God is undefeated by death

Ezekiel 37:1-14 The hand of the Lord was upon me. He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley, which was full of bones. ² He had me pass through them and go all over among them. There were very many on the valley floor, and they were very dry.

³ He said to me, “Son of man, can these dry bones live?” I answered, “Lord God, you know.” ⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’”

⁵ This is what the Lord God says to these bones.

I am about to make breath enter you so that you will live. ⁶ I will attach tendons to you. I will put flesh back on you. I will cover you with skin and put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

⁷ So I prophesied as I had been commanded, and as I was prophesying there was a noise, a rattling, as the bones came together, one bone connecting to another. ⁸ As I watched, tendons were attached to them, then flesh grew over them, and skin covered them. But there was no breath in them.

⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the wind. Prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind that this is what the Lord God says. From the four winds, come, O wind, and breathe into these slain so that they may live.”

¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me. Breath entered them, and they came back to life. They stood on their feet, a very, very large army.

¹¹ Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up. Our hope is lost. We have been completely cut off.’ ¹² Therefore, prophesy and say to them that this is what the Lord God says. My people, I am going to open your graves and raise you up from your graves and bring you back to the soil of Israel. ¹³ Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you up from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴ I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live. I will settle you on your own land, and you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.”

The Psalmist prays for certain victory: “Rise up, O Lord! Save me, my God! Yes, you will strike all my enemies on the jaw. The teeth of the wicked you will break.” (Psalm 3:7)

Ezekiel was standing in the valley. The valleys was gray and colorless, barren and dry. There was no life in the valley. No grass growing. No flowers blooming. No birds singing or critters skittering.

The decay of death hung heavy over the valley.

As Ezekiel walked through the valley, he had to step carefully. Before him was a ghastly sight. The valley was covered with dry, bleached bones.

There were no voices laughing or talking in the valley – only silence. There were no fragrances of perfume or perspiration – only expiration. There was no movement – only dried up, old bones.

God had deposited his prophet into a valley full of dry bones.

God told Ezekiel to preach to these bones. He was to preach the Word of life to people who were dead. Ezekiel preached, “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord God says to these bones. I am about to make breath enter you so that you will live. I will attach tendons to you. I will put flesh back on you. I will cover you with skin and put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:4-6).

Immediately, Ezekiel heard the silent valley filled with sound. It was the sound of rattling. The still valley was filled with movement. Ezekiel saw the bones coming together, bone to bone. Tendons and flesh appeared on the bones and covered them.

But there was no life in them. Because there was no breath in them.

God told Ezekiel to preach again. So Ezekiel preached, “From the four winds, come, O wind, and breathe into these slain so that they may live” (Ezekiel 37:9).

The valley was immediately filled with the sound like the rushing of a violent wind that came from heaven (Acts 2:2). It filled the whole valley. The wind was the breath of the Holy Spirit.

The breath of life filled each of the newly formed bodies. The silent valley suddenly was filled with voices talking and laughing. The still valley was filled with movement with people hugging and children running. The barren valley was filled with vibrancy and color. The valley of dry bones was transformed into the vast army of the Lord (Ezekiel 37:10).

Death is an uninvited visitor to this world. It is an unwelcome intruder into lives. It is a terrible rending of the soul from the body. It tears apart families. Death barges in to create chaos and grief.

But history proves that God is undefeated by death.

Elijah stretched himself over the widow of Zarephath’s son and cried out to the Lord until life was returned to the boy (1 Kings 17:17-24).

Elisha lay on top of the Shunamite woman’s son until he became warm and sneezed seven times (2 Kings 4:32-37)

A dead man was thrown into the tomb of Elisha. When his corpse touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man came back to life and walked out of the tomb (2 Kings 13:20-21)

Jesus stopped a funeral procession to raise a man from the casket (Luke 7:11-17).

Jesus grasped the hand of Jairus’ daughter and told her to rise (Mark 5:35-43).

Jesus called to his friend Lazarus to come out of the tomb (John 11:39-44).

Many deceased saints arose from their graves when the Son of God died (Matthew 27:52-53).

Peter prayed for Tabitha to get up (Acts 9:40).

Paul revived a man who died during one of his sermons (Acts 20:9-10).

Dead had claimed all these people. God reclaimed them with his Word and breath of life. Death was forced to release each of them. Since death could not hold the Son of God (1 Corinthians 15:1-8), it could not hold those who belong to the Son of God. Jesus defeated death when he walked out of the grave alive. The breath of life had returned! Jesus walked through the dark, barren valley of death and come out on the other side. He walked that dark valley so he might know the way and lead all the dead to the other side to the green pastures and quiet waters in the valley of paradise.

But there were a few times where Jesus led people back through the valley so they could be returned to the land of the living.

For our God is undefeated by death.

Disease and death have always been a part of this world since the fall into sin. Countless generations around the globe have lived daily with the threat of disease and death. It is only recently where current generations of Americans have seen that disease and death are a reality.

In our modern world, we easily blind ourselves to our mortality. Entertainment keeps our minds distracted from it. Modern medicine gives us the false idea that we can stave off death indefinitely. But now, death has come closer and we are forced to reckon with it every time we go out and interact with people.

Death is a reality we all must face. It is the curse laid upon humanity for our rebellion against God.

You may have seen the recent viral video of the Hollywood elite singing John Lennon’s song, “Imagine.” They were singing “imagine no possessions” from their palatial mansions. They were trying to inspire the rest of humanity to lose sight of their current troubles by singing off-key to an inane, nihilistic song. They were encouraging people to live “for today.”

College students are listening to this song and continue to party as they ignore the pandemic. They are “living for today.”

The devil wants us to fear death. To panic. To live for self. To live for this life. To live for today.

Covid-19 gives us Christians a different perspective. We recognize our fragile mortality. But we don’t fear death. For we have a God who has defeated death. We Christians see this as a time to set aside childish things, to remove temporal pleasures and discard selfish pursuits. We live for something greater. We know that this life has more to offer us than this life. We are living for the life to come.

Our society is fearful because our culture no longer believes in a God who intervenes on behalf of his people. The modern deity is technology. But that god offers no hope or comfort in a time of fear and anxiety. Our culture is panicky because they have no back-up plan – only the stark and fearful reality magnified by talking heads in the media and dialog bubbles on social media.

Satan would love to torment us with this same panic. But God wants to deliver us from this. That’s why he sent his Son Jesus to give his life for us so we could have a life that never ends.

Fellow Christians, this is our time to shine! In a world of panic, we bring the calm confidence that our incarnate God is in control. God created all this and the resurrected Christ reigns supremely as the Lord of all for “in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17).

In the valley of death, we breath the words of the Lord which bring life. We confidently preach: “Death is swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your sting? Grave, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)!

In a culture where people are applauded for singing of a godless utopia where people live for today, we sing louder of the resurrection on the Last Day. We may be celebrating Easter online for worship. But the first Sunday we are can gather together in Epiphany’s sanctuary, we are going to celebrate Easter again! I know this is hard where you can’t sing as much at home. We Lutherans love to sing. We need to sing. And we will sing the great Easter resurrection hymns in church. And our neighbors will hear us!

Fellow Christians, this is our time to shine! We are in this world, but not of it. Our lives are anchored in the Savior who was made flesh for our salvation, who suffered and died in our place on the cross and who rose to grant us a world without end and a life no death can steal.

This is our time to shine! We can be cautious and prudent and follow the law and medical advice, but still shine with the Light of Christ in a world in crisis.

This is our time to shine! Our world is in search of real hope, of life that can withstand the onslaught of disease and death. We offer the presence of a God who will not abandon us as we near the dark valley of death. We have this hope in us. We need to share this hope with so many who have lost all hope.

The greatest generation saved the world by going overseas to fight a war. We are asked to save the world from the comfort of our couches.

Contrary to what some might say, now there is more work to be done than ever before. In a time of social-distancing and quarantines, it is easy to sit back and go about our lives in relative comfort, oblivious to the world around us. But the world needs men and women of faith right now. It needs the body of Christ to rise up and get moving. Christ is the head of the body. He is calling you to be his hands.

The world needs you to gather your family around the family altar for worship. Pray for your pastor, your teachers, your church, school, high school and synod. Pray for those infected and affected with this disease. Turn off Netflix and pray. Pray without ceasing.

Help one another. Practice social-distancing, wear your masks and gloves and go help the elderly. Help those who can’t look after themselves. Call. Write cards. Provide for those who are in need. Stand at the window and talk to people over the phone.

Self-preservation seems to be the mantra. We who are called to be God’s handiwork, on the other hand, are to be selflessly loving and serving our neighbors by our good works (Ephesians 2:10). It is for such a time as this that we are called.

Fellow Christians, do not fear. Do not panic. Do not despair. We respect death. We expect death. So, we are not afraid of death. That’s because we have a God who has overcome death in the valley, in the little child’s bed, in the casket, in the grave, and in the garden tomb.

Let your resurrection light shine in the shadow of this world. Let your voice be heard in the cacophony of godless chatter. Let the breath of the Lord be a violent rushing wind to drive away the panic and fear.

God is using this time to expose the heart of fear in the world. We can show them the beating heart of faith in the body of Christ. We can demonstrate the love of the Father in heaven, proclaim the resurrection power of the Lord Jesus Christ, and share the peace only the Holy Spirit can give.

All because our God is undefeated by death. Amen.

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Corinthians 15:57) Amen.