22 March - Fifth Sunday in Lent – Year A

Introduction

With dislocation and marginalisation so prominent throughout many parts of our society and making life in our communities tense and fragile, this archive material from Sally Foster-Fulton still speaks to us today although written several years ago.

The hope held within the valley of dry bones story is not an easy hope and resonates with the challenging landscapes we can find ourselves in and what we see on our newsfeeds. While we might despair, God is the one who breathes life, as it was in the beginning, and as it is now, so we can hope, and we must hear the call to join in with the work of bringing that hope to bear on our lived realities.

The passage in Romans reminds us to consider where our hope and our purpose/aspirations might lie – not in things that perish, but rather in those things that bring life. Or, to connect to the Ezekial passage, to put flesh on the bones and to animate us into the trajectory of hope. With so many conversations and critiques of wealth and the ever-growing gap between those who have so much and those who have nowhere near enough, we are challenged to consider the way of Christ rather than that of capitalism and consumerism.

In the midst of all of our experiences facing those things that steal life, Jesus is not at a distance, but present with us. Amid suffering and pain, Jesus stands with us, fully understanding the deep grief of loss and pain, through His suffering, not solely on the cross, but in experiences like the loss of Lazarus and the pain before resurrection. Jesus not only points us towards hope, but invites us to enter in wholly, to come and see, to perceive, to understand and to become fully alive regardless of our circumstances.

Ezekiel 37:1-14

This is a tell-able, dramatic tale – a harrowing story, no doubt, but one that resonates when richly read. Whoever the reader, make sure the story is told and the rhythm builds and your listeners feel the life returning to those dry bones! There is power in simply hearing this well.

There is no way to downplay the desolation in this text, nor should we. In 597 BCE, the first of the Jewish exiles were taken to Babylon, then 10 years later, Jerusalem was reduced to a pile of rubble when Nebuchadnezzar (King of the Babylonian Empire) ran out of patience and, in a bid to seal their submission, slaughtered all in his way. We cannot find the valley of dry bones on a map, but the imagery is starkly reflective of that time and represents the complete devastation, humiliation and hopelessness of a thoroughly defeated people. The prophet Ezekiel, caught up in that brutal exile, unveils a gory image of conquest. When Ezekiel is called to prophesy to those bones, he is symbolically called to prophesy to the scattered and shaken people of Israel, far from home and fearful. The question echoes, will they live again?

Exile and return is a theme that stretches across our sacred story, and in the valley of dry bones, we find its ultimate expression – far from home, with no life left and no expectation that the present reality could change.

It is for Ezekiel to breathe a life-giving word of hope that will bring these exiles back home. The powerful image of wind in the desert, of life in the deadest of places, is one to conjure with.

As you think about how to preach this text, you may want to consider…

• Where are the dry bones today?
• Where are people fearful and forgotten?
• Where are lives barren and empty?
• What words do we have that can bring life?
• Are words enough and, if not, what else must we bring to desolate places?

Psalm 130

This Psalm continues the theme of hope hanging on in the depths. You can bring it to life by grounding it in identifiable experiences. The opening words are highly emotive – words not spoken but cried – ‘can you hear me!' they say.

Can you hear my cry?

• From the depths of this broken relationship, from the fears I have for my children
• From the loneliness I feel surrounded by people and the emptiness I feel when surrounded by food and money and endless things?

Can you hear the cries from your people…

• In refugee camps in Rohingya, Kenya and Palestine?

Can you hear the cries of your people as they flee conflict in Syria, war and famine in Palestine?

Reflect the events and issues and concerns that are live and real in the minds and hearts of your congregation. Bring the psalmist's cry to life.

Further in the psalm, the psalmist speaks of waiting like one who watches for the morning. How many of us have experienced that nighttime fear – desperation that is magnified somehow by the darkness? From the watchers in the tower, keeping vigil until the daylight brings a sense of safety, to those who tonight, will sit and stare and pray for the dawn – this psalm is steeped in imagery that can connect it to the congregation.

Finally, it is important to unpack the understanding that the voices cry out because they hope someone will listen. Will we listen and respond to those who cry out for connection or care? Will we be the hope they need in the morning?

Romans 8:6-11

To pin your hopes and aspirations on things alone (on stuff!) is to miss out on what is really important in life. This passage offers an opportunity to explore what is life-giving and life-affirming over and against what glitters and tempts, but will ultimately not satisfy. The text acknowledges that our ‘mortal bodies' need to be sustained – that everyone needs food, water, safety and shelter; but we also need a chance to flourish and become.

It is important to note that the word ‘mind' in the original text is best translated ‘mentality, outlook, aspiration.' To set your path on a course where the ultimate goal is to collect possessions or acclaim or money risks losing your sense of self and your place in a much bigger picture. We risk forgetting that we are part of a local community and a global family. To set your aspirations, your deepest desires on the Spirit is to connect with all life, to place yourself, not in the centre of the universe, but alongside others. It opens the way for justice and generosity to walk with you.

There is a word to conjure with alongside this passage - Affluenza. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, Affluenza is ‘the unhealthy and unwelcome psychological and social effects of affluence regarded especially as a widespread societal problem: such as feelings of guilt, lack of motivation, and social isolation experienced by wealthy people. Extreme materialism and consumerism … can result in a life of chronic dissatisfaction, debt, overwork, stress, and impaired relationships.' In this passage, we are challenged to set our sights and ourselves on Christ's path.

John 11:1-45

The story of the raising of Lazarus brings us back to the overarching question for this Fifth Sunday in Lent – can there be life again in stale, barren places? In all the death and dryness that sometimes surrounds us, can hope live and breathe and resurrect through Jesus Christ? This is an intriguing story that brings Jesus face to face with a very personal grief. In the gospel stories, the only individuals who are singled out as ‘loved by Jesus' are the family in Bethany, Mary, Martha and Lazarus, and the ‘disciple whom Jesus loved'. Of course, Jesus ‘loved his own', had compassion on the crowds and called His followers to love each other, but this was more intimate. It is poignant that just before Jesus turns finally towards Jerusalem and death, He endures a very personal grief in the death of Lazarus. At the beginning of the gospel of John (John 1: 29-42), after Jesus' baptism, there is a pivotal scene when Jesus is approached by two of John's disciples. They had heard John refer to Him as the ‘lamb of God' and had followed Him. Jesus asks them, ‘what are you looking for?' and they respond with another question, ‘where are you staying?' He replies, ‘come and see.' This is no casual exchange, but a deeply theological scene setter. A better translation would be:

• ‘What are you seeking, what do you hope to discover?'

• ‘Where will you endure, remain – where will you not be moved from?'

• "Come and perceive, understand, experience.'

When Mary comes to Jesus and falls at His feet, her grief moves Him deeply and Jesus asks her a question that echoes with the opening to the gospel – ‘Where have you placed him?' Her response is a counterpoint – ‘Come and see.' The words are the same in the original text – ‘Come and perceive, understand, experience.'

Jesus enters into our pain, our turmoil, our neediness and our fragile mortality – the love is personal. And because Jesus loves fully and calls us to do the same, new life is possible in the deadest places.

Sermon ideas

This is the penultimate week in Lent, a time of introspection, of soul-searching. We have metaphorically stayed in the desert, reflected and considered our lives and the part we play in the lives of others. We are hopefully learning something about how we want to live our lives – and how we can learn to die well. How we can learn to die to the things that harm us and others: our obsession with things, our prejudices and our wants over the needs of those we share life with?

When considering the sermon, it may be good to bring that question to the fore. All the texts in some way speak to that call to be an embodiment of hope in stale or scary places, to hear the cries of our brothers and sisters, to breathe life into the body of Christ by living fully like Jesus did.

There is the wonderful story (forgive me if you've heard it before but it would be a good opening/closing thought) about the parents who, angling for a bit more time with their coffee and papers, offered their young daughter a puzzle to put together. On one side of an insert of the paper was a current map of the world, so they cut it up and told her they would go out for a walk as soon as she'd put the puzzle together. Fairly happy with themselves, they settled down with their second cup. Two minutes later she came back and said the puzzle was finished. ‘How did you manage that?' they said.

‘It was easy. There was a person on the other side of the page, so I put the person together and the world followed.'

Life begins with relationships – listening, waiting with each other, realising that we are part of something so much bigger. If we are to bring life, justice, healing – hope, then we need to begin with ourselves and the possibilities our changed lives may bring to the world.

Prayers

Call to Worship

There will come a time
when all around us will be gone –
blown away like dust...
But there will never come a time
when the wind-breath of God ceases to blow,
when the Spirit sleeps, when love lies lifeless.
Let us worship God,
who holds everything fast
and breathes life into life.

Confession

When our minds are on ‘what is mine,'
When our hearts are hardened to the needs of our sisters and brothers,
When we are disconnected and indifferent to the lives around us, forgive.
But do not forgive and let us forget –
breathe Your challenge, Your cause, Your commitment to love into our beings
and bring us back to life.
We ask this in the name of the One whose body we claim to be.
Amen.

Thanksgiving and Intercession

Gone in a blink…
Dragging on forever…
Not enough in a day…
Too much on our hands – Time.

Run off our feet…
Left twiddling our thumbs…
So busy we spin our wheels…
How vast the stretching silence sometimes – time.

Don't run out of it…
Don't waste it…
Don't watch it…
Only it will tell – time.

God of eternity, all time is in Your hands and so are we.
Thank you for the beauty You show us –
the love You shower on us –
the while we while away.

Help us to cherish the time we have with each other.
Gone in a blink, it will not come again so teach us never to take it for granted.
When we can sit and soak up the laughter of our loved ones, (children) keep us still.
When we can learn something new, don't let us be so busy we miss our moment.
When we can make someone's day, don't let us be too preoccupied with tomorrow.

God of eternity, all time is in Your hands and so are we.
So, we take time now to ask for Your help.
In a world where people are hungry, where there is violence,
where war rages and apathy and greed fuel it,
where time and time again, the poor and the weak have their brief time in the sun clouded over,
help us to take the lessons we learned at Your feet and walk a different path.

Intercession 2

God, who hears the cries of Your people,
God, who sits with those who wait for the dawning,
God, who holds broken hearts in Yours,
Hear our prayer.

Open the eyes and ears of our spirits so we hear and sit and hold them too.
When our brothers and sisters are excluded
because of their gender, race, sexual orientation,
may we cry out to them that they are loved and embraced for who they are,
may we encourage them to become themselves
in all the glory You invested in their creation.
When our sisters and brothers are left on the margins
by markets that favour the rich, by employment that favours profit
over people who struggle to make ends meet,
may we act out to bring justice and equality and love to bear.

And where our family across this planet home cry out for enough –
food and water, shelter and safety, opportunity and challenge,
may our love meet theirs and breathe life back into our shared space.
We pray this morning for…

[prayers of the day relevant to what is happening and the issues that resonate in your community and the world]

Amen.

Musical suggestions

God Welcomes All (GWA) is the new supplement to Church Hymnary Fourth Edition. This exciting new collection features over 200 hymns and songs in a wide range of styles by writers from Scotland and around the world.

The full music and words-only versions are now available; and digital resources, including the expansion of the existing Church of Scotland music website, will be published in due course, with streaming functions and further information on each song; backing tracks; and lyric videos. God Welcomes All is available to order from here.

Our online music resource is on the Church of Scotland website; you can listen to samples of every song in the Church Hymnary 4th edition (CH4) and download a selection of recordings for use in worship. You will also find playlists for this week and liturgical seasons and themes on the Weekly Worship and Inspire Me tabs.

You can find further musical suggestions for this week in a range of styles on the Songs for Sunday blog from Trinity College Glasgow.

• GWA29 – "In ages past the mighty Lord" – song of the prophets, use the common verses and then the particular verse for Ezekiel

• GWA 48 – "Let our praise be your welcome" – reference to breath of heaven tying to Ezekiel and re-awakening

• GWA 110 – "You lead us through the wilderness"

• GWA 118 – "Stay with me, the night has come"

• GWA148 – "I will sing a song of love" – based on Romans 8

• GWA 151 – "See how deep he loves" – to sit with the passage from John

• CH4 344 – "And Jesus said: Don't be afraid"

• CH4 689 – "Just as the tide creeps over silver sand"

• CH4 729 – "Help me, dear Lord"

• CH4 730 – "From the falter of breath"

• CH4 88 – "Up from the depths I cry to God"

• CH4 719 – "The one who longs to make us whole"

• CH4 720 – "There is a longing in our hearts, O Lord"

• CH4 284 – "Hope is the candle" - interesting choice if focusing on Psalm 130

• CH4 717 – "O Christ, the healer, we have come"

• CH4 718 – "We cannot measure how you heal"

• CH4 721 – "We lay our broken world"

• CH4 576 – "Jesus before me, Jesus beside me" – great for children

Reflecting on our worship practice

Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, the way we worship has changed and we need to reflect on the changing or newly established patterns that emerged and continue to emerge as a result of the disruption.

We can facilitate worship for all by exploring imaginative approaches to inclusion, participation and our use of technologies in ways that suit our contexts. This is not an exhaustive list, but some things we could consider are:

• Framing various parts of the worship service in accessible language to help worshippers understand the character and purpose of each part. This is essential for creating worship for all (intergenerational worship) that reflects your community of faith.
• Holding spaces for reflection and encouraging prayer to be articulated in verbal and non-verbal ways, individually and in online breakout rooms.
• In online formats the effective use of the chat function and microphone settings encourages active participation in prayer, e.g. saying the Lord's Prayer together unmuted, in a moment of ‘holy chaos'.
• While singing in our congregations is still restricted, we can worship corporately by using antiphonal psalm readings, creeds and participative prayers.
• Using music and the arts as part of the worship encourages the use of imagination in place of sung or spoken words.
• Use of silence, sensory and kinaesthetic practices allow for experience and expression beyond regular audio and visual mediums.

The following questions might help you develop a habit of reflecting on how we create and deliver content and its effectiveness and impact, and then applying what we learn to develop our practice.

• How inclusive was the worship?
  Could the worship delivery and content be described as worship for all/ intergenerational?
  Was it sensitive to different "Spiritual Styles"?
• How was the balance between passive and active participation?
• How were people empowered to connect with or encounter God?
  What helped this?
  What hindered this?
• How cohesive was the worship?
  Did it function well as a whole?
  How effective was each of the individual elements in fulfilling its purpose?
• How balanced was the worship?
  What themes/topics/doctrines/areas of Christian life were included?
• How did the worship connect with your context/contemporary issues?
  Was it relevant in the everyday lives of those attending and in the wider parish/ community?
  How well did the worship connect with local and national issues?
  How well did the worship connect with world events/issues?
• What have I learned that can help me next time I plan and deliver worship?

Useful links

You can listen to samples of every song in the Church Hymnary 4th edition (CH4) and download a selection of recordings for use in worship in our online hymnary.

You are free to download, project, print and circulate multiple copies of any of this material for use in worship services, bible studies, parish magazines, etc., but reproduction for commercial purposes is not permitted.

Please note that the views expressed in these materials are those of the individual writer and not necessarily the official view of the Church of Scotland, which can be laid down only by the General Assembly.