Shattered

Almost every day starts out with coffee for me. My love of coffee really took off when I lived in Washington. It was hard not to acquire a taste for it when there was some sort of coffee shop on almost every corner on my way to school. Naturally as a coffee drinker, I’ve also developed a love of coffee mugs. I had received a fall-themed mug as a present that had a dog on it that looked just like my dog, Boulder. It soon became one of my favorite mugs! I brought it to school with me one day. When I was done using it, I tucked it safely away in my lunchbox. Or at least I thought. Later in the day, I grabbed something out of the lunchbox causing it to fall off my desk, which resulted in the coffee mug falling out and breaking into several pieces. My cute new mug was no longer useful or cute. I thought about gluing it back together, but no amount of effort would make my mug whole again. It was beyond saving.

Lent provides us with opportunities to look at what’s broken and admit we can’t fix it. In Ezekiel 37, the Lord brings the prophet to a valley of dry bones. Dry. Scattered. Beyond repair. Worse than a broken coffee mug. No glue, no fresh start. The Lord asks, “Son of man, can these bones live?” Ezekiel answers faithfully, “O Lord God, you know.” And then God does what only God can do. He speaks and the bones come together. Sinews and flesh appear, breath enters lifeless bodies, and what was dead lives again. Restoration through God’s Word, a promise that reaches all the way to the cross.

Jesus enters the ultimate valley of dry bones on Good Friday. He takes on our sin, our brokenness, our death. It would seem things are shattered beyond repair as He’s laid in the tomb, but on the third day, breath returns and death is undone. What was broken is restored, not glued together, but made new. We try to glue things back together, but God creates anew by forgiving sins. The broken coffee mug stays broken, but we do not. As we hear in Ezekiel, “I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live.”

Prayer:
Dear God, you know how broken we are. We confess that we cannot restore ourselves. Thank you for sending Jesus to the cross so that we can be restored through His death and resurrection. Amen.