Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there, water was flowing from below the threshold of the temple towards the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me round on the outside to the outer gate that faces towards the east; and the water was coming out on the south side. Going on eastwards with a cord in his hand, the man measured one thousand cubits, and then led me through the water; and it was ankle-deep. Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was knee-deep. Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was up to the waist. Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. He said to me, ‘Mortal, have you seen this?’ Then he led me back along the bank of the river. As I came back, I saw on the bank of the river a great many trees on one side and on the other. He said to me, ‘This water flows towards the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh. Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes. People will stand fishing beside the sea fro Rm En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will be a place for the spreading of nets; its fish will be of a great many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.’
Reflection Jerusalem was in ruins. Hope had grown thin, and faith was quiet. From the broken place of the temple, water began to flow, a small stream deepening as it moved, bringing life wherever it touched. Though that river, God spoke a promise: presence had not ended, and life could rise again even in exile.
Our world has known its own kind of exile. When the pandemic came, everything stopped. Cities fell silent. People stayed behind closed doors, and fear filled the air. It was a strange, heavy stillness, a time when death felt close and the future unsure. Yet even then, life did not disappear. It changed its form. As human noise faded, the earth began to breathe. The sky cleared, rivers grew clean, and birds returned to places long forgotten. While we mourned, creation remembered how to live. And within that quiet, we began to see again that the life of the world does not depend on our motion, but on the mercy that moves beyond our control.
Ezekiel’s vision still speaks to such a time. The same Spirit that moved through ruins moves now through the weary cities of our age. The river of God still flows, seeking what is dry and lifeless, carrying grace to what was thought beyond repair. It does not wait for perfection. It carries its own mercy. Wherever this water reaches, the world begins to live again.
Renewal does not begin with our effort. It begins with the flow of divine life already moving among us. Faith is to notice that movement and to join it with open hands. The river that once ran through a prophet’s dream still runs through this wounded world, turning sorrow into song, and despair into hope.
Wherever this river flows, the earth remembers how to breathe, and life begins once more.
Prayer Giver of life, you spoke to your people in exile and let a river flow through their desolation. When our world stood still, your mercy kept moving. Remind us to trust that quiet flow. Heal what we have harmed, renew what is broken, and let your water bring life again to every dry place. Amen.
Today’s writer
The Revd Dr Seoyoung Kim is a Lecturer in Applied Theology at the Belfast School of Theology and a Central Committee member of the World Council of Churches.
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