The Rivers Themselves Cry Out for Justice.

October 1, 2023, Season of Creation
Helen Weber-McReynolds, RWCP
Amos 5:21-24; Isaiah 43:19;  Ps. 85; Rev 22:1-7; John 7: 37-39
 
           Rivers form from tiny tributaries. Groundwater bubbles up, or snowmelt flows down a hill, and forms a small stream. Several small streams may happen to come together to form a larger stream. And when enough of these larger streams join together, a river forms.

           Justice movements often form in a similar way. A few people band together to protest discrimination or abuse, and others in sympathy or similar circumstances join in, and eventually a coalition forms. Sometimes strength in numbers helps them stage a strike, a boycott, or a legislative campaign, which can accomplish meaningful change.

           Nothing can live without water. And people cannot live without justice. People need basic rights to survive- ways to sustain themselves, and fair treatment so they can participate in their communities without discrimination. This has been true since the earliest of societies formed.

           Making sure everyone is allowed to earn or grow what they need to survive is not only the best way to avoid conflict in a society, but our readings today tell us that justice is what God demands for everyone. God has created the beautiful waters of our world, for our survival and our enjoyment, from unbounded, limitless love for us. And in return, God expects us to share that love, to make sure the members of our human family can meet their basic needs and have a chance to thrive. Just as everyone deserves access to clean water, so do they deserve fairness and equality. The message in each reading flows on the rivers.

           For the prophets Amos and Isaiah, saying that God created rivers in the wilderness, and demanded that justice flow like a river were ways of telling their listeners that God expected them to work for justice in their communities. Water was precious in their desert climate, so it must have been easy for the people to whom Amos and Isaiah were preaching to recognize how high a priority justice for all creatures was for God.

           In the Revelations passage, justice and oneness with God was portrayed as the most pristine of rivers, one that helped water trees which produced food and medicine for everyone. This river carried light and hope, and the promise of oneness with God forever.

           In our gospel passage, John portrayed Jesus as a source of living water, which he said symbolized the Holy Spirit. Jesus was quoted as saying that those who believed in him would be sources of the Holy Spirit, flowing like a river of living water. In other words, those who followed Jesus’ way of justice and inclusion would live lives of light and hope.

           In our world today, it is the rivers themselves who cry for justice. The excessive burning of fossil fuels has resulted in changes to our climate, causing more extreme storms, droughts and floods than ever before in history. The dumping of trash and poisonous chemicals into our waterways has polluted them to the point that their waters in some areas sicken, rather than nourish. The downstream effects on plants, animals, and humans are compounded with every passing year. As usual, the poor are those most affected. Rising sea levels, floods, drought, and hurricanes kill and wipe out the homes of those most vulnerable first in all areas of the world.
 
           God demands justice flow like a river for the rivers, and lakes and oceans, and air, and wildlife, and human beings, and all of Creation. We hold the key to our own survival. But it will take difficult negotiation and cooperation within communities and between nations, across neighborhoods and around the world. We have made progress toward the goal, but much work remains to be done. It will take all of us to accomplish. What more can we each do today?