The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.”

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.

When you begin today’s first reading, you may want to turn away. Is this the zombie apocalypse we have here?

But no, it’s the intense writing of Ezekiel, last of the great prophets, right up there with Jeremiah and Isaiah in importance.

And he’s writing in the midst of the Babylonian exile, a truly horrible and seemingly hopeless time in Israel’s history. The Temple was destroyed, the population displaced. But Ezekiel saw visions, and if they remind us of the Book of Revelation, it’s because like that last book of the New Testament, Ezekiel’s writing is eschatological, foreseeing the end times. Dry bones are enfleshed, and Ezekiel finds the mercy of God there. God wins, foretelling the coming of Christ. 

Earlier, in Ezekiel 36:26, Ezekiel hears God tell us, “I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel’s imagery is vivid, earthy and beautiful.

—Effie Caldarola has a master’s degree in pastoral studies from Seattle University. She was a longtime columnist for Catholic News Service and now writes for OSV. 

I wait, O God, with patience and in hope. I wait like a blind man who has been promised the dawning of light. I await the resurrection of the dead and of the flesh. Amen.

—Karl Rahner, SJ