces of fear and hatred.

In reading through today’s passage from Ezekiel I was struck by the number of times God said, ‘I will do thus and so’, or ‘I will make this happen’, basically saying that the path forward for Israel at that moment in time was dependent entirely upon God’s grace, and persistent love for them. He directed Ezekiel to prophesy what was coming, but basically it was God alone who was capable, as well as willing to save his broken and greatly troubled people.

        And this idea, that God will save, or that only God can make such a conflicted and embattled world ‘right’ again, is actually a well-worn one. In fact there are many today who hold on to this same belief as an essential part of their religious understanding. The only difference between many of them it seems is who or what their ‘God’ looks like, or acts like. For some, God is  pretty much a conquering warrior God who at some point will ride in on a white horse, separating the wheat from the chaff of unbelievers as he sets about rescuing a particular portion of humanity. For others, God is a personal and private deity…one who does not require much of me, but surely will let me into Heaven when the time comes for I have been a ‘good person’.

        Often for the former of these views, these end-times scenarios include the full and final destruction of Creation as judgment rains down on all who have not subscribed to a particular set of beliefs or practices. In fact, many such viewpoints are held by a number of quite different faith practices claiming to be ‘Christian’ all across our nation.

I think however, that far too many of these sets of belief or understandings of what it is that faith is supposed to be all about end up lacking. And that is because far too often they end up distancing humanity from any responsibility to be a part of the solution, as well as quite far from the call our Lord issued for us to truly ‘love one another’. It also seems that far too many today have decided that the ‘problem’ is too big for any of us to tackle, that the ailments facing our society and culture are way too intricate and complicated for us to be able to make any sort of real difference, and so therefore…it must be God’s problem! All we can do is sit around and wait, until God gets around to rescuing whoever it is that had it all ‘right’ to begin with! Which may sound defeatist or lackluster, but honestly, doesn’t ‘sticking one’s head in the sand’ always sound that way?

        I think so…but I also think that our true calling as Christians is far different then simply waiting around for things to get so bad that only God can fix it. And I think our responsibility as followers of the one who said in John Chapter 14 and verse 12 that ‘we would do all the things he had done and even greater than that’, seems to indicate that we all bear a significant responsibility to be part of changing the ‘valley of dry bones’ in which we currently reside, into a real and joyous reflection of the grace and goodness of our loving God.

        True, in our reading from Ezekiel, God said a number of times, ‘I will do this’, but each of those proclamations included the instruction to Ezekiel for him to ‘Prophesy’! And it was only after that participation by Ezekiel, as he uttered, as he spoke, as he foretold what the Lord intended to do, that the rattling and reassembling of the bones began. And again, in our gospel reading today, Jesus included a number of participants in the bringing back of Lazarus from the dead. There were those who moved the stone, and those who unwrapped the grave cloths, all of whom were a critical part of the miracle story. In each of these two stories indeed the divine force was present and responsible for the element of the miraculous, but each one as well included participation by one or more who believed and did exactly as the Lord asked them to.

        But again, one may counter…both of these stories included the actual presence of the Lord. Each one starts off with the Lord present, and relies upon an act of divine grace and power for it to come about. Which almost sounds like the place in which we started…with folks waiting around for the Lord to finally show up and set everything back in order, by whatever means are necessary.

        But I would contend that it is actually quite different. I would offer that as much as Jesus asked his followers to be a part of his journey while walking about here on earth, and as much as over and over again he said that the ‘new kingdom of God was already emerging’, and in fact was ‘already present’…that each one of us therefore, who professes to follow our Lord, bears an incredible responsibility to be a part of restoring our own ‘valley of dry and dusty bones’. We are not allowed to be among those who ‘sit and wait’, or who try to assure themselves that ‘they are powerless to make any sort of difference so they may as well not try’.

        God is still present in this very moment. And God is still asking us to finish the work that Jesus came to do among us. And this holy work in our own moment in time still requires participation by those who love our Lord.

But how and why? I truly believe that this is our call, for we each have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, that spark of the divine presence that dwells within us, and in fact not only guides us but empowers us as well, Empowers each of us to be the one who ‘prophecies’, or the one who ‘moves a stone’, or those who unwrap the grave cloths thereby setting our brothers and sisters free, that they might breathe anew of the grace of God and live joyously in the kin-dom of God’s intent.

No, in spite of all that speaks to the contrary, we are not powerless in the face of all that is around us. We are not incapable of making a real and lasting difference or change. ..

…rather we are those who are still participating in the most wondrous story ever told as we each play the part that was written in just for us…

…we can do this…we must do this…for by the grace of the Spirit of God that dwells within us…we each were chosen for this moment…

…amen