A valley of dry bones brought to life.
Lazarus drawn from his tomb, eyes unwrapped.
A breath, a tear, a word. Life renewed.
The texts for the 5th Sunday in Lent present us with some pretty stark imagery as we draw nearer to Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Visions of Israel’s restoration and Jesus’ love beyond his friend’s grave give us much to ponder.
We’re tempted, with good reason, to draw comparisons between Ezekiel 37:1-14 and John 11:1-45 as blueprints to our own hopes for resurrection…to cling to them as hope for life after our own deaths.
But what if something much more meaningful and profound is behind these passages? What if they’re meant more to give us a promise for today than hope for tomorrow? What if they’re pointing us toward a way of speaking truth to power that can overcome the worst of what oppression and exploitation have to dish out?
This week at New Wineskins, we continue our Lenten collaboration with Justice & Jubilee with a discussion on how deconstructing these two familiar passages can give us a lens into our prophetic call to dismantle the systems and structures of privilege and influence that keep us all from living a life of Divine intent.
Join us this Sunday, March 26, in the New Wineskins Virtual Theology Pub powered by Zoom as we take a closer look at how the stories of Ezekiel and Lazarus speak truth to power in order to liberate the people our society too often tells us to ignore. Our discussion video from The Work of the People invites us to consider the ways we fail to see the death and destruction wrought by power dynamics and our role in overcoming those principalities to bring about the Beloved Community.
📺 Click here to watch this week’s video
For the full experience of our collaboration, see the schedule below…you’re welcome to participate in any or all of the following:
5:30pm ET: Justice & Jubilee Message & Music (YouTube livestream)
6:00pm ET: New Wineskins Happy Half-Hour (informal meet & greet time…see link below)
6:30pm ET: New Wineskins Presentation & conversation begin (see link below)
Join us for Lent with Justice & Jubilee!
Every week during Lent, Justice and Jubilee will host their regular YouTube live premier at 5:30pm (Eastern Time) and invite participants to join us in our New Wineskins Virtual Theology Pub powered by Zoom for Happy Half-Hour from 6:00-6:30pmET for a time of conversation and community.
We’ll then hold our regular 6:30pmET discussion focused on how we might look at the J&J topic through the lens of deconstruction, seeking to find deeper, perhaps unexpected meanings that inform our collective justice & liberation work.
Feb. 26: Tempted (Matthew 4:1-11)Mar. 5: Called (Gen 12:1-4a & John 3:1-17)Mar. 12: Quenched (Exodus 17:1-7 & John 4:5-42)Mar. 19: Anointed (1 Samuel 16:1-13 & John 9:1-41)- Mar. 26: Raised (Ezekiel 37:1-14 & John 11:1-45)
Stay tuned for details about our Holy Week and Easter Sunday observations:
- Apr. 2: Palm Sunday
- Apr. 6: Maundy Thursday
- Apr. 7: Good Friday
- Apr. 9: Easter Sunday
If you haven’t already signed up for our weekly email newsletter, now would be a great time to do it so you don’t miss any of this cool collaboration!
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