Dry Bones and Resurrection
Hymns today : 84;
242; 210; 684
I don't normally
include John's heading but this one struck a chord. Life can become dry without
warning. Sometimes a life that seems so bright and full of promise simply deflates
into mere survival. It's not even that our sense of the presence of our maker
disappears. We can be very aware of that, but it just doesn't seem to make very
much difference.
And so by way of
encouragement - to myself as much as anyone, I will include the words of John's
"Call to Worship" - (Mary J Scifres, Abingdon 2016.)
In the midst of life,
we are in death. But in the face of death, God’s Spirit comes to bring us life.
Can dry bones live? Can life emerge from death? Only God knows. And yet, Christ
promises just such a miracle through the power of God’s Holy Spirit. Come, Holy
Spirit, come.
All who are
dwindling and dying . . .
come forth to new
life.
All who are lying in
darkness and despair . . .
come out into the
light.
All who feel
separated and alone . . .
come to the presence
of God, whose Spirit finds us here
After this John
prayed "Come, Holy
Spirit. Breathe new life into our lives and our worship. Create new
possibilities, in our imaginations and in our dreams. Send the promise of your
hope into our depression and our despair. Expand our hearts and our minds, as
we enter your presence this day. Amen."
Our responsibility to
turn to God for the solution to our dryness was presented in the confession.
Prayer of Confession
God of new life and
emerging possibilities, forgive us when death and despair occupy our focus.
Embolden our faith when your future feels out of reach. Strengthen our courage,
that we might come forth into the light and life of your promises. In hope and
trust, we pray. Amen.
And our confidence
that, in God, our solution lies, was stated in the declaration of forgiveness.
Declaration of
Forgiveness
In God’s love, there
is hope. In Christ’s forgiveness, there is peace. In the Spirit’s power, we are
renewed and brought forth into life. Thanks, be to God!
The result of being
at peace is that we can offer that to each other and open our hearts to give-in all the ways giving can be done.
The announcements were an indication of
the ways people of this congregation give to each other and to the community
around us. They often pass as "housekeeping" but they are much
more for anyone who is listening closely.
The service of
communion followed. I always
find this service most uplifting without knowing why. I think there are many
reasons. It's a time when the whole congregation focusses on why we join
together each week. There is the sense of being one with each other - not just
those in the building in which we are celebrating the sacrament but also with
all believers worldwide and through time. This is over and above the message
that we are loved by our maker. The creator of everything that exists cares
about each one of us and the lives we.
The readings, Ezekiel
37:1-14 and John 11:23-45 were delivered by Alan. In Ezekiel we are confronted with sight of
a valley of dry bones. The message that jumped out at me was that dryness is
all that this world offers. That was followed by the account of the raising of Lazarus.
The connection is not difficult to make. A couple of people I know speak of God
as that enlivening presence.
In his sermon John
had this to say:
...We must walk with
Ezekiel all around the valley, because a major part of witnessing the story of
God’s redemption is seeing just how much we need it. Those of us who have been
staring into the darkness of our souls during the Lenten season know that we
really do need God’s resurrection. The second reason for hearing these stories
at this point in the Christian calendar has nothing to do with us or our sin...
Purely external to
us, it has everything to do with learning that it is God who brings life out of
death and that God is the one acting for our redemption...
Part of the story
shows us who we are, but the rest shows us who God is...
However, when faced
with the reality of taking up our crosses to follow, we quickly realize there
is nothing within that equips us to do it. At this point, the Lord gently
reminds us that it is not about us. The spiritual work we do during Lent was
never intended to be what sustains us and what brings us the new life we
need...
Rather, our
spiritual work is meant only to help us clear the path so that we can see God’s
work in and for us. It is God who will strengthen us to follow Jesus. It is God
who will bring resurrection where there was only death and decay. It is God who
can breathe new life into our mortal body.
In the Intercessory
Prayers Laurel
focussed on the many difficulties facing people near and far: those affected by
the floods which have been so destructive, causing so much fear and heartbreak;
those in other countries in Africa where there are no resources to meet the
needs of the suffering people and those who will benefit from the donations of
Lent Event. It's difficult to know why prayer works since God has his eye on
those people regardless of whether we pray for them or not. Perhaps it's just
that as we join with them in their difficulties, our strength is added to
theirs giving them added life and in doing so we are changed.
Benediction
Let those who were
languishing and dying rejoice.
We go forth with the
promise of life.
Let those who have
lain in the shadows of despair take heart.
We go forth with the
promise of light.
Let those who have
known the separation of loneliness feel union in life with the Spirit.
We go forth revived
by the Spirit to proclaim the glory of God.
Hymn
780: “May
light come into your eyes”
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