Dry Bones, Empty Graves, and Hope

     When Sarah heard that she would be giving birth to her own baby boy, she threw back her head and laughed out loud. She laughed at the very idea of an old woman having a baby. She had prayed for a son of her own, but as time passed, her dreams gave way to despair and finally, to acceptance. And now, it seemed comical to hear such a ridiculous thing- so she laughed right out loud... and one of the visitors heard her. He heard Sarah laugh, and he asked a question that each of us must answer: is anything too hard for God? Should we pray for things that don't seem possible? Should we believe in things that we can't explain? Is God just in the "comforting" business, or can God also be in the "transformation" and even the "miracle" business?
      Centuries after Sarah heard that she would give birth to a bouncing baby boy, an eccentric prophet was lifted up by the Spirit of God and deposited in a valley of dry bones. The people of God had hit bottom. It was a time of utter despair... and the prophet found himself in a valley of dry bones. The bones were piled deep and he couldn't begin to count them. But it was their "deadness" that was especially sobering. The bones were very dry, not sort of dry, and they were very dead, not  dying! It was a daunting spectacle, but unlike Sarah, Ezekiel did not laugh...when God asked him a question that each of us must answer: can these dry bones live? Can they stand up and dance? Can they take on life and begin again? Well... can they? Is anything too hard for God? And the prophet answered correctly when he said, "O Lord, you know." Speak to them, son of man, and call them back together. That's what God commanded and when His prophet obeyed, the dry bones came back together- foot bone to ankle bone to leg bone- and human forms took shape. And when the prophet was commanded to call the Spirit into them, the bones came to life! They came to life... and stood as a vast army, and with ears of faith, we can still hear their "amens."
      Centuries later still, an ordinary Jew died in a little village outside of Jerusalem. His name was Lazarus and when he became critically ill, his sisters sought help from their friend, Jesus, because they believed that he could heal their brother if he got to them in time. But as it turned out, Lazarus had been dead for four days by the time Jesus arrived. Martha met him first and she expressed a feeling that some of us may have had in our own lives. "Lord," she said, "If you had been here, my brother would not have died." If you had been here, my brother would not have died, and her sister, Mary, said the same thing. It was a time of great grief, and the Bible says that Jesus' heart broke when he saw the emptiness in their eyes and the pain that they were enduring. He sobbed- and he would be overwhelmed with grief again before he resurrected Lazarus- because broken dreams, dry bones, and dead brothers... are worth crying about. Then he told them to roll away the stone that covered Lazarus' tomb. "Oh no," Martha tried to say, "You're too late. My brother's been dead for days and we can smell him from here."
      We can smell him from here. My brother is not only dead-he is rotting. And then, Jesus asked her the same question that he asks us- Is anything too hard for God? Can God resurrect a dead man? Can God restore rotted flesh? Can shattered pieces be picked up and reassembled and become new again? Today, as we get nearer to Good Friday... we come to the question that Jesus asked Martha before he resurrected her brother. "Do you believe in the resurrection?"he asked. And when Martha said that she believed that there would be a resurrection on the last day, Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives  believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?" Mary, Judy, Joan, Dave, Harold, Jack, and all the others... do you believe this? When you get right down to it, is this all there is... or is there life beyond the grave? Is Good Friday the end of it, or will we also dance for joy on some Easter morning? That's the question. What is your answer?

SACRED MOMENTS

       Each life is filled with Kronos time and Kairos time. Kronos time, as in chronology, is the sort of time that we count. It is ordinary time, like going to the grocery store, or doing laundry, or watching TV. But there is also Kairos time, which defies our efforts to measure it, because it’s too deep, too sacred… to be counted or measured.  It is much bigger, than the moment itself and, as often as not, it shapes us in permanent ways... so that we are never the same person again. In the sea of a million moments, a handful of them "define" us because they help us- sometimes force us- to come to grips with who we really are; they transform us, and they set us on a course that changes our entire lives. 

      I remember, like it was yesterday, sitting in Sherry’s one-room apartment, across from what was then Veteran’s Auditorium, in Des Moines, IA., listening to the music of Rod McKuen, as her window fan churned the hot, summer air. It was a modest place, to put it kindly, but it was heaven to me. It gave me peace and a sense of contentment that I hadn't known before… and I remember, too, the overwhelming sense of emptiness that overcame me just before I entered the treatment center… and the weight that was lifted when I said the “Sinner’s Prayer” with Pastor Lu. It was a sacred time- that defined me not only as a friend of Bill’s, but as a forgiven and saved disciple of Christ Jesus. Sherry’s diagnosis of cancer was yet another defining moment… that turned our world upside-down… and forced to live in the now… because there’s no point in buying a 50-year roof… when you have 5 years to live.

      There have been other defining moments, of course, the birth of our daughters, our granddaughters, our grandson, and our great-grandchildren… and the ups and downs of their lives, some of which were transforming in their own way. Life is filled with unexpected drops of joy, unforeseen challenges, and any number of little deaths… in which we lose some part of ourselves. My two younger brothers are gone now, mom and dad are too… and there’s a sadness that goes with being the last one standing. But their dying was a sacred moment nonetheless! Within the myriad of Kronos moments, we all have a handful of defining moments that force us to come to grips with who we are and where we’re going, Many of these are moments when God has broken into our lives in ways that get our attention, reassure us, challenge us, and give us the opportunity to be more than we ever thought possible.
      It's always been so. God is always involved in our lives, and when he chooses, he speaks and acts... if we have eyes that see and ears that hear. Most of Jesus’ moments were Kronos moments. Most of us life was filled with everyday stuff. When he was a kid, he played with the other kids, and when he was an adult, he spent a great deal of time coming and going, sleeping, and sharing stories with his friends... about the people they saw and the things they did on any given day. If you sometimes think that your life is filled with routine, you're in good company... but our Lord's life also had many "kairos" moments! His baptism comes to mind, with his Father’s affirmation of love. His time in the wilderness comes to mind, when he was tested in ways common to all of us… and showed that he had the faith to put the word of God first. His encounter with the Syrophonecian woman comes to mind, where she seemed to persuade him that even the dogs ought to get a few crumbs. Gethsemane comes to mind because it was a moment that called for complete and utter surrender to His Father’s will.

      Jesus had other Defining moments, but so did Father Abraham, who was called out of Ur to follow a God whom he had never worshiped. Moses' life was also defined by kairos moments. If he hadn’t been placed in a little basket, he would’ve drowned or starved as an infant; if he hadn’t killed the abusive Egyptian, he wouldn’t have come to grips with his own identity; if he hadn’t stopped at the very well that he stopped at in Midian, he wouldn’t found his wife… and he wouldn’t have seen the burning bush. he would not have heard God's call! Like all the rest of us, Moses’ life was lived mostly in Kronos time, but it was defined by Kairos time… because it was in those moments that he discovered the way in which he had to go. Moses, Joshua, Joseph, Sarah, Naomi, David, Mother Mary... and all the rest... lived lives that were defined by sacred, kairos moments that came to them in the ordinariness of kronos time...  
      but what God wants us to know today is this: so do we! What are the moments that have defined you? When has God spoken to you? Through whom? With what sort of message? What moments in your life have shaped your journey as a person and as a Christian? How does God speak to you most clearly- in the thoughts that cross your mind, through the nagging pangs that fill conscience, through the tears that burden your soul, through the people placed in your life? And in what ways is God still speaking to you? Are your eyes and ears wide open? Are you looking into the burning bushes in your own life? Are you involved with people and active in places ... that are likely to provide a Kairos moment? In the ordinariness of time, there will be moments that shape our tomorrows and touch the very core of who we are. Some of them will be filled with great joy, some of them may break our hearts, some of them may open doors, some of them may test us to our limits. But they will come- these Kairos moments. They will come and we need NOT be afraid... because God is always with us! 

I WAS RE-BORN IN 1976

When I was in the throes of my spiritual struggles (which had economic, relational, physical, and marital repercussions), my wife was counseling with the pastor of our neighborhood church. She was searching for serenity and hoping for a miracle. I've never been sure of just how long she'd been praying with Pastor Lu before I got involved, but in time...I certainly got involved. I "hit bottom" in the fall of '76,  and Pastor Lu came to visit me on the 6th floor of the Eppley treatment center in Omaha, Nebraska.

I would've welcomed anyone who cared enough to visit me at the time. So, even though I had never talked with a minister in any sort of real way, we talked... about my pain, fears, regrets, and my need for a new beginning. It wasn't a matter of philosophy or theology. It was a matter of survival because my life was out of control! I didn't know where to turn, but Pastor Lu said that he did. He said that I could find both forgiveness and new birth in Christ. He didn't mention joining "his church." He just told me that I would be a "new creation" if I surrendered to Christ, and without knowing that I had never read a Bible,  he cited several Bible passages to support his position.

The verses he cited didn't mean much to me, but I desperately needed a new beginning. I had reached the point where the unknown- whatever it turned out to be- had more appeal than the darkness that engulfed me. So, I accepted my visitor's invitation to accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and he led me in a "Sinner's Prayer," which went something like this: "Dear Lord, I know that I am a sinner and I ask your forgiveness. I believe that you died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn my sin over to you and invite you to come into my life as Savior and Lord. I want to trust and follow you from this point forward, and with your help, I will serve you in every way that I can. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for redeeming me and for receiving this prayer. Amen." That was it- a decision, a prayer, a commitment, and that moment was the beginning of a new life for me. In that moment, I was reborn, and Sherry and I began to attend Lu's church after I finished treatment.

All of this took place in the fall of '76. It's been more than 43 years since my late pastor and I sat together on my treatment center bed, and God has never quit blessing Sherry and me. I've been pastoring a "mainline" church for some time now and I've been blessed to serve... many strong Christians who serve and worship Christ as Lord. Most of them came to Christ by growing up in the church and by making the church an integral part of their lives. So, we don't lead many people in the Sinner's Prayer, but I will be forever glad that Pastor Lu did! We don't talk much about "being saved" either, but being saved and born-again is the source of our joy and our power. Rather than beginning with a surrendered life, many people are more likely to struggle with how they can fit Christ into their lives on their terms.

This may lead to a religious life, but it will not lead to a new life! It may lead to some good deeds and proper behavior, but it will never lead to a spiritual transformation because that begins with surrender! In an effort to be "relevant," many churches have turned to marketing, entertainment, and low expectations over the yearsI But being relevant and entertaining is not the issue- rebirth is. Amen.