"But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives." (1 Tim. 5:6) "For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again." (2 Cor. 5:14)

Since the close of the Second World War, Japanese volunteers have been searching the island of Saipan for the bodies of soldiers killed there. Of the 40,000 to 50,000 Japanese soldiers and dependents believed to have died there more than 50 years ago, only about half have been found.

The Church, too, is looking for the dead - for those who are "dead" in trespasses and sins. Yes, the Church must seek them out, proclaim life to them in the name of Christ, and when they respond in faith and obedience, like the bones of Ezekiel's vision, these dead shall live.