"The Breath of Life”
A sermon by the Rev. Dr. Hilary J. Barrett|
Preached at Pleasantville United Church of Christ, May 31, 2009
Pentecost Day, Year B, Ezekiel 37:1-14

“Prophesy to these bones, and say to them:
O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord…

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.”

The Church calls this day Pentecost.  It is a very special day in the life of the Christian Church; it’s the birthday of the Church really – and we celebrate it with red paraments – which are as close to streamers and balloons as the church gets.

Pentecost is the day when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples and it transformed them for mission and ministry.  In that moment, those who thought of themselves as disciples and followers of Jesus Christ were suddenly transformed into apostles and teachers.  By the power of the Holy Spirit Christ’s disciples were changed from being ‘those who follow’ (disciple) to being ‘those who are sent’ (apostle), and it is a change that has made all the difference in the world.

We could welcome Confirmands into the church on any day, I suppose.  In some traditions, new members are received on Easter.  In others it’s Palm Sunday.  I, myself, was confirmed on Maundy Thursday.  And all of these days are perfectly fine.  But I love the fact that at Pleasantville we welcome you into the church on the day when God’s wild and untamable Spirit poured itself out upon “all flesh” without the least concern for propriety or social convention – men and women, the young and the old, the free and those who were enslaved -- all flesh received the anointing of the Spirit.

The Book of Acts records that first Pentecost Day and how, in one spirited moment, the languages of all God’s people were suddenly untangled and people were able to hear one another proclaim the mighty deeds of God in their own many and varied tongues. 

It is still a radical story: one that implies that the diversity of gifts made manifest among God’s people is a sign of the Spirit at work among us.  In other words it’s a story which proclaims with holy power that diversity and pluralism are neither a threat nor a curse, but instead a gift from God.

That’s the main story on the Day of Pentecost.  But there’s another story I want you to hear this morning; an alternate text for the day.  And that is the text from the prophet Ezekiel.

Tell the story…

I wanted you to hear that story from Ezekiel.  You need to know the story of the dry bones in the desert.  You need to be able to use your imagination to see those bones coming together.  You need to hear the promises of God rattling around with those bones.  You need to know that the Word of God has the power to restore you to new life.

God’s Spirit breathes into us the breath of life.  It’s a story we know from the book of Genesis…

It’s a prophecy promised through the prophet Ezekiel…that dead things can come to life – dead hopes, dead spirits both can be revived.

It is an enlivening force throughout the history of the Christian Church.

We celebrate the Spirit’s power with baptisms and confirmation, with communion and the singing of spirit-filled hymns.  We celebrate the Spirit in the same way that the church always has: with the laying on of hands, conferring the Spirit from one generation to the next in the act of baptism, in the blessing of each confirmand, and in the consecration of ordinary things – that the bread which comes forth from the earth, and the cup which is filled with the fruit of the vine, might become for us the body and the blood of our Risen Savior.

This day is an important one in your life.  It signifies that you are ready to begin your adult journey of faith.  That means that, more and more, I will expect to see you asking questions like these:

“What is needed from me at this time?” 

“How can I be of service in the world?  In my community?  In my church?”

“What is God calling me toward?”

“What is God asking me to be or to do.?”

As you mature in your faith, I would expect to see less of questions or sentiments like these:

“What’s in it for me?”

“How come my needs aren’t being met?”

“Why do I have to think about others all the time?”

What’s so important about participating in the church?

This is a day which signifies that you are beginning to understand what it means to be the Body of Christ in the world.  You are beginning to appreciate that being a community of faith is a unique relationship.

To be a part of a congregation expands your sense of self.  Gradually you will come to see how the “I” becomes the “we.”  And when that happens, worlds change.

The fact that you have arrived at this point says a lot about who you are.  You worked hard to be here.  You have studied.  You have fulfilled your allotted service hours.  You came to church regularly and inconvenienced yourselves in order to support one another in a shared and glorious journey.

But the thing I most want you to take from this time together is a deep and abiding awareness of God’s love for you.  I want you never to doubt that you are precious – to us, and eternally to God.  And I want you to know that the Spirit it always at work in our lives

- binding up the places where we are broken

- reviving the things in us that are so deeply tired we feel like old dry bones

- and restoring our hope in a future which is in God’s hands.

You are being confirmed on Pentecost.  That means that you are people of Spirit -- blessed and empowered in order that you might go out and share this faith with others.  On this day of Pentecost when we celebrate the Spirit’s power among us may we always remember the God who loves us; who breathes into the breath of life, and breathes out upon us the gift of the Holy Spirit; who forgives our sins and guides us into spiritual maturity; who restores our hope and strength when we come to Him for aide; and who teaches how to be more than we are, moving us from “I” to “we” in ways that will change the world.

People of Pleasantville: in the name of the living God I telling you to breathe in the breath of life, breathe in the life of the spirit, breathe in, give thanks, and live!  Amen.