Dry Bones
(Callie Swanlund)
“We are created with connectedness and spirit and hope breathed into us.”
How are you experiencing connectedness and spirit and hope right now?
Ezekiel 37:1-14
The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on 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 I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.”
This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Callie Swanlund. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms and Canada Goose by Podington Bear and Live For the Dead by Corrina Repp.
Click here to let us know the impact this podcast has made on your faith.
Click here to make a donation and support this podcast and other digital resources from The Riverside Church that integrate spirituality and social justice.
Rev. Callie Swanlund is the Associate Rector at St. Christopher Episcopal Church in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania. She is also the creator of How2charist, a digitally instructed Eucharist. Click here to find out more.
This season of Be Still and Go is supported in part by Convergence as they help share each episode with their community. (You should do the same!) Convergence is a network that supports the reshaping of organizations, congregations and leaders engaged in an age of movement from “organized religion” to “organizing religion” driven by the values of an inclusive, progressive theological vision for a more just world for all. Visit www.convergenceus.org to find out more.
Listen to more episodes of Be Still and Go: