Journey to the Cross

Pause

Take a breath. Open your senses so they can feel the light that surrounds you.

Take a breath… and enjoy the life around you.

Sometimes it is difficult to see the sun over the clouds. But the sun is always there.

Sometimes it is difficult to feel the presence of the Triune God, but God is always there.

Listen

The Lord’s power overcame me, and while I was in the Lord’s spirit, he led me out and set me down in the middle of a certain valley. It was full of bones. He led me through them all around, and I saw that there were a great many of them on the valley floor, and they were very dry.

He asked me, “Human one, can these bones live again?”

I said, “Lord God, only you know.”

He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, Dry bones, hear the Lord’s word! The Lord God proclaims to these bones: I am about to put breath in you, and you will live again. I will put sinews on you, place flesh on you, and cover you with skin. When I put breath in you, and you come to life, you will know that I am the Lord.”

Ezekiel 37:1-6

Think

A valley full of bones. This image invokes pictures that I have seen throughout the years. They are usually the consequence of war, hate, violence, fear, and ignorance. When God asks the prophet if the bones can live again, the prophet replies “Lord God, only you know.”

It is true that true life can always and only be found in God. But I wonder why God feels the need to ask the human one if the bones can live again. I wonder if God does this to remind us of our responsibility in choosing life in situations where death seems to be the only way. Instead of war, we could advocate for peace. Instead of hate, we can work towards relationship and fellowship. Instead of fear and ignorance, we could make the intentional effort in knowing and experiencing others that are different. God will always be the one that gives life and will advocate for life… but somehow we human ones are also called to make sure that the bones live.

Marissa Galván-Valle

Pray

God of life, thank you for always giving me the breath I need in the precise moment I need it. Thank you for creating life and giving it to your creation as a sign of grace. Remind me that the life I receive leads me to seek a better life for others. Allow me to be a peacemaker and a giver of life. Amen.

Go

Breathe in!

Breathe in the life and hope that only God provides.

Breathe in so that you can go and give this hope of life to others, in everything you do and everything you say.