The Collect Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Collect The request for help in dealing with a swiftly changing world is not the usual image of the fixed and static world we associate with the 8th or 9th century when this collect was likely composed! The readings that most relate to the collect are Isaiah 43:16-21 from Year C God promises to do a new thing and rivers will run in the desert. The Gospels deal with Jesus facing a crisis, either his own death [RCL B] or that of Lazarus [RCL A and C]. For Lazarus and ancient Israel in exile, God offered a cure. For Jesus, the ordeal was not avoided. The sentiment from the 8thcentury is an illustration for modern people that we are not the first to feel the world shifting under our feet. But in all these readings God is working out His purpose even over years at a stretch or in an obscure way. The request that God: “Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise…” relates to the RCL B inclusion of Psalm 119 that praises the love and all sufficiency of the Law. Resurrection Today’s lectionary Theme Flesh, bones and spirit! Ezekiel 37:1-14 The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, "Mortal, can these bones live?" I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 37:1-14 So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live." I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude. Ezekiel 37:1-14Then he said to me, "Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, `Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.' Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act," says the Lord. The Valley of Dry Bones, 3rd century C.E.
painting in a synagogue from Dura-Europos, Syria. The Valley of Dry Bones, 3rdcentury C.E.
painting in a synagogue from Dura-Europos, Syria. Ezekiel’s Vision of the Dry Bones
Manuscript by unknown illustrator of Petrus Comestor's 'Bible Historiale', France, 1372 Valley of Dry Bones
Woodcut for 1567 German Bible Valley of Dry Bones
Woodcut for 1567 German Bible Ezekiel's Vision of the Valley of the Dry Bones
from The Doré Bible
Woodcut by Gustave Doré (1832-1883) David Bomberg, Vision of Ezekiel 1912
Oil on canvas, 1143 x 1372 mm, Tate Gallery Introduction to Ezekiel Ezekiel was a priest whose ministry to his fellow exiles extended from 593 to perhaps 563 B.C. The latest date in the book is of the year 571 B.C. The oracles of warning Chaps 1-24 are dated before the fall of Jerusalem. The oracles of hope Chaps 33-48 belong after the fall of Jerusalem. The original collection was rewritten and expanded by an editor. The text has suffered much in transmission; as a consequence, the interpretation is frequently uncertain. Oracles of restoration This is the famous “Vision of the valley of dry bones” Symbolism -Bones – the exiles without hope of resuscitating Israel. There is a word play as the same Hebrew word means – spirit, breath and wind. The vision is seen by Christians as an anticipation of the doctrine of resurrection. Context The oracles before and after the reading speak of destruction and rescues for Israel and sometimes its enemies. Psalm 130 De profundis 1 Out of the depths have I called to you, O LORD; LORD, hear my voice; * let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication. 2 If you, LORD, were to note what is done amiss, * O Lord, who could stand? 3 For there is forgiveness with you; * therefore you shall be feared. Psalm 130 De profundis 4 I wait for the LORD; my soul waits for him; * in his word is my hope. 5 My soul waits for the LORD, more than watchmen for the morning, * more than watchmen for the morning. 6 O Israel, wait for the LORD, * for with the LORD there is mercy; 7 With him there is plenteous redemption, * and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins. Pslam 130 The Psalm is a lament and is entitled as an “Song of Ascents” The writer’s trouble is only vaguely referred to in the text. The attitude is one of passive waiting for rescue by the Lord. Like dry bones or Lazarus before resurrection. Romans 8:6-11 Part 1 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law-- indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8:6-11 Part 2 But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. Life in the flesh and in the Spirit The symbol of living according to the flesh is to be dominated by selfish passions. In contrast living according to the Spirit is to belong to the new community of faith where God dwells as the Spirit. Note the interchangeable use of the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of Christ. Opposites? The verse that precedes the lectionary:
Romans 8 Life in the Spirit “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Paul's Trap Remember Paul must argue that the LAW and God’s promises under the Law were valid. God is also a ‘just’ God. At the same time, he must establish that the LAW is not adequate for Salvation and thus the need for Jesus. His answer that spares God from error, is the influence of the ‘Flesh’ – Adam and Eve…. The Sacrifice of Jesus was “so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled.” Paul's Conclusion The argument ends with a promise “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.” Is this the promise answered by our present life? Or is this promise about a different Life? Afterlife and Immortality. Two ideas concerning the fate of the soul after death were held in tension during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The first was that of resurrection, that is, that at the end of time the soul would be rejoined with the body and each person would then receive reward or punishment. The second idea was that the immortal soul lived on after the death of the body, and immediately received its reward or punishment - the righteous receive salvation, but the wicked are given over to fiery torments. Afterlife and Immortality. In early Christianity, the tension of the "already" of immortality and the "not yet" of resurrection continued to exist. Paul through Romans is the ‘not yet’ Proponent. The community of John was of the ‘already’ with the notion that the bodily resurrection was overridden by the spiritual life of the believer in Christ. Neither view has become dominant, and both continue to exist in tension in Judaism and Christianity until the present. John 11:1-45 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. John 11:1-45 Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them." After saying this, he told them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him." The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right." Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him.” John 11:1-45 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” John 11:1-45 When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” John 11:1-45 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go." Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. Giotto, Raising of Lazarus (Scenes from the Life of Christ), 1304-06
Fresco, 200 x 185 cm, Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua Duccio di Buoninsegna, Resurrection of Lazarus, 1308-11
Tempera on wood, 43,5 x 46 cm, Kimbell Art Museum, Forth Worth Juan de Flandes, The Raising of Lazarus, 1510-18
Oil on panel, 110 x 84 cm, Museo del Prado, Madrid Sebastiano del Piombo, The Raising of Lazarus, 1517-19
Oil on canvas, 381 x 289 cm, National Gallery, London Rembrandt van Rijn, The Raising of Lazarus, c. 1630
Oil on panel, 96.2 x 81.5 cm
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles Luca Giordano, Raising of Lazarus, c. 1675
Oil on canvas, 256 x 362 cm, Private collection Luca Giordano, Raising of Lazarus, c. 1675
Oil on canvas, 256 x 362 cm, Private collection LAZARUS The brother of Martha and Mary, and intimate friend of Jesus, who raised him from the dead Of his subsequent life nothing is told in the NT. According to Eastern tradition he and his sisters and some friends were put into a leaking boat by the Jews and, being miraculously preserved, landed on Cyprus, where he was made Bishop at Kition. According to Western tradition the legend spread that he had been Bp. of Marseilles and martyred under Domitian, a story probably due to confusion with a 5th cent. Bp. Lazarus of Aix. Devotion to Lazarus appears to have been widespread in the early Church. His feast is still observed in the West on 17 December. RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD The belief that at the Parousia or Second Coming' of Christ departed souls will be restored to a bodily life and the saved will enter in this renewed form upon the life of heaven is a fundamental element in the Christian doctrine of man's final destiny. It has at times been the prevailing view that the resurrection will involve a collection and revivifying of the material particles of the dead body. Many theologians, however, following the principles of St. Paul, hold that the resurrection body will be new and `spiritual‘ body of a new order, a perfect but recognizable organism of the same personality. Miracles in John Six signs in the Fourth Gospel Each of the six “signs” or Miracles of John are associated with a Discourse and one of the “I am” Sayings John's Miracles In the gospel of John, the emphasis of the miracle stories falls on their symbolic significance. The story of the healing of the man born blind, who symbolizes the blindness of traditional Jewish piety as to who Jesus is, and the light of understanding that faith brings . The raising of Lazarus from the dead is, of course, the symbol of the triumph over death accomplished through Jesus . The symbolic significance of Jesus' miracles for John is made explicit in John 20.30-31, where the writer tells us that he has chosen to report these particular signs in order that readers might see Jesus as the Messiah of God, through whom new life is given. Miracles and Questions A miracle is traditionally regarded or defined as a sensible fact produced by the special intervention of God for a religious end, transcending the normal order of things usually termed a law of nature. The possibility of miracles began to be questioned with the rise of modern science in the 17th and 18th centuries. The rationalists hold that the miracles were facts within the sphere of natural explanation, or were misrepresented by credulous contemporaries. Traditionalists hold the view that miracles are not only possible they are likely since if God is the supreme first cause of all, He is not subject to the laws of nature and it would be likely that from time to time He should act directly, free from secondary causes. Hans Kung " On Being a Christian" What is demanded is not faith in Miracles but faith in Jesus - quoting John “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” “More important than the number of and extent of the cures, expulsions of devils and wonderful deeds is the fact that Jesus turns with sympathy and compassion to all those to whom no one else turns; the weak, sick, neglected, social rejects. People were and are always glad to pass these by. “Jesus does not turn away from any of these, he rejects none of them. He does not treat the sick as sinners, but draws them to himself to cure them.”
