Where the Prophets Call to the Four Winds

“From the four winds come, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”
— Ezekiel 37:9

There is a place in scripture where the prophets cry out to the four winds—north, south, east, and west—summoning breath, life, and judgment to the whole earth. It is a call not confined to one nation or people, but a divine summons that stretches across creation. The four winds symbolize the totality of God’s reach: His message is not local, but universal. His Spirit moves across every border, every language, every soul.

This prophetic cry in Ezekiel speaks to resurrection, renewal, and the Spirit’s power to restore life across every corner of the earth. It mirrors the Jerusalem cross’s symbolism—the centrality of Christ and the spread of His mission to the four directions.

This same universality is etched into the Jerusalem cross. At its center is Christ, and from Him radiate four smaller crosses—often seen as the four evangelists, the four corners of the earth, or the wounds that bore salvation. It is a symbol born in the city where Jesus was crucified and raised, and it carries the weight of mission, pilgrimage, and proclamation.

For years, I longed to have a Jerusalem cross—not as ornament, but as embodiment. A reminder of God’s sovereignty, the sacredness of life, and the call to be faithful in every direction I’m sent. On pilgrimage in Lourdes, I finally received one. It felt like a quiet fulfillment, a seal of grace. Not just a keepsake, but a commissioning.

To wear the Jerusalem cross, or to pray beneath it, is to stand where the prophets stood—calling to the four winds. It is to believe that the Gospel is not a private possession but a gift meant to be breathed into every corner of the world. It is to live as one sent, even in silence, even in suffering, even in the hidden places.

And so we ask: when the Son of Man comes, will He find us faithful? Will He find us praying, proclaiming, persevering—our lives shaped like crosses, our voices echoing the prophets, our hearts turned toward the winds?

Let Him find us there.