Daily Worship

Flow, river flow!

Jim Campbell July 05, 2014 0 0

Ezekiel 47: 1-9

The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple towards the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar.  He then brought me out through the north gate and led me round the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was trickling from the south side.

As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in – a river that no one could cross. He asked me, ‘Son of man, do you see this?’

Then he led me back to the bank of the river. When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. He said to me, ‘This water flows towards the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah,where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh.  Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live.

“Everything will live wherever the river goes.”

Lord,
Holy Spirit,
You are the agent of new creation,
The healing river
That flows from the Father’s throne
Into the barren deserts of our broken world

Wherever the river flows, there is life:

Hope to the hopeless,
Healing to the broken,
Grace to the ashamed
Peace to the tormented.

This river flows through your people
And out into the dry and cracked lands
Of our longing, thirsting world:

Some of us are just daring to paddle,
Others are up to our waists,
And a few – just a very few
Have given ourselves to the river
And are learning to swim.

Lord, help us as your community
to dare to get out of the shallows 
And into the deep waters of your Spirit.

Amen.

 

Jim Campbell, Ceres, Kemback and Springfield Church