Ezekiel 37:1-4 / Matthew 22:34-40
The sight of skeletons is not a pleasant sight at all.
Even as a symbol, the skull and cross bones denotes danger.
It is also what the olden-day pirates put on the flags of their ships, or at least that's how they are represented.
Whatever it is, skeletons are a symbol of death. Skeletons are what remain after life has long gone.
In the 1st reading, the prophet Ezekiel was led to a valley of dry bones, literally a place of the dead.
The Lord then ordered Ezekiel to prophesy to the dry bones, and then suddenly the dry bones began to be covered with flesh and skin, and breath entered them and they came back to life.
The message is that God is the Lord of life.
To those who experience disappointment after disappointment, they lose hope and they are like the dead, like the dry bones in the valley of death.
But the God of life will raise up the hopeless by the power of His love.
The God that we believe in is the God of life and love.
Our way of life is the way of love, and that is to love God and love neighbour.
Let us not dwell in the valley of death but climb up the mountain of God with life and love.