Word to the Wise
Friday, August 19, 2016 - Friday in the 20th Week in Ordinary Time
[Ezek 37:1-14 and Matt 22:34-40]The hand of the Lord came upon me, and led me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the center of the plain, which was now filled with bones. He made me walk among the bones in every direction so that I saw how many they were on the surface of the plain. How dry they were! He asked me: Son of man, can these bones come to life? I answered: "Lord God, you alone know that.' [Ezekiel]
Ezekiel is a vivid prophet, but nowhere more vivid than in his famous vision of the dry bones. Some of us can well remember how this vision inspired the song that Tennessee Ernie Ford made famous: "Them bones, them bones, them dryyyyyy bones! Now hear the word of the Lord!" I can never read this vision without thinking of that song, but also thinking of the vision's power to inspire. It was directed to the Jewish community in exile in Babylon who were in danger of losing hope, but it could be directed to any of us in the Church who, for one reason or another feel God has abandoned us. Those "dry bones" could be personal or corporate.
In the Spring of 2014, our Southern Dominican Province held its elective "chapter" to choose new leadership and set direction for the next four years. Because I was the "prior" of the hosting Dominican community, I had to be chairman of the assembly until we elected the new provincial superior. This meant that on the day of the election I had to deliver the homily at the Mass of the Holy Spirit in which we seek guidance in our deliberations. I chose the "Dry Bones" passage from Ezekiel as one of the scriptures and I preached on that vision. "Shall this province live?" So far, we're still alive and preaching! But there are other religious orders in the church that are not doing well. And in rural dioceses like the one I live in (Lubbock), it is only with the help of priests from abroad that the People of God are able to have the sacramental life of the Church.
But no matter how dry our bones get, Ezekiel says God can bring them to life. God has promised not to abandon us! The Spirit will help us get the "head bone connected to the neck bone!" AMEN
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