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March 2002
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5th Sunday in Lent (March 17, 2002)
“Castles in the
Air”
Dr. Van Kemper
Text: Ezekiel 37:1-14
SERMON
Those of you were here
last Sunday know that I wasn’t. I
took advantage of a fare sale to travel by airplane and then by bus to the
community of Tzintzuntzan in the state of Michoacán, Mexico, where I continue
to do my anthropological research. On this occasion, I was there to work on the
church archives, especially on the baptismal and confirmation records of the
past fifty years.
On Sunday afternoon, as
we were seated at the family dinner table for the afternoon meal, we began to
hear fireworks shooting off. I
asked what was going on, and my hosts – Lola and Virginia – announced that
the local cohetero – that is, the
“fireworks-maker” – was sponsoring a fiesta
in honor of the patron saint of fireworks-makers, San Lázaro, the one we know
as Lazarus.
The fiesta began that
afternoon with a marching band passing down our street on its way to the church
courtyard. The band was accompanied
by three young men, each carrying one of three large bamboo models (a bull, a
man, and a woman) – all adorned with diverse fireworks that would be lighted
up in the church yard later that evening. Indeed,
later that evening, we again began to hear fireworks shooting off in the church
yard. The fireworks display
culminated with what is known locally as “el castillo.” This “castle” is a complicated construction of
fireworks attached to a long vertical pole about 30 feet tall.
As the ultimate display of the local fireworks-maker’s art, in this
instance in honor of St. Lazarus, this “castle” provided the assembled
community with a brilliant, noisy, though short-lived set of fireworks.
Always curious about the
relationship between particular professions and particular saints in the Roman
Catholic pantheon, I asked Lola and Virginia “Why is San Lázaro the patron
saint of the fireworks-makers?” They
weren’t sure, but they knew that there had to be a reason – just as
San José (Joseph) is the patron saint of carpenters.
I have continued to
puzzle over this relationship between Lázarus and fireworks all week,
especially in the context of this week’s lectionary passages from Ezekiel and
the Gospel according to John. Keep
this puzzle in your mind as we take a look backward to this morning’s texts
from the prophet Ezekiel and the gospel-writer John.
First, we encounter what
may be one of the best known images in the book of Ezekiel – the valley of the dry bones. You all know the story: the Lord takes the prophet (whether
in a vision or in fact) to the middle of a valley full of very dry bones.
Once there, Ezekiel is told to prophesy to these bones and say to them,
“O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.” And the bones came together, with
sinew, flesh, and skin covering them. Then the prophet prophesied as the Lord
commanded him, so that “the breath came into them, and they moved, and stood
on their feet, a vast multitude.” And
then Lord explained to Ezekiel that “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.’”
In the end, this story
is a promise of life for God’s people, a promise for revival after the
Babylonian captivity in which Israel found itself during Ezekiel’s time.
The vision makes clear that the dry bones represent not just one person,
or even a few families, but all of the people.
The prophet is not supposed to keep this vision to himself. Instead, he
is told to share this vision with the people, to encourage their trust in the
power of the Lord during their time of trial.
Ezekiel’s story is good news to the oppressed. The vision brings the
people new hope. The word and spirit of the Lord provide a real miracle for the
people of God.
Now, turn with me to
John’s Gospel, where we encounter the death and raising of Lazarus.
This too is a very familiar story, one we hear year after year in the
week before Palm Sunday. Let me remind you of a few key elements of the story rather
than recount all of the details we read earlier.
First, recall that Jesus
did not act immediately in response to the message from Martha and Mary
regarding their brother Lazarus. He did not rush off to Bethany to see
what was wrong with Lazarus. Instead,
he saw Lazarus’s illness as an event through which “the Son of God may be
glorified” (John 11:4). So, a
couple of days later, Jesus finally decided to walk the two miles from Jerusalem
to Bethany. Along the way, Jesus
encountered Martha, to whom he declared, “Your brother will rise again.”
Soon thereafter, Jesus and Martha arrived at Bethany, where they were met
by Mary. Mary sounds pretty
critical of Jesus when she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you
had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Jesus was “greatly disturbed” and “deeply moved” – and he wept.
So, Jesus went to the cave where Lazarus’s tomb was located, told them
to take away the stone, and, after giving thanks to the Lord, commanded,
“Lazarus, come out!” And the
dead man came out. Then, the story
concludes: “Many of the Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen
what Jesus did, believed in him.”
In the post-Easter era
in which the Gospel of John was
written, those who heard this story had no problem making a connection between
the story of Lazarus and the story of Jesus’ own resurrection.
So many of the details are similar that it would be very hard even for
brand-new converts to Christianity to miss the connections – and the
implications for their lives as Christians.
Obviously, the stories
of the dry bones and the tomb of Lazarus have much in common.
Ezekiel prophesies not on his own initiative, but so that the people will
know that the Lord has spoken and will act.
Jesus did not raise up Lazarus just for grins, but so that the people
would believe in him. And they did!
God’s power to act
thus becomes the common link between these two tales. And God’s people learn that even from death can come new
life, not just for a few individuals but for all of God’s people.
By living out this belief, the people of God can go forward to take the
actions necessary to do new things.
At this point, take a
hymnal from a pew rack or open up your large-print bulletin.
Find Hymn #296 “Camina, Pueblo de Dios/Walk On, O People of God.”
This is one of three
hymns in The Presbyterian Hymnal by
the Spaniard, Cesáreo Gabaraín (1936-1991).
Here at Trinity, we have not sung Hymn #296 for at least ten years – if
ever – although we have sung the other two (#377 “Tu Has Venido a la
Orilla/Lord, You Have Come to the Lakeshore” and #518 (“Una Espiga/Sheaves
of Summer”).
By now, you should have
found Hymn #296 in the Hymnal or in
your large-print Bulletin. Listen
now to the music [and words] as Danny [and Julie] guide us through the refrain
and first stanza. Follow along with
the words and music as you listen. . . . .
I hope that you noticed
that the tune for this hymn is called “Nueva Creación” – two words that
even those of you who have no formal knowledge of Spanish probably figured out
to mean “New Creation.”
Now, perhaps, you see
the connection between the dry bones of Ezekiel’s valley, the tomb from which
Lazarus is raised up by Jesus, and this hymn of New Creation by the Spaniard
Gabaraín. Now, perhaps, we are in
the position to deal with the puzzle of “el
castillo” – the fireworks from
Tzintzuntzan.
Remember the puzzle: Why
is the patron saint of the fireworks-makers St. Lazarus?
Here is my idea.
Think about fireworks: a
combination of chemical ingredients that, separately, don’t do anything at
all. They just lay there inert and
useless. . . . just like those dry bones in the valley or the body of Lazarus in
the tomb. But put them together in
just the right way, attach a fuse to bring them a spark at the right moment, and
the result is both beautiful and exciting to behold – a real, though
short-lived, miracle.
From such unlikely
materials, comes joy for an entire community, as everyone from children to old
folks stands shoulder to shoulder as they “ooh” and “aah” at the visual
effects created by their local fireworks-maker.
Where the night was without light, it seems a “miracle” that he can
construct such works, especially “el
castillo,” the “castle in the air.”
And, what about us, here
at Trinity? What are we doing about
building new creations? Remember
the words of ancient Israel, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we
are cut off completely” (Ezekiel 37:11).
Is this how we feel somedays?
Remember what Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my
brother would not have died” (John 11:21).
Somedays, are we trying to blame God for our own imperfections,
for our declining energy, even for the congregation’s declining membership?
In both cases, God was
faithful and provided a vision of resurrection and revival.
The people only had to believe and trust in the Lord, and then take
action based on that belief and trust.
Even more than the
fireworks-maker of Tzintzuntzan, we need faith that doing the right thing will
create the proper interaction at the right time. The fireworks do not create
themselves. Their beauty and their
excitment do not arise from chance, but by doing things “decently and in
order.” The fireworks-maker does
not just dream about “el castillo;”
he labors long and hard to make it come out just right.
More than a century ago,
the great American writer-philosopher Henry David Thoreau wrote:
“If you have built castles in the air, your work need
not be lost; that is where they should be.
Now put the foundations under them.”
In this spirit, I offer
this prophecy,
“Don’t wait for
someone else to make a miracle for us.
Instead, believe and trust that the Lord will show us how to find
the right combination of ingredients, the right fuse, and the right spark to set
it alight.
“Don’t be invisible
to our neighbors, much less settle for a once-a-year fireworks display.
Instead, become the reliable and constant “light on the hill” that
our neighbors need to transform their lives.
“In sum, build the
proper foundations, so that everyday we can offer our neighbors not just
impossible dreams, but real miracles; not just fireworks quickly extinguished,
but long-lasting castles in the air.” Amen.