While the global pandemic we are seeing now and its ramifications all over the world are unprecedented, many people have drawn similarities between the Covid-19 pandemic and the Spanish Flu of 1918. We’ve been learning from generations before us on how to best flatten the curve of infection.
Perhaps we can also learn from the ancient Israelites about God’s activity during moments of national crisis.
The prophet Ezekiel lived during what was arguably the most devastating and challenging time for ancient Israel, as documented in Hebrew scripture. When Ezekiel was a young man, the Babylonian empire invaded Jerusalem, captured and forced the deportation of some 10,000 Jews to Babylon. Ezekiel was one of them. The city of Jerusalem was eventually burned and destroyed, including its temple.
The word of the Lord that came to Ezekiel describes what the exiled people felt while in exile: “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely” (Ezek. 37:11). They were experiencing being cut off in every way: cut off from their land; cut off from their traditions and sacred places; cut off from each other; cut off from their sense of the presence of God.
At that time, God gave Ezekiel a vision that was certainly a devastating sight: a valley full of very dry bones. The vision represented the whole community of Israel, feeling devastation, grief, abandonment — in one word, feeling desperation deep in their bones.
In a time when it seems like we only hear bad news and things keep getting worse, Ezekiel’s vision offers us good news. Are you ready for some good news?
Right now, many of us are also feeling cut off. Like the exiled people of Israel, some of us are cut off from our sanctuaries and from our sense of community. Many are worried about finances and whether our jobs or small businesses will survive.
This is a time when many are feeling abandoned and cut off from God. It’s a time when God’s word to Ezekiel reminds us that God is not confined to a temple or a sanctuary.
Ezekiel was the only prophet in the Bible who received his call to be a prophet outside of the land of Israel. Ezekiel’s experience with God while in exile reminds us of this good news: that God continues to speak even when churches are closed to in-person gatherings. God still speaks when everything is out of place. God still speaks when all hope seems lost.
In the vision the Lord gave Ezekiel, God told him to prophesy to the dry bones. As Ezekiel prophesied life to the dry bones, they came together and were filled with sinews, flesh and skin, and they came to life.
The word of the Lord through Ezekiel was life-giving and liberating. It gave the people of Israel life and hope for a future. Right now, the uncertainty about the present and the future has many of us so bound that sometimes it’s hard to take a breath. The good news is that God continues to speak in life-giving and liberating ways.
One of the first things I learned when I trained as a chaplain is that emotions are contagious. An anxious person can spread anxiety to the people around them. An angry person can spread anger around them. In the same way, a calm person can spread calmness to those around them. So we learned as chaplains to be a calming presence in a room where people might be anxious or angry or afraid.
The Covid-19 virus is not the only thing that’s contagious right now. Many people are also spreading anxiety, fear, and discord in our communities. Our call as the people of God is to unbind the ties of discord and complacency and to spread peace and sacrificial love. Let’s stop the spread of fear and make hope go viral. Let us be the calming and hopeful presence that our world needs right now.
God, you speak in life-giving and liberating ways even when it seems all hope is lost. Speak to us and help us come alive. Help us spread your hope and life-giving word to the world.
This article is an excerpt from a sermon preached at FBC Corbin, KY on 3/29/2020. Read the full sermon here.