River deep...

It had been a fruitful time of catching up with a good friend. We shared news from our respective families as we walked around the reservoir in West Yorkshire. After a good walk with my prayer partner, Pat, we sat down to pray together in my car. As we praised God and thanked him for his many blessings, a picture formed in my head of a stagnant pool of water. It was a bit like a rock pool on the shore, cut off from the tide at high water, or a pond that needed some attention- still and quiet.

Then I became conscious of the sound of running water. From where we sat, we could hear a little stream gushing past on its way to the lake below.

Slowly, I felt the Lord drawing out comparisons between the two scenes: the pond was stagnant, safe, quiet, cut off from the world. It sustained life, but not much, and not in great variety. The stream, though, was moving, constantly changing, teeming with life. It was the bringer of life to its environment. And then the question: which one is our church like? Is it like the stagnant pool or the lively stream? I found myself praying that the Lord would re- oxygenate, revive, bring new life to our fellowship. I stored away this image to ponder and reflect on.

About a week later it was Morning Prayer here at Holy Trinity. As usual, we heard the set readings for the day, one of which was a vision from the prophet Ezekiel. It said this: "The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the 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 of the temple ... and the water was flowing 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. 6 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 toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Sea. When it empties into the Sea, the 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. Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds - like the fish of the Great Sea. But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing." (Ezekiel 47. slightly edited)

So there's the vision for our church: that our worship should be a source of life not just for us worshippers but for the world around us. Abundant life within the church and overflowing to revive and heal a broken world. So many see the church as a closed shop; a clique; a 'holy huddle'. The vision God has for us is for something very different- a worshipping community that exists to serve others by what we are and do.

This Lent, let's revive our prayer life and change the world around us!

Blessings,

Mark Bennett

Vicar