Musings from the Pastor’s Desk

March 22, 2026

Can These Dry Bones Live – A Lenten Word of Hope

In Ezekiel 37:3, the prophet stands in a valley of dry bones, a lifeless and scattered place beyond human repair. God asks a question that echoes across generations, especially during our turbulent times: “Can these bones live?”

I loved the answer to this question from a reflection for the fifth Sunday in Lent in the March issue of The Christian Century. The personal and communal response to the question moved me. The valley of dry bones becomes a metaphor for moments when life feels depleted after grief, illness, loss, or profound disruption. The author names what many of us experience but rarely articulate: sometimes we are not just struggling, but we feel like “a pile of dry bones,” exhausted from simply surviving.

I can imagine how our immigrants feel like a pile of dry bones, as well as those who are displaced by the wars happening in the Middle East and in Ukraine. One of the article’s central insights is hopeful: “We cannot bring ourselves back to life on our own.” It plainly says, “dry bones don’t resurrect themselves.” This aligns with Ezekiel’s vision, in which restoration begins not with human effort but with God’s ruach, which animates what was dead. Ruach is a Hebrew word primarily meaning wind, breath, or spirit. Occurring 387 times in the Hebrew Bible, it signifies an invisible yet powerful force, representing both the animating breath of life in humans and animals and the Spirit of God that hovers, empowers, and sustains creation.

God’s life-giving work often comes facilitated through community. Renewal happens through presence, relationship, and persistent care through people who refuse to give up on one another. A phone call, a visit, a listening ear, all become how God’s breath reaches us.

Teresa of Ávila’s words point to our work in God’s kingdom: “Christ has no body but ours, no hands or feet on earth but ours.” In other words, the answer to God’s question, “Can these dry bones live?” is yes, but we play a role in God’s work on earth: when God speaks life, when the Spirit breathes, and when the people of God embody that life for one another. Ezekiel’s vision is not just about what God can do, but it is about what God does through us. We become the voice that speaks hope, the hands that bind wounds, and the presence that walks with others out of the valley.

In this Lenten season, the question for us is, where do we see dry bones in our lives, our communities, and our world? And how might God be calling us to be the breath of life for someone else? How can we look at the world with eyes of compassion and understanding? As the author notes: “We can be the voice and presence of God bringing living water to a thirsty world.”

Join us on Sunday at 10:30 AM or on Facebook at Hopeclinton and drink from the fountain of Hope. We will have soup and bread!

All are welcome!

Pastor Eric

Source: https://www.christiancentury.org/print/pdf/node/44914?utm_source=chatgpt.com “Dry bones don’t resurrect themselves.”