Signs of Hope

Dear Cathedral Family,

Vivid, dramatic depictions of signs of hope for the future and for life appear in this Sunday’s readings. Signs in the biblical sense are actions that point to God and that can be rightly understood only when seen through the eyes of faith, with belief.

Ezekiel’s visionary prophecy of the Valley of Dry Bones holds out hope for restoration and life for Israel in exile. It is a sign that in returning to following God’s ways, Israel will again know life as it has been and ought to be. It demonstrates God’s power to take a broken people and recreate them, breathing new life into their dryness.

Jesus enacts the greatest of his signs in John’s gospel—raising his friend Lazarus from the dead. God’s power over death, over decay and seeming finality is demonstrated in Jesus’ prayer to the Father and his calling Lazarus out of the tomb. In Jesus those present can see God’s power to create life where there is none.

Both of these biblical accounts generate hope where hope has been lost. Both shine the light of God’s glory into a world that is dark with fear, grief, despair.

Ezekiel’s prophetic words come out of God’s command to share this hope with God’s people. Jesus’ greatest sign comes as preparation for and foreshadowing of his own impending death and resurrection. It is a sign of hope, of encouragement, of the power of belief in the promises of God.

Do you need a dose of hope right now?

Being together with God’s people in worship might just give you the medicine you need to keep going, to keep showing up for the life God calls you to live in the world.

Faithfully,

Beverly+