Greetings St. John’s Lutheran Church!

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he 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.” – Ezekiel, 37:1-5

God gets the last word with our dry bones. All of us have times when our souls feel “very dry” – when we are discouraged, anxious, or just worn down by life. In those moments, it feels like no one could possibly lift us up and give us new life. Yet we, like Ezekiel, need to trust that God knows what is possible for our dry bones.

This month, we celebrate the Day of Pentecost, a time of embracing the energy and passion of the Holy Spirit. The first Pentecost took place when Christ had already returned to God after his resurrection. No doubt, the apostles felt like the dry bones in Ezekiel’s valley: bereft for a second time of their friend and teacher, Jesus, and thirsty for some inspiration to help them continue the work of sharing his story to the ends of the earth.

Instead of getting discouraged, the apostles needed to be patient as they waited for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, because, when it did arrive, they were literally set on fire with energy to do God’s work and proclaim the good news about Jesus.

When was a time that you felt separated from the energizing presence of God and overwhelmed by God’s call for you? Just the other day perhaps? When this happens, it can be hard to practice patience and wait for the Holy Spirit to arrive with the new ideas and energy we need; however, it is important to remind ourselves that God is not done with us.

God will cause breath to enter us and give us life. It may feel like the end of the story, but, in fact, God has a new and exciting beginning waiting just around the corner.

This Pentecost, let us embrace the energy and possibilities that the Holy Spirit has for the people of St. John’s as we continue God’s work and share God’s story in Richlandtown and beyond.

In Christ, Pastor Kat