River of Life

 In the first Creation story, centered on the seven days, what is the first thing created by God speaking? (Let there be light) What was there before God created light? (Chaos or nothing is usual answers) What did God's Spirit/Face hover over when God was speaking? (Water) Any ideas of why water was already here before God created the world and all that was in it? (      ) In the second creation story we start with dry land, rain falls, gardens grow and then the river that comes out and spreads over the land. The rivers names are the major rivers of the Middle East back in the day: Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates. For a traditionally desert people and shepherds, water is life. 

I was not able to take part of the Dakota Access Pipe Line protest 5 years ago that happened in South Dakota about 100 miles from where I lived because of health reasons. It was a great moment when people from many different backgrounds came together, even the traditional cowboys, modern ranchers were on the right side, because water is life. It was very hypocritical that too many in North and South Dakota where disgusted that this nation of Lakota people would try to stop progress and complained they had nothing to worry about, because it wasn't going to leak. I call out hypocrites because it was supposed to be built north of Bismarck and Mandan in North Dakota and their city councils invited the representatives from DAPL and asked a few questions, brought up some concerns and the company decided to move the pipeline as to not harm those people, but those on the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Reservations are just blowing things out of proportion for having those same concerns, but tried to fight it because they knew the worth of the water, their land, and their people was not worth any benefit the pipeline would bring. 

In the book of Revelation, which talks about the forces that harm the world and its people and the ultimate victory of God and the coming of the kingdom of God onto our world, the sun is needed no more, but there is still the river of life. Lined with fruit trees that give fruit during its month of the year and leaves for the healing of the nations. There is the vision of all nations coming together and singing, praising, and finally united as one people under God. Going down the center is life, the river. 

I am a fan of Bruce Lee. In his movie, "Enter the Dragon" we see him teaching young monks, telling them, "Be Water, My Friend. Empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless, like water. You put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend." Water covers 70% of our world, it is frozen, or at least used to be, in glaciers on the poles of our world, it comes down from the sky as rain, sleet, snow, and hail, it fills giant underground aquifers and rivers and lakes and nourishes life. In the beginning, water, the sea, is chaos but life can't start without rain, in the end, water is life and life-giving. 

In our time, one out of four humans don't have access to clean drinking water, two billion people. As this century unfolds and the climate crisis worsens, droughts in some areas of the world may last decades, rain comes down more erratically as seen in New York this weekend and Duluth last weekend causing major flooding and around the world this past month. We must proclaim and insure that water is a right for all life, not just humans in industrialized nations and not only the privileged in those nations leaving behind the communities of Black, Indigenous, & People of Color and the poor. 

Let us give thanks for water and honor its purpose and meaning in our world. Let us make the stand to ensure that all life, all people, and all communities have access to clean water for the health of all and the health of God's creation. Amen.