INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE

Year A - Fifth Sunday in Lent

EZEKIEL 37:1-14..   The Book of Ezekiel was so compellingly imaginative that in strict Jewish circles young people were not permitted to read it alone.

          The haunting passage comes from a long section expressing hope for a new age initiated by God. It was probably written soon after the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple in 586 BC. The prophet urged his devastated nation to look beyond that catastrophe to a future that vindicated God's justice and promised the restoration of the nation by the action of Gods spirit.

PSALM 130.  As a prayer of penitence this psalm has few equals.  It reflects of an actual situation evoking a desperate cry for God's forgiveness.  The need to be reconciled to God has universal application in the patient hope with which the psalm ends.

ROMANS 8:6-11. Paul discusses two levels of existence: The physical which will end when our physical resources are exhausted; and the spiritual level with the ongoing assurance of life beyond death. Life focused only in this world is the way to the death that is ultimately separation from God. The spirit>filled life is full of energy and intimacy with God now and forever.

JOHN 11:1-45.  The story of the raising of Lazarus is the sixth of seven signs John gives to prove that Jesus is the Messiah/Christ, Son of God, and that through faith in him believers receive eternal life. Even as the event shows Jesus' divine power over death itself, it also shows him as a wonderfully sensitive human being. His love for Lazarus is palpable. Martha's and Mary's accusation that Jesus' presence would have averted Lazarus' death tells how real their friendship was. So also did Jesus' tears. 

          The story, which may be a midrash or interpretative story, is also John’s reflection on the significance of the resurrection. Because Jesus is fully human and fully divine, life and death are his gifts to give.

A More Complete Analysis:

EZEKIEL 37:1-14.  The Book of Ezekiel was so compellingly imaginative that in strict Jewish circles young people were not permitted to read it alone. This passage contains one of the best known of the prophet’s visions. It comes from a long section (33:1-39:29) expressing hope for the restoration of Israel initiated by Yahweh.  Probably experienced soon after the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple in 586 BC, it urges the devastated nation to look beyond that catastrophe to a future that vindicates God's justice and promises redemption.

The image of the valley of dry bones may well have come from an actual battle site. The location of this site cannot be determined and may well be imaginary. Some scholars relate it to *the plain* in 3:22-23. Although Ezekiel is thought to have spent most of his ministry in Babylon, the vision could also have been a memory from the destruction of Jerusalem. This vision is also thought to have influenced a similar experience in Revelation 11:7-10 although a scene of a massacre such as this was not unfamiliar in ancient times. Or, tragically, even now.

Bones had a special meaning in ancient Hebrew thought. The Hebrew word *hetsem* repeated eight times in this passage, derived from a root meaning *to be powerful* and hence indicated stability and firmness. If the bones were strong and firm, then the soul was also strong. Because of this relationship, careful attention was given to the burial of bones. That these bones lay exposed long after death accentuated the spiritual tragedy which had befallen Israel.

The promised resurrection was more than the enfleshing of skeletons and resuscitation of the dead. It included the restoration of the whole community. The prophet’s conversation with Yahweh (vss. 3-10) emphasizes that it is the Lord who takes the initiative to restore life to the skeletons. Whereas the people had lost all hope of restoration (vs. 11), Yahweh insists that not only will they be raised from death and given a new life, but also will return to their homeland (vss.12-14).

The effective agent of this resurrection is the Spirit of Yahweh (vs. 14). Remembering that the Hebrew word *ruach* means breath, wind and spirit, we can see the play on the word throughout the passage in vss. 4, 6, 9, 10 and 14. This recalls the creation stories of Genesis 1:2ff and 2:7ff. The same vibrant Spirit infused the apostles on Pentecost, equipped them for their mission,  led to the creative assembling of the NT, and still inspires and empowers the Christian community so created.

PSALM 130.  As a prayer of penitence this psalm has few equals.  It reflects of an actual situation evoking a desperate cry for God's forgiveness.  In these few lines of exquisite poetry we find an impressive description of the burden of unforgiven sin, estrangement from God which sin causes, and a passionate longing for reconciliation.

While we do not know exactly what sins the psalmist had committed or what other calamity may have befallen him, we sense that he despairs for his life. The depth of his depression comes vividly to mind when one recognizes that the Hebrew mind did not contemplate any life beyond death. The phrase “out of the depths” in vs.1 expresses the fear of being engulfed in the waters of Sheol into which the dead were believed to sink never to reappear. (See also Isa. 51:10; Ezek. 27:34; Jonah 2:3.) As a people of the land who had passed miraculously through the waters of the Red Sea, the Israelites knew no greater fear.

The poem moves from the general to the specific by voicing the common failure of humanity (vss.3-4), then pleading the psalmist’s own case (vss. 5-6). Finally, his trust that Yahweh will be merciful mitigates his sense of guilt and moves him to wait for divine pardon with hope inspired by faith in Yahweh’s word, i.e. the covenant. A rich metaphor, twice repeated, expands the concept of trustful waiting.

The image of a watchman waiting for the morning suggests that the psalmist could have been a member of the temple guard, one of the two groups of Levites whose task it was to protect the sanctity of the temple precincts and its treasures from nocturnal infiltrators and thieves. Guards on the city walls or watching a sleeping caravan could also have been the source of the metaphor. Anyone who has stood a night watch knows how long the hours seem before dawn breaks.

In the closing verses, the poet again expresses the faith of the community in Yahweh’s steadfast love and power to redeem as had frequently happened throughout Israel’s history. The need to be reconciled thus receives universal application resting on Yahweh’s historical deliverance of Israel according to the covenant promise.

ROMANS 8:6-11. Paul discusses two levels of existence or two principles of life: the physical which will end when our physical resources are exhausted; and the spiritual with the ongoing assurance of eternal life. It is difficult for us who have a relatively comfortable existence with moderately effective support systems to contemplate exactly what Paul meant by this contrast. We find it all to easy “to set our minds on the flesh” and leave whatever lies beyond to theological argument.

In many respects, Paul may have been recalling the two ways of life the Deuteronomists had set before Israel: the way of life and the way of death. But the Deuteronomists emphasized obedience to the law of the covenant as the means of  assuring the Israelites a life of security in the land promised to their patriarchal ancestors forever (Deut. 30:19-20). It is here that Paul differed with his ancestral tradition. He had a totally different scenario in mind. Life focused only on this world and on satisfying one’s natural impulses is the way to the death that is ultimately separation from God. This is the end for those who “set their minds on the flesh.”

Paul wrote after the resurrection of Christ and Pentecost, when the Spirit the prophet Joel promised would come “in the last days” had actually been “poured out” on the Christian community. As he says in vs. 9, “the Spirit  of God dwells in you.” For him, the Spirit-filled life is full of energy and intimacy with God now and forever.

Thus Paul was not dreaming of an other-worldly existence “in the sky by and by.” He knew full well that every human life must be lived in the real world. It was the kind of life one lives that is so important to him. This is nothing short of the life of Christ in us made real and effective by the work of the Spirit (vs. 10-11). 

Equally important in Paul’s thinking is the empowering action of God, Christ and the Spirit in the life of the ordinary Christian. Nowhere in the NT is the activity of what the church subsequently defined as the three Persons of the Trinity more clearly expressed. In this passage the three are virtually interchangeable.  Paul goes so far as to use the two phrases “the Spirit of God” and the “Spirit of Christ” in successive sentences. He had fully comprehended the truth that God acted in Jesus Christ, not only throughout Jesus’ human life and ministry, but especially in raising Jesus from the dead to be the living Christ present to all believers through the Spirit actively changing our lives here and now (vs.11).

JOHN 11:1-45.  The story of the raising of Lazarus is the sixth of seven signs John gives to prove that Jesus is the Messiah Christ, Son of God, and that through faith in him believers receive eternal life. Hence, the telling of this miracle leads directly to the climax of the gospel story and the greatest sign of all - the resurrection. Throughout the gospel, John’s purpose had been to show that in all that Jesus of Nazareth said and did God was fully present, actively revealing and “glorifying” the redemptive power of God’s love. Of this not even Jesus’ closest friends were fully aware until after the resurrection.

As this story proceeds, Martha gradually becomes aware and believes. That is the significance of the interchange between Martha and Jesus resulting in another of the characteristic “I am ...” proclamations found only in John’s Gospel (vs. 25), and Martha’s confession of faith (vs. 27). Yet even she, like countless others since, experiences a moment of real doubt when Jesus orders the tomb to be opened (vss. 39-40). 

While the miracle of raising Lazarus from the grave shows Jesus' divine power over death itself, it also shows him as a wonderfully sensitive human being.  His love for Lazarus and his sisters is palpable.  Martha's and Mary's accusation that Jesus' presence would have averted Lazarus' death tells how real their friendship was.  So also did Jesus' tears. All cultural aspects of ostentatious grief aside, the story represents the best of that special human quality of openly expressing their real feelings. This same quality also comes through in Martha’s revulsion at the stench of her brother’s decaying corpse.

Not to be overlooked, however, is the dramatic intensity building throughout John’s narrative. Martha’ s accusation (vss. 21) sets the stage for Jesus to declare, “I am the resurrection and the life,” and for Martha to confess her faith in him. When Mary repeats the accusation, Jesus uses it to reveal his very human feelings (vss. 33-38) and then perform the miracle.

By means of this miracle story, John is telling his own 1^st century community and us that because Jesus is fully human and fully divine, life and death are his gifts to give. This too is the meaning of his resurrection and the basis of hope for ours.

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