The Spirit of the Lord in us (Ezekiel 37:1-14; Romans 8:6-11)

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For more commentary on this week's readings, see the Reflections on the Lectionary page. For full-text access to all articles, subscribe to the Century.

Sometimes I weep at how fragile our human flesh is. We have fragile bones that break, fragile lungs that collapse, fragile hearts that miss a beat, fragile minds that freeze with age. Our fragile flesh propels us into selfish greed, succumbs to lust, fixates on wealth, drives us to narcissism or defensiveness or rage or self-harm. This year our fleshly proclivities have been on full display on the public stage, as “alternative facts” are celebrated and tax returns hidden, as cavalier groping is disregarded and flagrant dishonesty is touted as honorable.