A Voice in the Wilderness

2020-05-27

Dry Bones

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.  Eze 37:1 

Dry bones. Dusty, withered, disconnected, and scattered skeletons.   Not good for anything, but once, a while back, they were people, real living human beings. Ezekiel has a vision of God's chosen people in exile - scattered, withering and without hope.

​God calls Ezekiel to prophesy over the bones, to speak His living and life-giving words over hopeless ruins. Suddenly there is movement.  Bones rattle to order with sinews, tendons and flesh layered and secured. But these bones still are not human, not fully alive.  The most vital element is still missing. Once again the prophet speaks and this time there is breath! God's breath of life itself - the same breath that called creation to order in the beginning of time, the same breath that transformed Adam from a lump of clay to a living human being!

​​​With a single breath over dry bones, God imparts a promise that His beloved children will not remain in exile and that they will once again have a righteous king to rule over them. That which was dead and dry and scattered will come alive!

All around us is a “valley of dry bones.”  We live, work, shop, and play among (and with) people who are dry, dusty, scattered, withered, lifeless. They too are living in exile…separated from the God longs to give them the breath of life. Their lives are fragmented, scattered, hopeless, and withered from the inside out. They ache to be put together, to feel whole, centered and connected.

So, God calls us just as he called Ezekiel, to speak to the dry bones (ourselves included) “Come alive!”This is exactly what many of us have been doing for the past several days. During this season of “Thy Kingdom Come” we have been praying for friends, family and our community to experience the new life available in Jesus Christ.

The breath of God is very real for all of us who claim Jesus as our Righteous King. In baptism, we have received the Holy Spirit, the living breath of God! The same Holy Spirit poured out on the day of Pentecost is now active in our lives.

On Sunday we will celebrate the feast of Pentecost.  We will remember how God has rescued us from a dry, lifeless, and withered life; how he has put His breath in us, and how we too have come alive!

​And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.  John 20:22 

Blessings,

Matthew+

Coming up...

Join us for Worship this Week

Saturday: Evening Prayer at 5:00 PM 

May 30, 2020 05:00 PM Mountain Time

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Sunday: Morning Prayer at 9:30 AM 

May 31, 2020 09:30 AM Mountain Time 

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You can find a PDF copy for both services by clicking the buttons below.

The Gospel according to Matthew

Fr. Matthew is offering a study on the Gospel of Matthew on Sunday mornings at 11:00 AM. Grab your bible and bring your questions as we open the scriptures together.

On Sundays, our study uses our morning prayer ZOOM link.

Coffee and Conversation

Join us at 10:30 on Wednesdays for a Virtual Coffee and Conversation. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and join us for some informal conversation.

Join the Zoom Meeting
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This Sunday's Readings

The lectionary readings for this Sunday are:

• Psalm 104:25-35, 37

• 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

• John 20:19-23

You can read them online here.

A word about giving

We recognize that there are a lot of folks who have been hit hard during this crisis and are grateful to the generosity of this community.

Some of you have asked what to do with your regular pledge and offering while we are not gathering together on Saturdays and Sundays. You may mail them to the church (we are picking up the mail every day) and we will put them in the offering plate and bless them during the service. You might also consider using bill-pay through you local bank if they offer that service.

Church Directory

Now more that ever we want to make sure our church directory is up to date. If you have moved or changed phone numbers in the past year, please click here to fill out your current information.

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