2017 Belmont University Lenten Devotional GuideSample

The passages from Ezekiel and John seem custom-made to be paired together: the work of God in the life of Israel has long hinted at re-birth and resurrection, and the vision of the prophet, strange though it is, is clear that God will bring about the resurrection of Israel after the exile. Then we encounter the Son of God calling a friend back from death and into life again—shortly after announcing that he himself is the “resurrection and the life.” The passage from John gives us one of the most human portraits of Jesus—a man who weeps at the death of a friend, and is moved by the mourning of others around him. This is a Jesus who feels the depth of powerful emotions. But John’s passage also gives us a cosmic vision of Jesus—one who has come as the fulfillment of Israel’s hope, the one who is able to raise the dry bones from death and call them back into the fullness of life.

This is why, perhaps, it’s important that we read Paul’s passage from Romans alongside these two. There has been much said—and there is probably much still to be said—about Paul’s use of the words “flesh” and “spirit.” But when read alongside the Ezekiel and John passages, it’s entirely possible to read the words “flesh” as pertaining to death, and spirit as pertaining to life. And in this sense, these three passages in concert become a great meditation for Lent. Lent is that time where we often subject our bodies—our flesh—to disciplines meant to remind us of the presence of the Spirit of “him who raised” Jesus” dwelling in us. This is not a rejection of the body or of bodily existence at all. To the contrary, this focused attention on God’s spirit dwelling in us renews our understanding of the importance of our embodied selves. This is why, of course, we look forward to feasting on Easter once our fast is finished.

But that feast, once it comes, is best framed by what all of our passages for today highlight: the broken state of the world necessarily means that our bodies—our flesh—will encounter suffering and, eventually, death. Ezekiel and Paul, Lazarus and the Psalmist—each knew well that the body is a site of suffering. And Jesus is the great fulfillment of this. But each of these texts—and ultimately the reality of the resurrection—remind us that the way of Jesus is not the way of death, but rather of new life.

MICAH WEEDMAN
Director of Outreach
University Ministries