March 24, 2020

Confessions

Rachel G. Hackenberg | Read Ezekiel 37:4-14

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Change, whether joyful or painful or even mundane, compels us to assess what has been in the past as we make our way toward the future.

Sometimes the hardest part of change is looking at the past honestly. How does Ezekiel not faint with despair when he gazes at the valley of dry bones that the Spirit shows him as he reflects on his people’s history of struggle? How does he not fall apart in grief every time his people ask, “When will we get to go home? Will God spare the Temple from destruction in this war?” Dwelling on the past can overwhelm our hearts with grief. Our desire to know what has been and why can consume us.

Other times the hardest part of change is sustaining a vision for the future. Ezekiel serves God as a prophet for more than twenty years; the Babylonian exile lasts seventy years. How does Ezekiel hold on to God’s vision for the people’s restoration? How does he nurture the people’s curiosity for God’s future? Setting our sights on the future can foment impatience: “If things will be different someday, why can’t they be different sooner?” We can cling to the future so fiercely that the eyes of our hearts narrow to believe that only one vision can be true and good.

Most often, however, the hardest part of change is attending to the present, the moment when the brutal honesty of yesterday and the vague promise of tomorrow collide to ask, “What is needed right now?” Ezekiel sees yesterday’s dry bones and tomorrow’s revived community, but he can only act on what God gives him to do in the present: “Speak to the bones, Ezekiel. Tell them what I will do, and then I will take care of doing it. But for today, I need you to speak.”

The present is the only moment when faith can take action. What does God call us to do now?

Eternal God, I confess that I am still processing yesterday and am already anxious about tomorrow. What would you have me do today? Amen.

Pray the Scriptures Using Audio Lectio
Read John 11:1-45

John 11:1-45

¹ A certain man, Lazarus, was ill. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ( ² This was the Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped his feet with her hair. Her brother Lazarus was ill.) ³ So the sisters sent word to Jesus, saying, “Lord, the one whom you love is ill.” ⁴ When he heard this, Jesus said, “This illness isn’t fatal. It’s for the glory of God so that God’s Son can be glorified through it.” ⁵ Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. ⁶ When he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed where he was. After two days, ⁷ he said to his disciples, “Let’s return to Judea again.” ⁸ The disciples replied, “Rabbi, the Jewish opposition wants to stone you, but you want to go back?” ⁹ Jesus answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours in the day? Whoever walks in the day doesn’t stumble because they see the light of the world. ¹⁰ But whoever walks in the night does stumble because the light isn’t in them.” ¹¹ He continued, “Our friend Lazarus is sleeping, but I am going in order to wake him up.” ¹² The disciples said, “Lord, if he’s sleeping, he will get well.” ¹³ They thought Jesus meant that Lazarus was in a deep sleep, but Jesus had spoken about Lazarus’ death. ¹⁴ Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. ¹⁵ For your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there so that you can believe. Let’s go to him.” ¹⁶ Then Thomas (the one called Didymus) said to the other disciples, “Let us go too so that we may die with Jesus.” ¹⁷ When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was a little less than two miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁹ Many Jews had come to comfort Martha and Mary after their brother’s death. ²⁰ When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, while Mary remained in the house. ²¹ Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. ²² Even now I know that whatever you ask God, God will give you.” ²³ Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴ Martha replied, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though they die. ²⁶ Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She replied, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, the one who is coming into the world.” ²⁸ After she said this, she went and spoke privately to her sister Mary, “The teacher is here and he’s calling for you.” ²⁹ When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Jesus. ³⁰ He hadn’t entered the village but was still in the place where Martha had met him. ³¹ When the Jews who were comforting Mary in the house saw her get up quickly and leave, they followed her. They assumed she was going to mourn at the tomb. ³² When Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.” ³³ When Jesus saw her crying and the Jews who had come with her crying also, he was deeply disturbed and troubled. ³⁴ He asked, “Where have you laid him?” They replied, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Jesus began to cry. ³⁶ The Jews said, “See how much he loved him!” ³⁷ But some of them said, “He healed the eyes of the man born blind. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?” ³⁸ Jesus was deeply disturbed again when he came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone covered the entrance. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said, “Lord, the smell will be awful! He’s been dead four days.” ⁴⁰ Jesus replied, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you will see God’s glory?” ⁴¹ So they removed the stone. Jesus looked up and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. ⁴² I know you always hear me. I say this for the benefit of the crowd standing here so that they will believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ Having said this, Jesus shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ The dead man came out, his feet bound and his hands tied, and his face covered with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.” ⁴⁵ Therefore, many of the Jews who came with Mary and saw what Jesus did believed in him.

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Lectionary Week

March 23–29, 2020

Scripture Overview

Ezekiel sets the stage for the readings this week. In a vision, the prophet sees a seemingly hopeless situation, yet God restores flesh to the bones and brings them back to life by breathing into them. The psalmist calls out to God from the depths of devastation and waits confidently for God’s redemption. Paul plays off the double meaning of the Greek word pneuma: “breath” and “spirit.” Just as Ezekiel’s dry bones are brought back through the breath of God, so are we raised through the Spirit of God. The Lazarus story provides a bookend resurrection story for the week. Here Jesus demonstrates in the physical realm the spiritual realities described in the other passages. These resurrection stories point us toward Jesus’ resurrection and ultimately the promise of our own.

Questions and Suggestions for Reflection

Read Ezekiel 37:1-14. When have you heard from God directly or through others in times of devastation? How did you respond?
Read Psalm 130. How can you listen for signs of hope and look for God’s voice?
Read Romans 8:6-11. What helps you remember that you cannot save yourself and to put your trust in God?
Read John 11:1-45. When have you been disappointed in God’s timing or response? What would be different now if God had met your expectations then?

Respond by posting a prayer.

I join many of those who will pray for you as you seek to discern what you are called to be at this moment. May God grant you the courage to fulfill that calling. May we all open our eyes and see the misery, open our ears and hear the cries of God’s people, and, like God through the Lord Jesus Christ, be incarnate amongst them.”

View a growing list of resources for the spiritual work of overcoming racism.

—Rev. Sidwell Mokgothu, Limpopo Synod Bishop of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa and board member for Africa Upper Room Ministries

Confessions

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Ezekiel 37:4-14

John 11:1-45

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