Behold, everything is ready for you; Come.

And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. Ezekiel 47:9

And Ezekiel has another crazy beautiful vision of restoration and healing, of a rising river that first only comes up to his ankles, and then up to his knees, and then yet again up to his waist, and at last it was too deep to be crossed, measuring 1000 cubits, which I sort of understand to mean, “Wow, that is a lot of water!”

And this river springs up from the Holy of Holies, the very presence of God Almighty who sends forth healing to the world, much like when Jesus talked about the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants and grows into a tree where birds can come and find shelter in its branches.

Which, wow, is a very good reminder of what is true in this aching and broken world, that all of God’s promises are yes and amen.

Actually, there are very few more focused celebrations of hope and a future than a wedding. Family and friends gather together to plant the seed of what they and we all know is going to be a long road full of life, in all of its goodness, but yes, all of the pain and heartache of the human experience. And no one is stupid or naïve, but last night I was part of huge massive lights pulsing, music pounding, fireworks blasting hold-nothing-back jubilee of promise.

And all sorts of biblical stories become more deeply understood in the light of my experience with Middle Eastern weddings, like the one I joined last night for instance. Like that story about everybody falling asleep waiting for the bridegroom to arrive… two and a half hours later than we were told to show up. I can imagine that the audience could really understand the idea of having one’s oil lamps go dark. But then the glorious burst open doors and swirling and twirling, the bridegroom has arrived and all of the waiting is past and forgotten.

And the father of the bride is one of our teachers, and it was he who invited us, and he was everywhere, welcoming and embracing and in many ways, this was his big moment as a father, providing this grand feast. So it would have been very tragic if he had run out of wine, although in this case, wine wasn’t exactly flowing, we just drank the occasional beer, but the whole idea of not having provided enough would have been a total disaster, not just for tonight, but for the family narrative.  So Jesus stepping into his most potent point of need and turning the water into wine would really punch the listeners. He sees and he knows.

And the dancing and dancing and dancing. And the endless plates of hummus and baskets of bread and kabobs and salads and cakes and cans of Pepsi. All were invited to the wedding feast: family and friends and neighbors and coworkers and especially joyous small children, and even the sort of curious folk culturally and linguistically crippled and impoverished from Two Sides street behind the place of hedges and not exactly dressed in long sequined swirly dresses, but at least I went and got my hair straightened for the event.

Ah, and to be the bride of Christ, perfectly beautiful in every detail.  All the tears brushed away, no holding-back beloved. One of my very favorite moments is when all of the groomsmen closed in around the groom, with the most vigorous enthusiastic dancing imaginable. This was true celebration of all that he was receiving and welcoming into himself.

All will be healed, and everything will live wherever the River of His presence flows.  

Welcomed into Himself.