NOTE: The Rite of Confirmation was observed in this service. Only one catechumen, Gage, was confirmed.
EZEKIEL 37:1-14
I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE LORD AND GIVER OF LIFE.
In
the name + of Jesus.
The prophet Ezekiel preached to a nation
in exile, and he was an exile with them.
Israel had been unfaithful to the Lord.
They would worship any god who promised to increase their wealth and
stroke their egos. They claimed to
believe God’s word but rejected any parts they did not like. The Lord, however, is a jealous God. He does not compromise on his word or
acknowledge any other god. The Lord does
not share his glory, and he does not excuse rebellion.
When the people of Israel compromised
their faith, they incurred the Lord’s wrath.
The Lord sent prophet after prophet to warn the people of Israel and to
call them to repent. They were rejected,
mocked, beaten, imprisoned, and some were killed. The Lord’s patience had run out. The Babylonians came to Jerusalem, destroyed
the city, burned the temple to the ground, and killed many people. The survivors were taken into captivity where
they sat for seventy years. The nation
was as good as dead.
The Lord offered good news for this
captive people. He gave Ezekiel a vision
of dry bones scattered across a valley.
But he declared that the dead bones would have life again. “[The Lord] said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of
Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are
dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them,
Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your
graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of
Israel. And you shall know that I
am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my
people. And I will put my Spirit
within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:11-14).
Although the nation was as good as dead,
they would live again. The Spirit would
breathe in them new life, and a vast army would return to the land God had
promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
It was more than a generous gesture from a gracious God. It was done especially to preserve the
promise. The Savior would come through
this nation and dwell in this Promised Land.
To keep his promise, the Holy Spirit revived the nation and restored the
people. I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord and giver of life.
Ezekiel’s prophecy brought comfort and
hope to a captive people, but it has been recorded for us, too. It is more than a history lesson. It is the image of every person who is a
Christian. This is what the Lord says
about all people who enter this world: “You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked,
following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of
the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among
whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the
desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of
wrath” (Ephesians 2:1-3). All people are
born captive to sin, its power, and its curse.
If you are dead in sin, there is no way for you to fix your miserable
condition. Dead people do not
improve. So it is with the sinful
condition.
Try as you may, you can’t stop being a sinner. It reveals itself when you hear God’s word
and respond, “I don’t agree with that.
I’m not doing it. God will have
to live with it.” Or you might say, “Why
should people who follow other religions not be saved? Who’s to say they are wrong? Aren’t all gods the same?” Somehow, the sinful heart is convinced that
rejecting God’s word is the most loving thing you can do. The sinful heart always finds fault with God
and praises itself. Repent.
Remember, the Lord is a jealous God.
He is jealous for you—not to destroy or to damn you, but to
redeem and to reconcile you. He is
committed to rescuing you from your miserable, sinful condition. Since you are dead in sin, he must come to
you. The Lord must revive and restore
you. And just as God showed Ezekiel, he
does! I believe in the Holy Spirit, the
Lord and giver of life.
Ezekiel wrote, “[The Lord] led me around among (the bones), and behold, there were
very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, ‘Son of man, can
these bones live?’ And I answered,
‘O Lord God, you know.’ Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these
bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:2-3). By the word of the
Lord being preached to those who are dead, the Holy Spirit brings forth new
life.
What does the
Lord say? Through God’s word, the Holy
Spirit reveals that the Lord is the merciful and compassionate God who loves
sinners. He demonstrated that through
Jesus Christ. God the Son came to earth
as a human being to rescue all human beings from the curse of sin. He did that by becoming a curse for us. In obedience to his Father, Jesus took upon
himself the sins of the whole world. And
in bearing those sins, he also bore the curse that came with them. Jesus went to the cross to die under God’s
wrath and to suffer the judgment that sinners deserve.
But just as he
promised, Jesus has overcome death. He is
risen from death and shall live forever.
This living Savior is the source of life for those who were dead in
sin. Jesus has sent his Holy Spirit to
grant you new life. Those who are dead
in sin live for momentary pleasures.
Since those pleasures last only a moment, they are left feeling empty
and have nothing to show for it. Others
pursue worldly glory. Most don’t get
it. Those who do bask in their own
magnificence, stepping on others to achieve greater glory. They die empty handed. Their glory gained them nothing.
But the Holy
Spirit has breathed into you new life.
This life comes from outside of you, and your life is now directed to
those who are outside of you, too. You
get married to devote your life to the good of your spouse. You raise children, care for them, discipline
them, and teach them to pray. You use
your talents and abilities to serve your neighbor. You help those in need. You are kind to those who are hurting. You are patient with those who are
struggling. You do this because this is
how God treats you. The Lord and giver
of life enlightens you to recognize that God is good, his word is true, and his
will is best. He has raised you up from
being dead in sin and makes you live as children of God. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and
giver of life.
Gage, a lot of
this stuff was pretty new to you not too long ago. If we’re being honest, you probably did not
care much about it. But now that you
have been invested in God’s word for a few years, you have a great deal of
comfort in knowing where you stand with God.
You still have lots of questions, so you don’t know everything, but you
do know that God loves you. Jesus has
proved it by taking your sins away. You
don’t live under pressure of doing enough good things to make God happy. You know that God is pleased with you because
Jesus has covered you in his own righteousness.
The Holy Spirit will continue to strengthen you in this faith so that
you remain a child of God forever.
While you will
continue to grow in stature and knowledge, the Holy Spirit shows you what truly
matters. I am sure you have plans and
dreams to become wise and strong and rich, but those don’t save you. Rather, your confirmation verse will
continually remind you where your hope remains: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast
in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who
boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love,
justice, and righteousness in the earth.” (Jeremiah
9:23-24).
This is where you find a life that lasts and a life that matters. You believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and
giver of life because he is the reason you are here.
So, now you who
were dead in sin are alive in Christ Jesus.
Eternal life has already begun for you.
Not that you are in glory yet; that is coming. But the Holy Spirit has brought you into the
kingdom of God. Death no longer has
claim on you. Consider what St. John
wrote in Revelation. “Blessed and
holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power”
(Revelation 20:6). The first
resurrection was worked by the Holy Spirit when he took you from being dead in
sin and made you alive in Christ. The
second death is the eternal judgment in which those who want no part of Jesus
Christ get their wish. They are banished
to an eternity without him. They spent
their lives without God—without peace, comfort, hope, mercy, and rest. They were pleased to be dead in sin; they
will be eternally dead as well. They are
worse than the valley of dry bones Ezekiel saw.
But the Holy
Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, has set you apart. If you are alive in Christ, then death has no
mastery over you. Granted, your body
will pass away because it has been corrupted by sin. It will die and decay, just like everything
else corrupted by sin. But your soul
does not die. You go immediately to be
with Jesus. You will live and receive
perfect peace, comfort, blessing, mercy, and rest. And even though your body will be reduced to
dry bones, the Holy Spirit will breathe into you again. At the resurrection, your bones will come
together. Your body will be covered with
sinews and muscle and skin. Your soul
will be rejoined with your body, and you will live. The Lord and giver of life will raise you up
to everlasting life and strength and glory.
The smart man does not know it.
The strong man cannot take it.
The rich man cannot buy it. But
the Holy Spirit gives it to you for free; for he is the Lord and giver of life.
The vision that
Ezekiel revealed to the captives of Israel seemed impossible to be true. They were stuck in exile. The people were resigned to live in misery
and despair, never to stand in the presence of God’s house again. But the Holy Spirit reveals God’s mercy. It did not matter if the situation in Babylon
was hopeless. It did not matter if they
nation of Israel was as dead as a valley of dry bones. God the Holy Spirit would work through God’s
word, and the word would do what it said.
The Holy Spirit resurrected the nation and restored them to God. He does the same for you. Those who are born dead in sin have new life
as the Holy Spirit breathes into you. He
continues to breathe into you through his word.
“Faith comes by hearing the message” (Romans 10:17). And if you keep on hearing the message, faith
will continue to come and grow strong. The
Lord and giver of life will sustain you in a living faith, it will result in
the resurrection to life everlasting.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
.tif)
.tif)
.tif)