Reflections on the Valley of the Dry Bones from Ezekiel

By John Boonstra, WAC Executive Minister
Advocacy Day, February 24, 2005      Ezekiel 37: 1-14

The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out by the Spirit and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.
The Spirit led me all around them, there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry.
The Spirit said to me “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered…
“O Lord God, you know.”
Then the Spirit said to me, “ Prophesy to these bones and say to them:
“O dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord.
Thus says the Lord God to these bones…
“I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.
I will lay sinews on 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.”

So I prophesied as I had been commanded, and as I prophesized,
Suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together,
bone to its bone.
I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon
them, and skin had covered them: but there was no breath in them.
Then the Spirit said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy mortal,
And say to the breath “Thus says the Lord God, come from the four
winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”

I prophesized as the Spirit commanded and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
The he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole House of Israel,
They say, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost, we are cut off
completely.”

Therefore prophesy and say to them, “Thus says the Lord God, I am
going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my
people, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel….
…I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil, then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act.
_______________________________



Washington is a remarkable place. And for all of the millions who live here – it is a great place to live and to grow.

In the WAC office hangs a beautiful map of Washington.
It is one of those maps where you can see all the mountain ranges,
deserts, rainforests, lakes & coastlines – one of those topographical maps
You can also see where the valleys are. Some of these, I have had the
pleasure of hiking. I like hiking in valleys. And I have to admit,
before I begin any hiking journey – I want to know, before I begin…
Not how long the trail is, not what the weather will be, not how much
weight I have to carry in my pack – but – what will be the “elevation
gain.” Sorry to say, nothing deters me more than serious ‘elevation
gain’. And that, is why I prefer hiking in the valley!

I love hiking by the rivers, the meadows and the woods that make up
the valley floors. The valleys (even the desert ones) are rich and fertile.
What a contrast from the valley of the dry bones that we read about in Ezekiel. I can’t imagine a valley so dry and so inhospitable as the one described in Ezekiel.

And I hate to begin our reflection this morning in this valley of dry bones –
this place of death – but I think we need to go there.
I think that an accurate “state of our state” forces us to look at our life together as a people.
And that means, seeing the bones, seeing the death, and what they
portray about our life together as a community.
The Ezekiel text is after all, about a people. It is about a community. It is a striking image of deterioration, of desolation and of utter lifelessness.

This text is a representation about the dereliction of the people of Israel. We can imagine, without too much difficulty, that it could also represent us, as Washingtonians. A people who have continually and repeatedly reneged…
· on their faithful call to promote the dignity, well-being and common good of their neighbors,

Washington State has many valleys…and today, many of them are full of dry
bones…they represent valleys full of suffering and lifelessness.
And indeed, as Ezekiel describes, they are very dry! They lie there,
brittle, and they shatter when they are walked upon.

Many centuries have passed since the Ezekiel text was written (592-572
BC). But the human propensity for recalcitrance and waywardness
continues. The dry bones are, of course, symbols of death.

And the contemporary forces of greed, privatization, and violence
continue to suck the life from us,
continue to crush the life around us,
and continue to repress the life within us.

The valley of the dry bones exists here in Washington State.
And if you don’t believe it, ask the living…the barely living…
· ask those who suffer at the hands of the most regressive system of taxation in the United States;
· ask those poor who pay as high as 18% of their annual income in taxes (compared to 3% if you are the richest);
· ask those kids whose education is diminished because Washington ranks 46th in K-12 public school funding per $1,000 in personal income;
· ask those 10% of Washingtonians who live below the federal poverty line;
· ask those who are hungry as Washington ranks as the 8th worst state in the U.S. for numbers of ‘hungry’ persons;
· ask those 33% of WA children who live at or below 200% of the federal poverty line;
· ask those 18% of Washingtonians who are over 65 and live at or below 150% of the poverty line;
· ask those who are on “Temporary Assistance for Needy Families” (TANF) or General Assistance Unemployable (GAU) and whose cost-of-living rates have not been increased by WA since 1993;
· ask those without jobs in WA, which has one of the highest unemployment rates in the United States;
· ask those who work in 75% of WA jobs that do not pay a wage high enough to support a family;
· ask those 50% of Washingtonians who have less than $1,000 in savings;
· ask those 700,000 Washingtonians who have no health insurance;
· ask those 1,230,000 Washingtonians who have no prescription drug coverage.

What do all these statistics have in common? 2 things.
First, theses statistics all have a face behind them. A face we have seen on our streets, in our congregation, in our child’s school, or living next door. Second, these statistics are the result of deliberate institutional, systemic, policy backed practices.

Make no mistake state public policy can create terrifying havoc on individuals in our community. These people, who struggle for life at levels we can all understand, can testify about the valley of the very, very dry bones in which we all live.

Our State is full of neighbors who are pushed to the margins, who have no political voice and whose lives are emptied by the forces of grinding poverty.

The dry, dry bones are the bones of our neighbors. They are our bones. There are many bones. And they are very dry!
And, as you begin to think with me about this text, remember that the story of the valley of dry bones is not just about a people, it is also about the GOD of a people.

So as we work on the state of the State of Washington today, let us also remember that as prophetic faith based people, we are called to live as a people of the God who offers us faithful presence. God is with us. God offers us the SPIRIT to bring life to the valley.

Friends, we are here today because we live in this valley – and because
the Spirit of the God in who we have faith, is asking us to prophesize –
to advocate.
God is asking us, calling on us, to advocate so that those who suffer might stand – so that life might come to the dry, dry bones.
And to be honest, just like Ezekiel, we are tempted to ask;
“Can these bones live?”
especially when we look at a $2.2 billion shortfall in our State budget,
especially when we look at the lack of moral vision and the callousness
towards the vulnerable in our State, we are tempted to ask;
“Can these bones live?”

Just like Ezekiel, in desperation or hopelessness or fear, we are tempted to
answer; “O My God…Only You Know For Sure… You Tell Us!”
Can we ever get the state to provide for the health care for every resident?
“O My God…Only You Know For Sure… You Tell Us!”
Can we ever get the state to provide for the education of every resident?
“O My God…Only You Know For Sure… You Tell Us!”
Can we ever get the state to provide a safety net for those who are caught in situations of poverty and unemployment?
“O My God…Only You Know For Sure… You Tell Us!”

Ezekiel’s answer, “O My God…Only You Know For Sure… You Tell Us”
is a response which maybe we will hear soon from our Governor and our
State Legislature. OR maybe not.
It is a response that reveals openness to new insights, new wisdom.
It is a response that straddles knowledge of the reality of the valley of dry
bones and yet contains some hope and expectation of radical change.

Just like Ezekiel, we wait now, to see what God will do with us –
To see what God will do through us.
We wait, and we are confused. We do hear the noisy rattling of bones
coming together…but do we see life?

We see a valley full of misplaced moral values – security, stability, dominance,
pursuit of self-interest, prosperity, self-reliance,
free market capitalism and pursuit of profit.
We see a valley where we fear our neighbors, where the love between
the brothers and the sisters is hard to find, where the toleration
for inequity, disparity of wealth and poverty escalates to the unimaginable.

The God who tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the dry bones is …
· A nurturing God
· A God of empathy
· A God of love, justice, inclusion and stewardship.
· A god who reminds us that we can measure the moral character of our state by how well we care for the least among its people – and
bring life to the valley of dry bones.
· A God who calls us all to examine our ‘priorities of government’.

And this God calls us, like Ezekiel, to a different kind of prophesy to bring
LIFE to the dry bones in our valleys.

We are called to prophesy in a daunting political moment.
For a generation, the vision of our friends on the religious and political
right has waged an unrelenting war to take over WA State government.
They are the ones who re-frame – even in theological terms – the moral
vision that imposes its political interests over the valley of dry bones!
And let us make no mistake!
There is a terrible noise coming forth from the lands of Washington State. The rattling of dry bones – bone to bone – the coming together –
but without life!
· A State with a budget that benefits corporations through $13 billion of recoverable un-disclosed and un-reviewed tax breaks;
Cannot bring life to its people
· A state with a Basic Health Plan that excludes more and more people;
Cannot bring life to its people
· A State that reduces Medicaid eligibility to its immigrant populations;
Cannot bring life to its people
· A State that does too precious little to protect our environment;
Cannot bring life to its people
· A State that cuts social services for the most vulnerable ($4 billion in the past 4 years);
Cannot bring life to its people
· A State that underpays workers and provides no family leave;
Cannot bring life to its people

A valley of dry bones….indeed,….and the bones are very, very dry.
And even with sinews, flesh and skin – there is no life!!
I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon
them, and skin had covered them: but there was no breath in them.

And here Ezekiel is again commissioned to speak, to advocate, to prophesy!
Then the Spirit said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy mortal,
And say to the breath “Thus says the Lord God, come from the four
winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”

So here we have what we have been waiting for.
Life enters into the people who were made otherwise whole >>>
in the valley of the bones – the SPIRIT, the breath came into them,
and they lived, and they stood on their feet – all of them.
What a powerful image. The SPIRIT came upon the valley of dry bones
and something new came to the valley.
And something new can come to the State of Washington and its people.

We are invited to have the wind of the SPIRIT blow through us to bring life
to the dry, dry bones in the valley. And PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY is an
important way to bring life into Washington State’s valleys of dry bones.

For too long, there has been very little effort – by the prophetic faithful to
frame moral vision in public policy through the eyes of justice.
For too long, there has been almost no loud, sustained, penetrating voice
from the PROPHETIC religious community that rattles the bones and
brings, through public policy, the invitation for our whole community to
STAND and live fully.
For too long, we have not taken determined aim at taking greater strategic
influence of our state public policy agenda.
UNTIL NOW….UNTIL NOW.

It is time state legislators think of themselves as part of, & accountable to,
a broad ambitious, technically savvy & policy-smart prophetic movement.

LIFE for the valley of the dry bones is a Gift of God for the people of God AND IT IS ALSO OUR STRUGGLE. And a crucial arena of this struggle,
make no mistake about it, is right here in Olympia!
The WAC has developed a “Faith Advocacy Network” (a F_A_N).
It has developed a FAN to help us blow the winds of the prophetic spirit
in and through the State of Washington.
Because the winds of change can be the winds of life to all in the valley!

Today, the WAC Governing Board is releasing an important “Pastoral Letter” and sending it to every congregation in Washington.
· It is titled simply; “Our State Budget is a Moral Document and must meet the needs of the common good!”
· It declares, in the midst of a legislature gripped by a “cut-cut-cut” mentality, that we must add new revenue to our state budget.
· It correctly calls this an issue of great moral urgency.
· It demands imagination, innovation & spiritual courage from each of us.
· It demands political courage and moral vision from our elected officials.
· It calls us to bring the SPIRIT and LIFE and BREATH to the valley of dry bones.
· It calls us to take the popular acronym used here in Olympia “POG” – priorities of government, and to place them within the LIFE interests of the greater “POG” acronym – people of God!
Let the priorities of government reflect life for the peoples of God!
Let the POG reflect life for the POG.

The Pastoral Letter asks us to communicate with persistent voice to the Governor and State Legislature to.
· Solve the structural tax problem
· Commit to bring in at least $1.1 billion (half of the proposed budget shortfall) in new revenue in this legislative session.
· Give the people a budget that is built with fairness.

Through the faithful presence of God.
Through the gift of the spirit.
Through the persistent prophetic faithful voice of YOU and Ezekiel.
The people in the valley of the dry, dry bones came, and can come to life.
They stood on their feet. And they can stand stronger TOGETHER.

Friends, as we do our work today and in the weeks ahead,
May the embracing arms of a God of justice,
help us all to open our hands to our neighbors –
to stand and to be ALIVE with and for each other.

May we all walk in the valley for which we advocate
A valley of the people of God, living in justice, compassion, and kindness.
A valley of health and wealth for everyone.
A valley where the SPIRIT blows and where LIFE grows.
Amen.