The prophets are special characters in scripture. It is always amazing how they become the mouthpiece of God, speaking warnings and blessings to the people. Often times they act out God's word before the people, prophecy in action, that sometimes involves not a comfortable reality.
Hosea in proclaiming the word of God was told to take a harlot as a wife in order to illustrate God's love for his people. Jeremiah was told to buy a loincloth wear it without washing then bury it for a long period of time only to dig it up after it had rotten as sign of how pride rots the person and it clings to the person as close as a loincloth.
Ezekiel is also called to do strange acts of prophecy. He is sent to give prophecy over a field of dead bones as a sign of God's power to bring life. And in today's reading he is sent to the temple, which leads him on a swimming expedition.
There is beauty in today's prophecy. Ezekiel's action points to a tremendous blessings for all of us. His prophecy is about the restoration of the temple, about restoration of worship. What Ezekiel reveals to us is that true worship, right worship becomes a blessing that flows outward as a stream of life to the world.
The stream that flows from the temple, a river of life giving abundance, is meant to be a sign of what those who worship rightly are to the world. People who worship rightly will be a life giving stream to the world upon which fruit will be abundant.
Of course, worship for Ezekiel is not just what we do inside the temple, but it is about allowing the worship of God to transform us into instruments of grace by the way we live, serve, and act toward others. Right worship is right living. What we do in the temple should necessarily be seen in what we do with out hands, words we speak with our mouth, and how we truly make room for our neighbors.
We become the river of life, because in worship the river of life, Jesus, comes to us. We do not walk out of the church, but rather we flow forth. The world now has to swim in the abundant blessings we become by God's grace active in us. If Ezekiel's prophecy is to be real then we must allow the water of life to flow through us and reach every corner of our small little world and thus the river shall truly rise and the flood of grace shall transform all.
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