Add a little yeast
Christine Colliar
April 01, 2025
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Ezekiel 37: 1-14 (NRSVA)
1 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”
Add a little yeast, and it starts to work its magic. Quietly, almost unnoticed, it brings life to the dough, turning it from flat and lifeless into something full, something that rises and grows. It’s a simple process, but it’s transformative.
In Ezekiel 37, we read about a valley of dry bones. God’s people have lost all hope, they feel cut off, lifeless. But they aren’t forgotten. God promises the Spirit will breathe life back into them.
What is dry, brittle, and broken will be restored. God will renew their hearts, and they will walk with God once again.
That promise is true for us today. Jesus says, ‘I am the Bread of Life,’ and like yeast, Jesus’ Holy Spirit works silently in us. We may feel dry, empty, or cut off at times, but God promises to fill us, to restore us, to bring us back to life.
Like yeast transforming dough, Jesus’ Spirit works quietly in us, renewing our souls, making us whole again, and drawing us closer to God.
We don’t have to wait for some grand moment of transformation. The yeast is already working in us, every day, gently but powerfully. Jesus is the Bread that sustains us, and his Spirit is the yeast that revitalises us from the inside out. What a gift!
Prayer:
Breathe, Lord, as you breathed on the dry bones.
Bring life where there is none.
Like yeast in dough, work quietly within us,
renew, restore, and make us whole.
Fill us with your Spirit,
and let us rise, alive in you.
Amen
What can I do? Pray for Christ Church Warwick, Bermuda, part of the International Presbytery of the Church of Scotland. Christ Church provides hot lunches, shower and laundry facilities to those in financial need. https://christchurch.bm/committees/outreach/
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