A River Runs Through It
Psalm 46
Revelation 22:1-5
If I were to ask you to tell me everything you know about the “River Styx”
(that’s “s-t-y-x”), what would you tell me – I mean after you thought, “what, is he
crazy?!”
Well, you might say, for starters, that the Styx is a river in Greek mythology that
formed the boundary between Earth and the Underworld (usually called Hades) – [or
put another way] – the river that separates the world of the living from the world of the
dead.
And you might also say that, according to some versions of the story, the Styx
had miraculous powers, and could make someone invulnerable.
Or you might say that this river was so respected by the gods of Greek
mythology that they would take life-binding oaths just by mentioning its name.
Well, you might say all of that – and more! – but you’d be wrong – [wrong, I tell
you!] – because I’m not talking about that river at all. I’m talking about the River Styx,
a branch of the mighty Saugeen, that flows through the farm where I grew up in
Bentinck Township, in Grey County.
Yes, my friends, the Styx is one of the tributaries of the Saugeen River, located in
the Bruce Peninsula, flowing generally north-west for about 150 kilometres before
emptying into Lake Huron near Southampton.
Now the Styx (“my” Styx) may be little more than a glorified creek, but it
provided a drinking hole for our cattle in the summertime, a swimming hole (about a
metre deep) for my brothers and me, and fishing for some sketchy-looking fish we
called “chubb”, which were really good for nothing except feeding the barn cats.
A wooden bridge, of sorts, connected the cleared land at the front of the farm to
the maple bush at the back. When I was young, that bridge was still strong enough
that we could drive a tractor across it (when we were making maple syrup in the bush
in the spring, or cutting trees for fence-posts or for firewood). But by the time my
parents left the farm in 1997, the bridge was no longer safe to walk across, let alone
drive a tractor across.
“Our” river – [the river that ran through the back of our farm] – provided
recreation for us kids, water for livestock and food for the barn cats. Larger rivers – [in
more populated areas] – provide all of that, and much more: transportation, power, and
food (for people!) – which has made them natural places for human settlement since the
beginning of time.
And because ancient people were so dependent on rivers for their livelihood,
they often ascribed “sacred” attributes to them: the Nile in Egypt, for example, with its
annual inundation fertilizing the land; or the Ganges in India, considered “holy”
among Hindus.
Music and art are full of “river” imagery. The way a river just seems to flow on
forever has inspired songs like “Old Man River” about the Mississippi, and my
favourite, “Moon River”. And wasn’t Isaac Watts using a similar image when he wrote
“Time like an ever-flowing stream bears all its sons away” in his hymn, “O God Our Help in
Ages Past”?
1
At the end of his novella (and later movie), “A River Runs through It”, Norman
Maclean eludes to that same primeval and ageless quality when he writes, “Eventually,
all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great
flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time”.
Rivers provide imagery for Christian hymnody as well, including this old
chestnut, written in 1864 by Robert Lowry (which you last sang in 2004, by the way –
we keep track of these things!):
Shall we gather by the river,
where bright angel feet have trod;
with its crystal tide forever
flowing by the throne of God?
Robert Lowry was a Baptist pastor in Brooklyn, New York, when an epidemic
swept the city in 1864. Some members of his congregation died; everyone lost friends
and loved ones. It was in the midst of this tragedy that Lowry wrote this hymn with its
promise of reunion. Like others, he saw the river’s “ever-flowing stream” as a symbol
of eternity.
o
o
o
o
o
Rivers also play pivotal roles in biblical geography:
God encounters people at river crossings, such as the Jabbok River where Jacob
wrestled with God.
River reeds protected the baby Moses who floated around in a basket in a river;
Moses’ name means “I drew him out of the water”.
Rivers are also locations for healing; for example the cleansing of Namaan the
Syrian from his leprosy.
The Psalmist writes, “there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God”.
The prophet Ezekiel envisions a wondrous river flowing out from the new
temple, bringing life to all it touches.
And that’s just in the Old Testament!
o In the New Testament, in the Gospel of John, the river of life flows from the
heart of Jesus, becoming for anyone who thirsts “a spring of living water”.
o Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River.
o And then we come to the book of Revelation.
Now I’m the first one to acknowledge that the book of Revelation is full of some
pretty whacky stuff, which is why some people question why it was included in the
Bible to begin with.
As kooky as much of the book is, however – [and as much as it’s been twisted,
abused, sensationalized and misinterpreted to provide the desired conclusion and
effect] - there are some beautiful and comforting passages in this book. The 21st and
22nd chapters, in particular - [a portion of which we read this morning] - offer one of
the most wonderful and hope-filled visions in all of Scripture. The vision comes at
the end of the book’s journey – a journey of radical hope and transformation. The entire
book leads up to this amazing climax, this vision of renewal and joy: “then the angel
showed me the river of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God..…through the
middle of the streets of the city…..let everyone who is thirsty come; let anyone who wishes take
the water of life as a gift”.
2
Written at a time when Rome was at the height of its power, the Book of
Revelation invokes imagery and patterns from the Old Testament as a way of critiquing
Roman imperial injustice. It offers an alternative vision for our future, a vision of hope
for the world. And unlike the “escapism” or “heavenism” that dominates some
fundamentalist interpretations today, Revelation suggests that our future dwelling
with God will be right here and right now on a radiant and renewed Earth.
When the Book of Revelation speaks of a river that flows through a city, it is
clearly speaking – [not just of individuals] – but of a community, of a society.
And when Robert Lowry speaks of a river in his hymn, “Shall We Gather at the
River”, he talks about gathering there “with others” – gathering “with the saints at the
river” – “the saints” being a term for the whole Christian community. He is not talking
about “a private heaven” for me and the few other people that I like! - but about a
communal experience that includes everyone.
And when the writer of Psalm 46 speaks of “a river whose streams make glad the city
of God”, his vision is of peace and shalom – [again, not just in the hearts of individuals]
– but in relations among and within communities.
No, the words we say and sing and consider today are not about a “private
heaven” for me and mine. When they speak of rivers and cities, of saints, and of peace,
they’re talking not just about individuals; they’re talking about a community, a
society, a way of living.
Throughout the last 2000 years, Revelation’s “river of life” has given form and
voice to the hopes and dreams of God’s people. Martin Luther King Jr. drew from this
river in his “I have a dream” speech. Other visionaries and dreamers have taken us
again and again to this riverside – [in songs, in stories, in art, in sacraments] – to help us
see and experience God’s holy city with its vision for a world of justice and peace, for
life and healing, the waters of reconciliation and justice – right here in the middle of
our world!
The Bible’s rivers are metaphorical, and poetic, and theological, of course.
But they are not just that, they are not just “metaphorical and poetic and theological”.
They also have something to say about the “real” rivers of our lives – [the Dons, the
Humbers, the Saugeens, and – yes – even the tiny “Styx”] - something to say about our
stewardship of the resources with which we’ve been entrusted. Revelation’s vision of “the
river of the water of life” can become for us a vision of ecological renewal and
conservation, of access to water for every human being on the face of the earth - water as a
human right, not as a “commodity” to be bought and sold!
When we sing “Shall We Gather at the River” – [which we will, in just a minute] –
let’s keep the vision of that hymn before us - not just to give us hope for personal healing and
wholeness - but hope for this world, hope that – [as battered and tired as this old world may
sometimes seem] – it is still God’s world, and it is still worth our time, our effort, our faith and
our commitment to bring the justice and mercy of God’s reign, the peace – the shalom – of
God’s realm – right here, right now.
Thanks be to God!
Warren McDougall
Richmond Hill United Church
September 14th, 2014
3