If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. Romans 8:11

While in captivity in Babylon, the people of Israel complained that “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.” So God took Ezekiel to the Valley of Dry Bones. There he joined the bones together and put sinew and skin on them, but they still lay motionless on the ground. There was no breath in them. Then Ezekiel prophesied as God had commanded him: “Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live." The bones came to life and stood in a vast multitude. God said, "Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel.” This was God's promise that the people would live and return to their homeland and have a hope for the future.

In the gospel of John, we have the story of the death of Lazarus. When Jesus was close to Bethany, Martha came to him and declared, “If you had been here sooner, my brother would not have died.” Hers was a cry of hopelessness. She saw only the dead body that would never walk again. However, when Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again," she remarked that she believed that Lazarus would rise again on the last day. But this is not what Jesus meant. He said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" Note that he did not say, “I will be the resurrection and the life.” The tense is present, not future.

God told Ezekiel that the people of Israel will be raised from their dead state in the near future, not at the end of the age. Likewise, Jesus raised Lazarus even though his body had decayed, not at the end of the age, but immediately. This is what Paul meant in Romans when he said the same God who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to our mortal bodies. Paul was not describing the Greek notion of separation of body and soul. To Paul, the mortal body represents a person who has not yet been infused with the Spirit of Christ, whereas when life enters the human body it does so through the indwelling Spirit of Christ. This resurrection from death to life comes, not at the end of the age, but right now.

Prayer: Lord of life, we live in an age of dry bones. The world is filled with people who have no hope. We who know Christ have a hope that the world does not have. Give us the vocation of prophesying to the valley of dry bones that the hopeless may also experience a resurrection through the breath or Spirit of Christ. We thank you for Ezekiel, for Jesus, and for Paul. But we especially thank you that we have received life by becoming part of the Body of Christ. We offer this prayer in the name of him who brought life into this world. Amen.