Awash in the Goodness of God

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, November 9th, 2025:
The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

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Ezekiel
47.1-2, 8-9, 12
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​Then the Angel of the Lord brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there, water was flowing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the temple faced east; and the water was flowing down from below the right side of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and the water was coming out on the right side.

He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh. Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes.

“On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Fifteen minutes from the water. No matter where in the world experience has taken me — from small towns to historic cities — I have always lived, at most, 15 minutes’ walk from the water. Oceans, harbours, rivers, canals — none of them small, all of them economically and historically significant. It surprised me, therefore, to learn that the great city of Jerusalem — ancient and still thriving today — is not built on a major waterway. On the contrary, it is two hours’ driving distance from the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Why, then, in the First Reading for this Sunday does Ezekiel’s vision depict Jerusalem’s temple awash in water? 
As the Angel of the Lord leads Ezekiel around the temple, they see water pouring from the temple’s threshold, out both the east-facing entrance and the north gate. So great is its volume that the water becomes a river. It courses for miles through the Arabah’s desert wilderness and, rather than sinking wholly into the parched earth, rushes onward. It floods the Dead Sea and, dead no more, its waters become fresh. “Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there.” Trees spring up on the banks of the river, their “fresh fruit … for food, and their leaves for healing.” And why are the fish thriving and the trees bearing fruit? The angel says, “[B]ecause the water for them flows from the [temple] sanctuary.”

How extraordinary is this vision, and are we not now living in it? Does not God flood our lives with food for our future hunger and healing leaves for our wounds from past hurts? Are we not blessed by a God who restores us and sets us on the right path with provision for anything we need? Are we not awash in the goodness of God?

God of abundant love, thank You that You never fail to provide abundantly. Help us to recognize, each day, the blessings with which You are flooding our lives, so that our joy may be a river spilling from our hearts to the hearts of those in our circle of care. In Your holy Name we pray.




Donna Davis

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