Since I entered seminary in the fall of 1980, I’ve become accustomed to the repetition of certain lessons within weeks and days of each other, especially during the Easter Season. Every year at the Easter Vigil we hear the story of the Valley of the Dry Bones.[1] In Year A of the lectionary (the current year), it had also been appointed as first lesson for the Fifth Sunday in Lent. We heard it again at the Daily Office on Thursday in Easter Week. It’s a great lesson. It’s very familiar to most people who hear it—though nowadays I think many more people will be familiar with the song about the bones than the prophecy. That said, I know my mind often wanders when I hear it read. Sometimes I form the words with my lips, without any sound, when this lesson is read.
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