The ancient people of God had turned from the faith of their fathers. They rejected God’s commands and teachings and, over time, began to trust in the wisdom and strength of man as the ultimate guide for life. This rejection led to rampant idolatry and sin. So, the wrath of the Almighty burned against them. In the end, God removes His presence from the Temple in Jerusalem as the great army of the Babylonians surrounds the city. This act of judgment was their destruction. The kingdom of Judah falls, and the Temple itself is left in ruins. The place of sacrifice is no more. The location where God would meet His people in the ancient rituals is gone. With tears and great regret, many are taken away into exile, to Babylon as slaves. Removed from the promised land and consumed with the ramifications of their idolatry, it begins to set in that they are now cut off; cut off from the promises of God, cut off from their worship, cut off from hope.

Or so it would seem, for there was one in their midst set apart by God to bring his Word to his people. Ezekiel was born of priestly lineage and was called by God as a prophet to His people in exile in Babylon. Far from the holy city, far from the land of promise, this man was tasked to proclaim the Word of God to a people cut off from all they knew. Though the Temple was no more, though the ark of the covenant was most likely destroyed, still the Word of God remained. And this Word would prove to be enough, enough to bring life and hope to those cut off.

In Ezekiel 37, we read about the powerful vision the Lord gives to His prophet. He finds himself in the middle of a valley. It was a dry place and full of death, for it was filled with human bones. Mountains of bones upon bones littered the valley floor. This was an image of the people of God, a people dried up and dead in their exile. As they say, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.” So, the Lord has a simple question for His prophet, “Can these bones live?” Can these cut-off and destroyed bones be brought to life again? It seems hopeless. It seems impossible for life to be found in this valley. But all things are possible for the Lord. Therefore, Ezekiel says, “O Lord God, You know.”

What happens next is profound. It has nothing to do with Ezekiel’s character or cleverness. He simply speaks what God tells him to say. He proclaims to a valley of dry bones the Word of God. “O dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And 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.” So, he speaks the Word, and the valley begins to vibrate as the bones rattle and start to be reassembled. Sinews and flesh regenerate, and skin covers them. A massive army stands in the valley. Then he commands the breath to enter them, and behold, they live. Life springs from the Word proclaimed.

In our Gospel lesson today, we have the story of the Lord weeping with Mary as He sees the destruction of death. Here, the Word of God Himself speaks to dry bones. Lazarus has been lying in the tomb for four days. When Jesus commands them to roll away the stone sealing the grave, they are worried the smell will be too much to bear. But the Word of God is not scared of death. The Word of God will not be deterred. They roll the stone away, and Jesus calls out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” And with the Word, the dead return to life. He comes out of the tomb still bound with the remnants of the grave clinging about him, and it is as if Jesus next speaks to death itself, commanding, “Unbind him, and let him go!”  He is the fulfillment of what God said to Ezekiel, “You shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O My people.”

And as awesome as all this is, the great joy for us, the great lesson we are given is that the Word of the Lord continues to thrive among His people. The people of God are still called in the midst of exile to speak His Word. It is a Word which is powerful and life changing. It begins by cutting through your tough exterior and showing the failure of the gods you serve, whether in wisdom or in your own acts of righteousness. As Scripture says, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” The Word reveals how, in and of yourselves, even at your absolute best, you remain dead in your sins, you remain a valley of dry bones. You cannot save yourself. You cannot bring life to what is dead. So, the question goes up once again, “Can these bones live?”

The answer, of course, is, “Yes!” These bones, your bones, your life entangled in sin, can live. For where the Word of God is proclaimed, the grave does not get the final say. Even as the Word exposes your sin and death, it then gives what you could never accomplish on your own: Righteousness and salvation. The Word declares that the works of Christ, the works of the Word of God Himself, have become yours. His sacrifice is your sacrifice. His victory over the grave is your victory. His welcome into Paradise is your welcome into Paradise. Now, I am not saying I am Ezekiel, but like Ezekiel, I have been given a Word to speak to you. It is not my own. It is not dependent on my character or cleverness. It is the Word of life. As a result, I declare to you that you are forgiven all your sins in Christ alone. You are not forsaken or cut off, for you are loved and welcome into the Kingdom of God’s righteousness. You will live.

There is a moment in the Church’s funeral liturgy that always stands out to me as a testimony to our confidence in the power of this Word. As people gather together in that moment of sorrow and mourning, they sing the hymns of hope, listen to the Word proclaimed, and then recite the Word Jesus spoke to Martha right before He raised Lazarus from the dead. It is a bold confession made in the face of death. With the casket literally sitting front and center, we say, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.” Yes, these bones can live. Yes, you will live, for this is the promise of your God.