Saturday, April 16, 2022
/Easter Vigil
Genesis 22:1-8; Exodus 14:10—15:1; Ezekiel 37:1-14; Romans 6:3-11; Luke 24:1-12
The Rev. Jef Bohanski
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
My mother is a prolific knitter. She makes afghans. She’s made a couple afghans for each of her five children and their spouses, three for each of her fourteen grandchildren – a baby size, a junior size, and an adult size. She has also made countless afghans for friends, neighbors, and their extended families. She tells me now she is beginning to make afghans for her great-grandchildren. (The third one is on its way.)
Mom’s baby afghans are blue, pink, or yellow. The color of each junior or adult size afghan is chosen by the recipient. If the recipient is lucky, she’ll take him or her to her favorite yarn shop and have that person choose the actual yarn itself.
Mom’s afghans are easily identified in someone’s home. She uses the same pattern for every afghan she makes. Her pattern is the cable twirl. There are eight twirl cables that resemble two twirled ropes running down the length of each afghan.
As I was preparing for the sermon, it occurred to me that Ezekiel’s reading, The Valley of Dry Bones, unites Jews and Christians in much the same way as the cable twirl pattern of one of my mother’s afghans. Ezekiel’s reading is one of the readings used on the sabbath of Passover week. We use it every year on this night, the Easter Vigil. (Passover and Easter always happen at the same time of the year, every year.)
Them dry bones! Them dry bones! In this, the third of four visions, Ezekiel experiences and prophesies to Israel that God will restore His people, Israel. God will take them from their graves of exile and return them to the land of Israel. God will put his spirt within them and they shall live on their own soil, and they shall know that God, their God has done that. God will restore them. And God did.
Them dry bones! Them dry bones! How often have you and I felt like them dry bones that have been laying there after a long battle and that have been picked over by birds and were left there to decay where they fell? Like when you and I are hungry and need food, like when you and I are sick and need someone to take care of us, like when you and I are tired and we need rest, or when you and I were alone or troubled and we need someone to comfort us, or when you and I have been in prison of any kind, and we’ve needed someone to visit.
Did you notice in Luke’s Gospel we heard this evening, on Easter Vigil, the most important Service of the year; Jesus was not there at the tomb at all? We heard about the women from Galilee and the men in dazzling clothes, but no Jesus. Where is Jesus? The men in dazzling clothes tell us that Jesus is not with the dead, but among the living. What does this mean, Jesus will be found amongst the living? Luke will go on to finish this book and use the next book, The Acts of the Apostles, to tell about how the resurrected Jesus being among the living.
At our house, Victor and I have a disagreement about Salvador Dali’s last supper picture hanging in our office. He doesn’t like it because Jesus’ posture reminds him of the 1983 movie, Sudden Impact where Dirty Harry, played by Clint Eastwood says, “Go ahead, make my day.” I like the picture because in this picture Jesus is translucent, while the people at table are deep in prayer. This picture reminds me that the resurrected Jesus is there, at the breaking of the bread.
I believe that Luke’s empty tomb tells us today that whenever the hungry are fed, the resurrected Jesus is there ready to restore dry bones. When one is sick and someone is there to take care of that person, the resurrected Jesus can be found ready to renew dry bones. I believe when someone is alone or troubled and someone is there to comfort that person, the resurrected Jesus can be found ready to refresh dry bones. I believe that the resurrected Jesus will be here tonight with us at the breaking of the bread.
This morning I was fortunate enough to be somewhere where I heard about someone who did not want a funeral service. Mind you, I never met this person, but I did know and respect someone who knew and cared for the deceased. Knowing that someone, I felt the need to hear about this individual who did not want a funeral service. During the service, I heard how this person fed people, welcomed people and how this person entertained people. I learned about how this person clothed people and how her clothes can be found across the United States. Again, I have never met this person, but from what I heard, this person helped to bring the resurrected Jesus to people so he could heal many dry bones, if this person knew it or not.
I tell my children in school to monitor the world around them. My prayer for us all this Easter Vigil is that we will all monitor the world around us. I pray we take a moment to see where we can help bring about the resurrected Jesus so he can tend to the dry bones of those who are hungry, sick, lonely, and troubled. For as we look and find Jesus among the living, so will our dry bones be healed. Amen