ADVENT WEEK TWO: PEACE

December 7 Rev. Mike Miller

Peace in the Valley

Ezekiel 37:1-14

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. Ezekiel 37:14

Advent is a season of waiting. It is a time to prepare ourselves for peace and

new life coming into a very weary world. Ezekiel 37:1–14 gives us a vivid image

that speaks powerfully to this theme of new life.

Addressing the despondent and displaced exiles in Babylon, Ezekiel speaks

of a valley of bones that are not only dead, but long past the point of life. This

imagery reflects how many people can feel during the holiday season. Cut off,

forgotten, spiritually lifeless. But Advent reminds us that God does not aban-

don God’s people in valleys alone. Instead, God sits with them in the valleys

and promises restoration and new life.

In this scripture text, God commands Ezekiel to prophesy, and as he does, the

bones come together, flesh forms, and breath enters. What once was dead

stands alive again. This breath-Spirit of God is the same Spirit that hovered

over the waters at creation, the same Spirit that filled Mary’s womb, and the

same Spirit that brought and continues to bring new life into our midst.

During Advent, we sit in the tension between the brokenness of the world and

the promises of peace, hope, joy, and love. Ezekiel 37 reminds us that God

brings life where there is death, hope where there is despair, joy where there

is sadness, and love where there is hatred.

Our Advent journey reminds us that just as Jesus once came to a weary

world, Jesus comes again and again into our lives to make everything new.

As we wait, we do not wait in fear. We wait in hope—trusting that the God who

breathes life into dry bones is still at work, even in our valleys.

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