Can Skeletons Dance?

A response to Questions of the Soul - How Can These Bones Live?

Can Skeletons Dance?

Gosh!  I loved church camp as a kid!  I still find myself singing those church camp songs like "De toe bone connected to the foot bone. De foot bone connected to the ankle bone.  De ankle bone connected to the shin bone...." As we sang about "Dem Bones" we would be shaking and wiggling our whole bodies. That is about as wild as it got at the Baptist church camp - especially since dancing was forbidden.

Do you know about the story behind "Dem Bones?"  Maybe you don't.  It was a low point in Israel's history.  Their nation had become like a desert floor covered with dead skeletons.  And the skeletons were certainly not dancing.  The Babylonians had wiped out the total Israelite army and their bodies were not buried but just laid there to rot in the sun. The temple and the capital city were destroyed. The people were in total poverty.  Everyone was hungry or on the edge of starvation. I hate to even share this but Lamentations informs us that the people were so hungry that mothers boiled their own children for food.  And the Israelites who were alive were taken prisoners and dragged back to Babylonia with chains around their necks. The Jews began lamenting to themselves, "God can't help us! God won't help us!  There is no God! We are here to rot and die in the desert. We have become like dry bones." 

Then there was Ezekiel.  Today's scripture tells us that that Lord took Ezekiel out into the valley and the Lord looked around and asked Ezekiel "Can these bones live?"  And Ezekiel wisely replied, "you alone know."  Then the Lord told Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones, to start preaching to the bones. God even gave Ezekiel the sermon he was to preach. 

So, here's Ezekiel, standing in the middle of this great valley filled with dead, dry, scattered bones.  Maybe he's thinking, '"I've preached to some pretty dead congregations before, but this takes the cake."  What does he say? "Good morning, uh bones, it's good to see so many of you gathered here today."  No, he tells the dead, dry scattered bones the message God gave him:  "Don't give up hope, dry bones! God is going to cause you to LIVE again. God will breathe life into you. You will enjoy life again.  You will know that God is God."

And the rest of the story - "the foot bones were connected to the ankle bones..." As Ezekiel preached, the bones were resurrected into a mighty army. 

A most important question for you to answer today is "Can God make the skeleton of your life dance?" Is your marriage ready to dance again?  Is your family ready to dance again?  The very essence of God is to take that which is dead and make it alive again.  Maybe things are good in your life and you need to open your eyes to the dead around you and ask "How can I help these skeletons dance?"  Maybe you can help someone dance again by providing food, by providing affordable housing, by providing mentorship.  The opportunities to let God breathe life through you are endless, really.

The God whose word and breath revived Israel's dry bones, the God whose living Word called forth Lazarus from the grave, the God who raised Jesus from the grave, is the same God whose living Spirit empowers and sustains us and gives us hope even now.  And He is the same God who will one day call all of us by name and give us life beyond life, life that will never, ever know death again. 

"If it dies, it produces many seeds."

An excerpt from Pursuing Justice by Ken Wytsma

"We did a sermon series at Antioch a number of years ago about what it looks like to give your life away.  The short answer is that it looks different for every man, woman and child.  When it comes to how God wants us to give our lives away, there is no formula.

To discern the path God would have you walk, begin with repentance.  Lament the problem of pain and the ache of injustice in the world. Ask God to lead you, and listen long and intently for His answer.  Be willing to obey unreservedly, no matter how big or small, no matter how heroic or mundane the task God sets before you or the path God calls you to walk."

John 12:24 - "Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies - it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces many seeds."

Can you imagine Jesus tossing the seed into the field and locking eyes with the disciples one by one before driving home the point that when we give our lives away new life appears?

Giving your life away may mean that you die to your selfish desires and give life to a family member who is dying. Giving your life away may call you to die to your shopping habits in order to bring life by being generous with your skills and resources.  Giving your life away may mean that you die to the luxury of a big house so that your family can move to another part of the United States or another country to serve as missionaries.  Giving your life away may mean that you die to a dream-career to take care of your family.

Giving life away is a paradox. It's losing so we can win.  It's giving so we can receive. It's faith.  It beckons us to gamble all, to trust radically, to come and die so that we might live - to give our lives away.

The Invisible God Made Visible

Questions of the Soul:  "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him....?" Psalm 8:3-4a

Last November I had the privilege to go with a team from our church on a mission trip to Honduras where we worked alongside missionaries who served with Loma de Luz - a mission hospital on the northern coast of Honduras.  It's simply God's country.  The oceans and the mountains are breathtaking.   One night a few of us walked up a steep hill behind the staff housing (where we were staying) to look at the stars.  It was a gorgeous night.  We found the perfect spot and some of us sat down and some of us laid flat on our backs.  We put our phones away. Some of us had to let go of the fear that a snake or tarantula would crawl out of the grass and eat us alive.

Not a word was said for several minutes.  We felt the mystery of God as we looked up in awe into the star-spangled heavens.  The beauty of the night sky was a silent witness to the wisdom of God.  I was simply astonished at the greatness of a God who could create such amazing galaxies.  I'm sure David felt the same way as he was writing this Psalm.  I'm sure he had experienced the greatness of God under the stars at night as he was watching his sheep. 

As I continue to contemplate the greatness of my all-powerful Creator, I face the question - "What is man in the sight of a God who could make a universe like this?"  This question definitely cries for an answer today.  What are humans anyway?  Where did they come from? Why do they exist?  How could God be concerned for people who constantly disappoint Him? 

The psalmist goes on to help me understand these questions.  Here's how I see it. We as humans have a unique relationship with God.  He made us a little lower than the heavenly beings.  You see, God made you and me to be the expression of God's life.  We have the blessing of being the instrument by which God would do His work in the world. We are the means by which the invisible God would be made visible to his creation.  This is a great responsibility.

Prayer:  "I recognize your majesty, O God.  The next time I question my worth as a person, help me remember that you think I'm remarkable.  God, help me see my role on this earth.  Open my eyes so that I can see your majesty everyday."

God's Question is God's Grace

Questions of the Soul:  What are you doing here?

Scripture:  1 Kings 19:1-13

Sometimes life is just hard.  Things do not go as planned.  Illness, disease, divorce, job termination and death come with no warning. Nations go to war and children die every day from hunger and malnutrition.  And, sometimes we just want to run away from it all.

Elijah, a prophet of God for the northern Kingdom of Israel, was at a difficult place in his life. During this time, King Ahab was in charge.  When King Ahab married Jezebel, there was a rise in Baal worship in Israel.  Elijah defeated 450 prophets of Baal in the verses leading up to our scripture passage today.  And now Jezebel, who was not to happy with Elijah, wanted to kill him.  Elijah was overwhelmed with failure, fear and despair and decided to run away from it all.  He ran away from the people and place to which God had called him.  He ran to the wilderness - to a cave where he was instructed by God to go out and stand on the mountain.  There on Mount Horeb, also know as Mount Sinai where Moses received the 10 commandments, Elijah hears the still small voice of God calling a second time from sheer silence - "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

Elijah's life was changed when he finally stopped and listened to God's still small voice - "What are you doing here?"  It was if God's question was a whisper of God's grace.  God was with him and sends him back out with renewed strength and confidence.

God doesn't just reveal himself only in powerful miraculous ways.  To look for God only in something big (rallies, churches, conferences, highly visible leaders) may be to miss him because he is often found gently whispering in the quietness of our hearts - even when we are running away.

Are you listening for God?  Stop your running and step back from the noise and activity of your busy life. Listen for God's gentle whisper.

Question of the Soul:

What is in your hand? - (What are you doing with what God gave you?) 

Lay it down and surrender it to God and He will make it alive! Exodus 4:1-5

During Lent - Sharpen our Focus, O God

As a youngster in the church, I never celebrated Ash Wednesday. Actually, I had never heard of Ash Wednesday until I joined the staff at Broadway Baptist in Louisville, KY in 2001. Over the last few years, I have come to appreciate the meaning of Ash Wednesday for it forces me to break my normal routine and sharpen my focus on a holy God.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent - the 40 day period (exclusive of Easter Sunday) leading up to Resurrection Sunday. For me, Lent is a season of preparation and repentance. It is a call to prayer; a call to self-examination, a call to self-denial and a call to giving.

Call to Prayer: For whom and what do I need to intentionally pray?

Call to self-examination: Where is there sadness and darkness in my life? Where do I need forgiveness? Help me God to repent and return to you (Joel 2:1-2, 12-13). Help me to recognize my need for a Savior.

Call to self-denial: What can I give up in order to experience "sacrifice?" What can I do without so I can focus on the things that you care about deeply, God?

Call to giving: Where can I serve in your church, your community and your world? Help me think of my needs less and focus on the needs of others. God, I know that it is in others that I often see you and find you.

As you begin this journey of Lent, you must start with rending your heart - tearing it from self-absorption and binding yourself to Jesus. Regardless of your current state or your proneness to wander, "return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love." (Joel 2:13)

After all, Lent is not about your faithfulness, but rather about the faithfulness of Jesus on your behalf. He is the faithful One!