Ezekiel 37: From Dry Bones to Restoration – Part II
Thursday, September 15, 2022
At the end of chapter 37 is the Oracle of the Two Sticks in which we understand that the two kingdoms will be re-united (something thought totally impossible) and the true Davidic king will reign eternally from Jerusalem – Jesus. The chapters following this one describe the battle against Gog, again a dramatic description, and the end-of-time feast in the restored Jerusalem. In all, this portion of Ezekiel’s prophecy tells the reader that what is thought impossible . . . is possible for God. It tells us that God does not abandon us even when we abandon God. It tells us that God loves us and God is constantly with us, even when we have turned away.
The most hopeless of cases have hope in them somewhere, but it takes an act of great love to resuscitate what has been lost. God does this for us, and God calls us to do the same for one another. When we move through a desert experience it is difficult to believe that God is with us; but this difficulty does not make God’s love more distant. Through the visions of Daniel and Ezekiel we see that with God all things are possible. It is possible to move toward our own conversion. It is possible to move away from the brittleness of the dry bones and toward the refreshing, renewing waters of restoration in the New Jerusalem.
There is a line from an old novena to St. Jude that I remember: When the difficult was too great to bear, Saint Jude somehow managed to see that it was lifted. It was almost as if he had set the pattern for one of the branches of the armed services: “The difficult I shall take care of immediately; the impossible (in terms of human power) may take a little longer”. Faith found that humility means power in the eyes of God.
And so we can petition God for forgiveness – which God freely gives. We can ask for restoration. And this God also gives. We can come before God humbly as we stagger through the deserts of our lives, and we can ask that God grant us all that we believe to be impossible. And God will always answer.
In MAGNIFICAT on Saturday evening, there was a small reflection at the beginning of the Evening Prayer: God is present in the deserts of our lives. It is in the desert that God revealed himself to Abraham. It is in our dryness and desolation that God is often working the most marvelous transformations. Let us rejoice in this blessed desert . . . where Christ reveals himself.
As we tumble into our beds, perhaps weary at the end of a dry day full of impossibility, let us remember to pray for the impossible as the psalmist does in Psalm 63.
O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting. For your love is better than life, my lips speak your praise. So I will bless you all my life, in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul shall be filled as with a banquet, my mouth shall praise you with joy. On my bed I remember you. On you I muse through the night for you have been my help; in the shadow of your wings I rejoice. My soul clings to you; your right hand holds me fast.
As we begin our days that promise impossibility, let us remember . . .
O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting. Your love is better than life . . . My souls clings to you . . . your right hand holds me fast. Amen.
Tomorrow, praying for the impossible . . .
Cameron, Peter John. “Prayer for the Evening.” MAGNIFICAT. 26.1 (2008). Print.
Adapted from a reflection written on February 1, 2008.
Images from: https://olayemirichard.wordpress.com/2015/02/16/with-god-all-things-are-possible/
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