Living Dry Bones: Prayer Service Sermon for Russel

Ezekiel 37:1-10 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. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy,son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from )the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived.

            This text came into my head this week when I was thinking about Russel. All I ever knew of Russel was in his last years after Arthritis had ravaged his bones. How he managed in the state he was for so long I don’t know. He was certainly not dry bones, he was very much alive, he always exuded life, greeting and welcoming all that he saw, loving all that he met, caring in a way only he could. His spirit was always filled with the spirit and breath of God, and there he was not dry. But, in many ways his body was the same as those dry bones. He had his muscles, and sinews, and flesh, but his bones betrayed him and left him like those dry bones, in his last days unable to do what he wanted them to do.

            I recall during the time I spent here how much he changed just in how he took communion. He started by taking the bread in his palm and then picking it up and eating it, then I started making sure I held it so he could simply pick it from my fingers, and this last Sunday when I gave him communion I placed the bread in his mouth myself. Like Dry bones in the valley, his body let him down.

            But, despite his pain his spirit showed forth Christ. He was the one who welcomed countless people who walked through the doors of Immanuel, and in that no manner of arthritis could hold him back, no matter his body, he was filled with that breath and he passed it on to all he met.

            When Russel welcomed you, you knew you were welcomed. I still remember the first time I came here on a Sunday morning, Russel probably knew my name, and had perhaps seen my face, but I was pretty much a stranger walking into his midst, and he treated me the same way that he treated a life-long member, with a big smile and a handshake and a good morning. That handshake was not always the strongest and in this last year I was more and more careful in my grasp, but it was always extended.

His body was dry bones, but his spirit was filled with the breath of God, and through his welcoming he extended it to all around.

            Here his body was dry bones. It rattled and shook, it moved when he didn’t want it to, it didn’t when he did. But, now, as Russel rests in the comfort of his Lord? Now it is complete once again.

            Now he bounds up stairs, multiple Hot Water heaters in his arms, Grandkids flying through the air as he throws and catches them, handshakes that crush given to all he finds.

            God’s breath fills him completely now, his bones are restored and his mind is clear, and in the Lord, he truly lives.

            That is the promise that we see in Russel’s life, one where even in the midst of that valley of dry Bones, Russel still showed forth the Lord. Where we would see dry bones, or the valley of the shadow of death, Russel knew the Lord led him to still waters and green pastures.

            I will miss Russel and his handshakes, and his conversation and friendship, and I will never forget the faith that he passed onto me, that even in the midst of dry bones, God’s breath blows strong welcoming all.