After Pentecost
Ezekiel 37:1–14
1The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know." 4Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD." 7So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live." 10So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.' 12Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD."
Today is the festival of Pentecost, and we are celebrating what we confess in the Nicene Creed: "I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life." In Ezekiel's Pentecost, there was a rattling of dry bones as God's Spirit proceeded to reconnect bone to bone. And the Spirit of God brought an entire army of dead bones to life.
This is the very Spirit of the Lord who hovered over the face of the waters, bringing creation out of chaos as God spoke the universe into existence. This is the very same Spirit that Jesus calls the Comforter or Helper, whom he breathed on his disciples on the evening of resurrection Sunday, giving them joy and peace in the forgiveness of their sins. This is the very same Spirit who rattled through the house in Jerusalem where the disciples were on Pentecost. Filled with that very same Holy Spirit, the apostle Peter did what Ezekiel did. He preached, and through Peter's preaching of Christ crucified, the spiritually dead were raised to life with God through faith in Christ Jesus. On that first Pentecost, the Spirit was poured out, and through preaching and Baptism, the Father created a new Israel for himself. Those who were dead in trespasses and sins were brought to life in his name by that same Holy Spirit. He is the very same Spirit poured out on his church today in Word and Sacrament. This is the very same Spirit poured out on you, Cole, when you were Baptized.
You, Cole, once were dead in your sins, just as dead as those dry bones in the valley of death. But that same Spirit that breathed life into an army of old, dry bones, has breathed his life into you and has raised you up, clothed you with righteousness, outfitted you with the armor of a valiant warrior in the army of God's people. And now today, you make public confession of the faith that you received from the Spirit at your Baptism. You might think of today, your Confirmation, as the swearing-in ceremony of a new enlisted man into the army of God's church militant. "Be strong in the Lord...Put on the whole armor of God...for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6: 10-12).
Life without God's Spirit is only dead bones. Bones bleached and bare and as devoid of life as you can get. The picture of a skull and crossed bones is a symbol for poison. The symbol of a skull or the sketch of a skeleton at Halloween reminds us of the stark reality of death. Lifeless bones are all that is left-over once death and decay have had their way. There is no hope for a resuscitation of bones. They are the grim reminder of a life that was but can never be again.
That is what Ezekiel saw in his vision. Lying before him was a valley full of skeletons, the remains of a slain army. This was the whole house of Israel overcome and butchered by her enemies. They are dead under God's judgment and wrath.
As it was for Israel, so it is for you. Where human beings go their own way and do their own thing apart from God, there is only death. Recall the Garden of Eden: God's solemn word to Adam proved true: "In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Genesis 2:17). Then Satan tempted him: "If you eat of it, you shall be like God..." (Genesis 3). To be like God means you can be your own god. You can do your own thing. Go your own way. Apart from God. Ignoring God's will; his commands; his love and grace. So Adam did. And so Adam died; for the "wages of sin is death," and through Adam's sin we have all inherited his death.. (Romans 5:12). We know it's true from our own experience. We've lost loved ones, and we can't avoid that our day is coming too.
So humanity is reduced to an army of spiritual skeletons far more vast than Ezekiel's valley of dry bones, for the whole world is rendered dead in trespasses and sins. (Ephesians 2:1-3). Without the Lord and giver of life, we are left dead in our sins. The final outcome of this death is hell itself.
But, where the Lord's word is, there his Spirit gives life in his name. There is life even in the Valley of Dry Bones—that is in the death of Christ. This is the greatest paradox of all history: in the death of Christ, in his Valley of Dry Bones, there is life for all the world. The blood of Christ is poured out and brings life to Adam and to his descendents. Christ shed his blood to redeem us from sin, to rescue us from the devil, and to restore us to life with God.
Where Christ's promises are trusted and believed, sinners have what they declare: forgiveness, life, and salvation. Faith comes through the hearing of Christ's word. (Romans 10:17). Through the words that God gave to Ezekiel to speak to the dead bones, the Spirit of God breathed life into them and covered them with sinews, and caused flesh to come upon them and cover them with skin. Ezekiel's word carried the Sprit who brought life to the corpses. Jesus' words are "spirit and life" (John 6:63). And these Words of Jesus bring life to you in the forgiveness of sins. The absolution carries within it the power of the resurrection of the dead. In the words of absolution you who are dead in sin are raised to life with Christ.
The Spirit brings you to life with God now and forever. God told Ezekiel: "Prophesy and say to them. Thus says the Lord God; behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves,...and I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live..." (v. 12-14). Ezekiel's spirit filled words brought bones to life, but Jesus' words of Spirit and life do something even greater. God used Ezekiel to do the impossible: through his preaching the Spirit worked to restore Israel to life. God uses Jesus' words today—the words proclaimed into your ears even as you hear this sermon—to give you eternal life.
Every baptism in the name of the triune God and every Gospel-delivering sermon is a continuation of Pentecost. God's Word and Spirit cannot be separated. The Spirit works through the Word to bring sinners to faith and raise them to life. The Spirit continues to keep you in faith and daily raise you from the dead in daily confession of sins. The Spirit preserves your life and nourishes your spirit in Holy Communion.
So, Cole, you learned from Luther's catechism that we cannot believe in Jesus Christ our Lord, or come to him by our own reason or strength, but the Holy Spirit has called you by the Gospel. Disconnected, dead, dried-out bones cannot pull themselves together and regain life. You cannot walk out of the living death of sin into life with God. But the Lord and giver of life has accomplished the impossible. He has brought you to faith in Christ Jesus at your Baptism. He has clothed you with the full armor of a soldier of Christ. Put on the whole armor of God. "Stand firm, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication." (Ephesians 6). Remain steadfast in the Word of God and in the Sacrament so that, like a good soldier, you may "keep alert with all perseverance." (Ephesians 6:18). Stand up for Jesus, you soldier of the Cross" (LSB 660), "lift high his royal banner." Raised to life from the dead by the Spirit through the Word at your baptism, "You are a son of the King who goes forth to war, a noble army of men," "valiant saints, a glorious band, a chosen few on whom the Spirit came," (LSB 661), doing battle against the powers of spiritual darkness, the master of sin and deception, the power of death, but, "God is a mighty fortress, a trusty shield and weapon, and though the world's prince may still scowl fierce, he can harm you none. He's been judged; the deed is done; one little word of God can fell him...The victory's won, the kingdom's yours." (LSB 656).
Therefore remain steadfast in Word and Sacrament, that you may endure to the end.
In the Love of Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, Amen.