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The Promise of a Nation

April 12, 2025

Ezekiel 37:21-28 | John 11:45-53 | Psalm 85:1-7

Both texts from Ezekiel and John are about the formation and wellbeing of a nation. And both are preceded by stories of people being brought back to life. In Ezekiel, the valley of the dry bones precedes God’s promise to reunite the people of Israel into “one nation never again to be divided into two kingdoms.” In John, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, a miracle which increased Jesus’ following. Worried that the growing influence of Jesus would challenge the Roman rulers who would then destroy Jewish semi-independence. Caiaphas said, “You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.” Both texts are concerned with the formation and maintenance of a nation, and both texts follow miracles of life restored to those who had died and were unaware of and unable to care about the world around them.

God promised Israel a nation that would not not be divided. Caiaphas ordered one man to be killed in order to save that nation. Yet in spite of Caiaphas’ orders, the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem just four decades later profoundly changed the course of history for the Jewish people, effects of which are still evident today. It seems God’s promise is not yet fulfilled. Also, though Caiaphas believed he could save the nation, he failed to foresee or understand the unintended consequences of sacrificing Jesus.

Well… here we are, two or three thousand years later, dealing with fears about (re)forming and maintaining nations, not only in Israel or the United States or Ukraine, but throughout the world. Our country is deeply divided. The only commonality seems to be the belief that the country is in danger of being destroyed either by progressive wokeness or by its movement toward a dictatorship.  People with wildly divergent views believe they have THE answers and have become deaf or dead to those whose views do not agree with theirs.  Furthermore, they try to “cancel” people who hold other views either by discrediting them or by physically expelling them. In the extreme, they commit unspeakable atrocities to enforce their world views. Surely we should have figured out a better way of resolving our differences by now!

We have immediate access to more information today than we have ever had in the past. The extent to which our information bubbles have enclosed us is frightening. If we see only the information which algorithms predict will interest us, we lose not only perspective, but also the ability for critical thinking. Eight years ago my primary care physician told me I should take in news from media I did not agree with. I told him that I thought his goal was to lower my blood pressure. But he had a point. I wish I could say I followed his advice, but I would be stretching the truth. Though I have tried to understand other points of view, admittedly with varying degrees of success, I still rely on my information bubble for much of my news. I am not alone.

Do we need the recent thousands or the past millions who have perished to remind us to care for our fragile nations? We are the dry bones. It is time to wake up from the dead zone of our information bubbles and remind those in power that the welfare of the the nations they have vowed to protect takes precedence over their personal needs to wield power. It is time to respect the rights, responsibilities, and humanity of ALL people. God promised a nation and it is up to us to see that promise fulfilled – wherever that nation is.

Sally House