The Lord told the prophet Ezekiel to wade through fields of dry bones (Ez 37:1ff). These bones represented the state of the chosen people, Israel. Then, the Lord told Ezekiel to prophesy over the bones. The bones began to rattle. This symbolized the Israelite nation beginning to rise from the dead. When something moves that can't move, it may be a sign of the Resurrection.
Sts. Peter and John healed a forty-year-old man who had been paralyzed from birth (Acts 3:7; 4:22). When this man who couldn't move moved, ran, and jumped, it was a sign of the Resurrection.
The two disciples on the road to Emmaus were mentally and spiritually paralyzed. Jesus said they had "little sense" and were slow to believe (Lk 24:25), but soon afterward their hearts burned and their eyes were opened (Lk 24:31-32). This interior movement was a sign and experience of the Resurrection. They ran back to Jerusalem to tell the Good News.
Which bones need to rattle in your life? In what ways are you paralyzed? What doesn't move in your life? When you make a move to speak up for Jesus for the first time on your job, start praying with your spouse as never before, go to Confession for the first time in a long time, move away from staring at the TV, avert your eyes from your handheld electronic device, go to Mass during the week, read the Bible daily, etc., these movements are signs of Jesus' Resurrection. Get moving!
| PRAYER: | Father, move me. |
| PROMISE: | "Then they recounted what had happened on the road and how they had come to know Him in the breaking of bread." –Lk 24:35 |
| PRAISE: | Praise the risen Jesus, Who brings healing and life (Jn 10:10). |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College