“… suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and bones came together, bone to its bone…and the breath came into them and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude … I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live” – Ezekiel 37:1-14 (vs.7)
By the power of the Holy Spirit, the prophet Ezekiel relays a message to the faithful remnant of God’s people, sanctifying and replenishing the community. God’s spirit reconstructs bone fragments in anatomical order, foot to head, and it’s captivating. The ground of hope is that God can take what looks like nothing and make it something. God makes life appear in death-defining spaces. God can infuse even the direst situations with new possibilities – God sends the four winds of the Holy Spirit to activate bodies. God opens graves laden with despair, disappointment, and disenfranchisement and turns things around by instigating hope and healing. Having often preached this text in the context of the Black church a reminder to the hearers is proclaimed … “nothing is over until God says it’s over.” Yet, to hear this text with hope requires holy imagination.
This pandemic that caused our buildings’ doors to close has been disheartening; we will need to face forward with courage as we reconstitute and replenish souls impoverished by a lack of connection. I am excited, though, because these times offer an opportunity for a new way of being seen in our communities and seeing our communities – post-pandemic. Remember the church has never been closed, just the building. With hope and holy anticipation, we live and can and will thrive relying on the abiding presence of Christ’s love and power of the Holy Spirit in us!
Friends, I am excited and humbled to begin this new leg of the journey in God’s story as witnessed in the Capital District. I look forward to our shared ministry and the opportunities it presents to connect with those seeking identity, purpose, and belonging. I welcome the chance to re-connect with the lay and clergy of our district, and “The Capital Connection” newsletter will be one facet for doing so. May we all thrive amidst contagious joy, acknowledging times of holy frustration but never forgetting to spread the hope that comes in relationship with Christ and the communities in which we find our lives intermingled.
Yes, these bones can live!
Grace, Peace, & Hope,
Chris
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follow this link: https://capitaldistrictnc.org/category/from-the-ds/