Preparing For Worship – Gina Biddle.
As we prepare for worship this day, let us be reminded of many things. This is the Lord’s Day. Moreover we rise, and may we give thanks for the privilege to be awake in our right minds.
Today’s Scripture from Ezekiel inspired the spiritual song “Dem Bones” (also called “Dry Bones” and “Dem Dry Bones”), written by brothers James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson and first recorded in 1928 by the Famous Myers Jubilee Singers.
The lyrics are inspired by the prophet Ezekiel’s visit to the Valley of Dry Bones, where he prophesied that the dead will one day be resurrected at God’s command. The bones of my body are the same as all human beings; we are not different. We all come from a place of brokenness and then realize that Christ loves each and every one of us and wants more life for us than we can imagine. In the depiction of the bones piled up together, the word of God comes and gives the bones life, and they are resurrected.
This passage from Ezekiel resonates with me and my journey in many ways. Growing up in inner-city Detroit during the 60’s, segregation and riots were rampant. I didn’t understand that the color of my skin was a basis for some to not like me or treat me as an equal. I’ve seen many artists’ renditions of dry bones. They remind me of the days before Christ in my life. I felt brittle, broken and not loved. When I gave my life to Christ, upon rising up from the baptism waters, I felt I was whole and no longer broken and unloved. God loved me and gave his only Son for me to have life “more abundantly,” even though my skin is a different color.
Daily may we give thanks for the new life given to our dry bones by God’s only Son, Jesus.