Tuesday 16th December 2025
Jock Stein
“He walked to the east with a measuring tape and measured off fifteen hundred feet, leading me through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another fifteen hundred feet, leading me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another fifteen hundred feet, leading me through water waist-deep. He measured off another fifteen hundred feet. By now it was a river over my head, water to swim in, water no one could possibly walk through.”
Ezekiel 47:3-5 (The Message)
The river
In Advent we think of moving from darkness to light. In many parts of the world, blessing is a move from dry to wet, when the rains come. Ezekiel sees a vision of a stream coming from a new temple, and he finds himself in that stream, as it grows. But the purpose of the river is not to overwhelm a non-swimmer, but to renew a barren, salty land with fresh water. Again in the words of The Message version, “Wherever the river flows, life will flourish.”
At this point I invite you to slow down and meditate on the vision of this passage. Join the prophet and his mysterious companion beside the river, as you climb out and walk beside them. When it was just a trickle, and then a burn, there were no banks to speak of, no trees, but now trees have grown up on each bank. Something very strange, very deep is happening, and you are somehow part of it. Feel the awe, feel the mystery, feel the sense that you are part of something God is doing …
As you lift your eyes from the river, you see something like a curtain in the distance being drawn back. In the spirit you move downstream, and you see the river flowing into the Jordan valley, a sparkling torrent …
You move downstream with it, and ahead of you is the Dead Sea. This great river is flowing into it. Watch the surface of the sea begin to ripple, see its colour begin to change …
You walk down to the edge of the water; the man turns towards you, and invites you to taste it …
You do, reluctantly, but – it’s fresh, lovely to drink! Suddenly, you see an osprey diving into the water, and coming out with a great fish … and a herd of wild donkeys gathering at the edge and drinking … as you move to the far end of the Sea, there are fishermen spreading out their nets on rocks to dry in the sun …
At the far end of the Sea, the river flows out, larger, stronger than ever. More and more trees are growing on the banks. They are in full leaf, and bearing all kinds of fruit …
In the spirit you come back to where this all began, outside the temple, and you see villages and towns full of people. They are happy and healthy, and somehow you know this has happened because of the river. Families have homes, children are not going to die young, earth will no longer suffer from flooding or drought. You have seen the work of God …
Shall we pray?
God of hope and wonder, grant us your vision of a world which knows your hand at work, flooded with your love … and flourishing. Amen.
Jock Stein is a retired minister, ordained in Kenya – a poet, piper, preacher and publisher who lives with his wife Margaret in Haddington, where they are members of St Mary’s Parish Church.