Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

Ezekiel 37:9–10

Module Five: Through the Valley

Study:

In preparation for this week's liturgy, please read Introduction and Chapter 5 of Jesus Wants to Save Christians.

After you have completed the above, choose one or more of the the following:

• “Victimization Stories” on the Learning How to See Podcast

• “Three Dimensions of a Complete Life” a sermon by Martin Luther King Jr

• If the Psalms Aren’t Poetry, They’re Useless AN EXCHANGE BETWEEN PETER O'LEARY AND ALICIA OSTRIKER

• The truth about live tree stumps

The Liturgy

Through the Valley

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

Ezekiel 37:9–10

But in spite of our theoretical denial, we still feel in life another order impinging upon us. In spite of our doubts, we go on in life having spiritual experiences that cannot be explained in materialistic terms. In spite of our inordinate worship of things, something keeps reminding us that the eternal things of the universe are never seen. We go out at night and look up at the beautiful stars as they bedeck the heavens like swinging lanterns of eternity; for the moment we think we see all. Then something comes to tell us, “Oh no.” We can never see the law of gravitation that holds them there. We look at this beautiful church building, and we see the beautiful architecture, and we think for the moment we see all. Oh no. We can never see the mind of the architect who drew the blueprint; we can never see the love and the faith and the hope of the individuals who made it so. You look here this morning, and I know you’re saying, “we see Martin Luther King.” I hate to disappoint you. You merely see my body. You can never see my mind; you can never see my personality; you can never see the me that makes me me. So in a real sense everything that we see in life is something of a shadow cast by that which we do not see. Plato was right: “The visible is a shadow cast by the invisible.” Martin Luther King Jr, “The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life”

Opening Prayer

Creator God, who quickened the world, we gather in the name of life and breath. Spirit of Inspiration, nourish our souls. Save us from despair, apathy, and cynicism. Friend of the broken, teach us your definition of abundance. Show us the way that leads to life, truth, and joy—and console our weary minds who were looking for an utterly different salvation. Attune our hearts to the length, depth, and breadth of our cosmic experience, and help us to revel in the mystery of hope.
Amen.

Confession

We weep, O God, for we suffer. We confess that, even though you showed us that you, too, suffer, pain has negated you in our hearts. Forgive us for assuming that salvation means prosperity when you provided one day’s worth of manna at a time. Friend of the grief-laden, convince us that you are deeply embedded in all of reality: in sorrow, in joy, in grief, in celebration. Open our broken hearts to your presence.

Amen.

Passing of the Peace

Exchange this acknowledgment of confession.

From the freedom of confession, I greet the Christ in you.
From the freedom of confession, I greet the Christ in you.

The Inquiry

These questions will be used each week to guide a time of sharing. 

What joy have you encountered this week?

What suffering have you encountered this week?

What longs for salvation?

After each person shares, the group will offer a blessing to each person:

[Person’s name], in the name of Jesus Christ know you are beloved of God 

The Reflection

Read aloud:

What is salvation? 

Salvation means to be removed from harm: to be snatched from the burning bus tipping off the edge of a crumbling cliff wall into a quagmire of lava and quicksand by a cape-and-spandex-wearing super-human.

What of those caught in the rubble of bombed out buildings? Why are they not saved?

Salvation means to be removed from harm: to be rescued from a deflating lifeboat in the middle of a hurricane just before the sharks batter their way past your one remaining oar by a sleek and efficient helicopter.

What about those who are not found in time? Why are they not saved?

Salvation means to be removed from harm: to be fed, clothed, visited, tended, listened to, educated, protected, and loved.

What about those who are hungry, naked, lonely, abandoned, ignored, repressed, attacked, and forgotten? Why are they not saved?

We have an idea of what salvation means, how it works, and who deserves it, but the Divine story doesn’t always shape up the way we think it should. We are asked to walk through the valley enshrouded by death. We are told to walk into a valley knee deep in bones and speak to them. Speak to that which died in our lives and ask it to live. Salvation is not victory over life. It is victory over death.

Not victory after death. Victory through death. Within death. Down in the valley all carpeted by failure, we are accompanied by the Sprit of God. 

Once upon a time, there were a nation of people who had become enslaved to the empire of their time. They were robbed of choice and the production of their hands was stripped of its meaning. They were forced to work beyond the endurance of their bodies through sanctioned brutality. Their blood and tears soaked the ground, and their children died for the sake of insulating power from threat.

God heard the cry of the suffering ones and delivered them from slavery to the wilderness. There was a promised land, sure, but for the length of my lifetime, God camped in the wilderness with ex-slaves.

And when they were hungry: they were given one day’s worth of bread and meat.

And when they were thirsty: they were given a rock to drink from.

And God was with them in the valley of the wilderness.

Salvation is not escape. Jesus proved that. Jesus suffered unto death. We suffer. God suffers. What, then, is Salvation?

Salvation is a whole lot like manna in the wilderness.

The Practice

And You Shall Live centers on breathing spiritual practice. Each week, participants will be offered a breathing practice with an optional silent prayer mantra.

This breathing practice is a pyramid practice. The metronome below can be used to provide a measured rhythm to the breaths. The practice starts with an inspiration for one beat and an expiration for one beat without pausing between breathing in or out. After each expiration, one beat is added to the next set until you are breathing in for seven beats and out for seven beats. At that point, the process is reversed, the breaths becoming shorter by one beat after each expiration.

For Thought

The question . . . is whether there is Spiritual healing, and if it exists, how it is related to the other ways of healing, and further, how it is related to that kind of healing which in the language of religion is called “salvation.” (Tillich, Systematic Theology, Vol. III, p 277)

Read Aloud:

The dry bones of hopelessness and despair can learn to dance again, but salvation and healing come through death and resurrection. Teach us to dance. Amen.

The Response

These questions can be used to help the group engage with the reflection.

What did you notice during the Practice?

What did you notice during the Reflection?

How would you like to grow in response?

After each person shares, the group will offer a blessing to each person:

Christ, give us the courage to hear and be heard.

Responsive Reading

Adapted from Luke 19 and Ezekiel 37

A. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
   He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
   he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
   for his name’s sake.

B. “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”

A. Even though I walk through the darkest valley,*
   I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
   your rod and your staff—
   they comfort me.

B. I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

A. You prepare a table before me
   in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
   my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
   all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
   my whole life long.

Closing Prayer

Spirit of Truth, we live in a world enmeshed in deceit. We are assaulted by images of what we should be, what we should desire, what it means to be happy. We learn that the world cannot be trusted—no one is coming to save you. Source of Love, we long for you to make sense of the brutality of life. Hold us in your embrace until we are saturated by love. Let that be a baptism of salvation for the world.

Blessing

Go, love the world, knowing that you are accompanied and encouraged by Love. This, then, is salvation, to be loved and to love even though you die.