17th January 2026
(Part of the underlying stress in Iran is a lack of water. Tehran and other cities are on the verge of ‘Day Zero’ – when there will literally be no water in the pipes. This is a result of climate change, over consumption and a failure to maintain traditional means of collecting and storing water).
Jesus said … “Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14b
You Lord, are the source of all good things:
We praise you.
You call us to tend and care for your creation:
May we strive to do your will.
You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives:
May we live together in peace.
A reading Ezekiel 47:1-12
Now he brought me back to the entrance to the Temple. I saw water pouring out from under the Temple porch to the east (the Temple faced east). The water poured from the south side of the Temple, south of the altar. He then took me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the gate complex on the east. The water was gushing from under the south front of the Temple. He walked to the east with a measuring tape and measured off fifteen hundred feet, leading me through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another fifteen hundred feet, leading me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another fifteen hundred feet, leading me through water waist-deep. He measured off another fifteen hundred feet. By now it was a river over my head, water to swim in, water no one could possibly walk through. He said, “Son of man, have you had a good look?”
Then he took me back to the riverbank. While sitting on the bank, I noticed a lot of trees on both sides of the river. He told me, “This water flows east, descends to the Arabah and then into the sea, the sea of stagnant waters. When it empties into those waters, the sea will become fresh. Wherever the river flows, life will flourish—great schools of fish—because the river is turning the salt sea into fresh water. Where the river flows, life abounds. Fishermen will stand shoulder to shoulder along the shore from En Gedi all the way north to En-eglaim, casting their nets. The sea will teem with fish of all kinds, like the fish of the Great Mediterranean.
“The swamps and marshes won’t become fresh. They’ll stay salty. But the river itself, on both banks, will grow fruit trees of all kinds. Their leaves won’t wither, the fruit won’t fail. Every month they’ll bear fresh fruit because the river from the Sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.”
In the beginning
it was a mere drop of water,
a slight dampness on the ground:
It will become in us a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
The wetness gathers,
soaks into the ground,
bubbles up and becomes a spring:
It will become in us a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
Overflowing,
the spring gives birth to a stream,
slipping and sliding and a journey begins:
It will become in us a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
Meeting with others,
joining forces, growing in magnitude,
the stream becomes a river:
It will become in us a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
From youth to maturity
the river grows in girth and presence,
bearing an ever growing load:
It will become in us a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
Spilling over, spreading out,
the river branches out into a delta
disbursing its fertility across the land:
It will become in us a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
Returning, homing in on the tideline,
the river pours out unhesitatingly
into the greater depth of the sea:
It will become in us a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
From cradle to grave, may our lives be channeled by God’s wisdom.
From beginning to end, may our lives serve God’s kingdom.
From source to sea, may our lives overflow with God’s love.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
The Green Tau 