Part of what we do during the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday is to re-tell the old stories of faith that assure us of God's ongoing faithfulness from creation all the way through resurrection. For the rest of this week, we will focus on six of those stories told at the Vigil as a reminder that the empty tomb is the ultimate expression of promise and salvation from a God who has yet been promising and saving throughout all of history.

Our fifth story was the story of Ezekiel and the Vally of the Dry Bones.

For starters, here is an incredibly fascinating and beautiful reading of the Dry Bones story:



Now if you think about this story too hard at its face value, then you might be left with only one thought: ZOMBIES! Because how freaky would it be to see bones rising up, and gathering together into skeletons, and then growing muscles and skin and walking around (and hopefully not toward you!)

But if you think about the story for its meaning, and think long and hard about it, you realize that it is a vivid image of resurrection and restoration. It is death-to-life imagery, but it is also dry-to-nourished imagery and fragile-to-strong imagery, and a complete overturning of the notion that "dust you are and to dust you shall return."

And now, some Dry Bones poetry and music.