Third Tuesday of Advent
Scripture Reading for Today:
The Mystery of Dead Ends
by Jessica Stefick
In my short life so far, I have faced many seasons and situations that have looked a lot like what you might call “dead ends.” Dead ends to previously comfortable ways of thinking, physical and mental health, vocational pursuits, and relationships. I have faced dead ends in areas of my life that at one point I would have boldly said God had led me to, perhaps even ordained. Likely, similar to you.
One of the first major and lasting dead ends in my life came when I was 16 and on the verge of a professional career in ballet. Despite the demanding lifestyle, the sacrifice of my teenage years, and the deteriorating effects it had on my young body, I was all in and convinced that the world of ballet was where God wanted me to “be a light” and a “bringer of good news.” But alas, the dead end came through a sudden and hard-to-diagnose injury that caused me to have to quit my dream and the life I thought I was called to. As the cherry on top, it left me with a souvenir of chronic pain that has lasted the 8+ years since, and I’m still not over it. To my embarrassment, during the Christmas season, the Nutcracker album leaves me in tears, not because it brings to mind intricate choreography or stunning ensembles, but because my innermost parts still long to be on stage dancing it. Despite the many mysterious blessings that have come out of the life I have had apart from ballet: new passions, unlocked abilities, and unexpected relationships, this dead end still rears its ugly head as doubt, disappointment, regret, and physical pain.
The mystery of dead ends is no new problem for God’s people. In the passage from Ezekiel in today’s lectionary reading, we experience the author—who was no stranger to God’s mystery—responding to Israel’s ultimate dead end: exile. To set the scene, Ezekiel’s vision in 47:1–12 follows a long and emotional flushing out earlier in the book of Israel’s disobedience and judgment, God’s perceived abandonment, and what needs to happen in order for restoration to take place. The vision in 47:1–12 expands on the ripple effects that God’s presence has upon being restored to the Temple, picturing a tiny trickle of water that flows from the entrance of the Temple that becomes a raging river flowing out into the desert valley and eventually into the Dead Sea (talk about a dead end!). This river leaves behind a trail of trees and life despite the previously hostile terrain and turns the dead sea (an incredibly salty and lifeless body of water) into fresh water that hosts schools of fish large enough to attract masses of fishermen/women! Here, Ezekiel pictures a dead end that turns into a living valley when met with God’s presence.
But, at the risk of Ezekiel’s vision creating in us unfounded optimism out of touch with the state of our current reality, 47:11 (NRSVUE) says...…
“But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt.”
The brief addition leaves me wondering why Ezekiel might have felt the need to jade a vision of hope with the presence of things that remain categorically “dead”? While an answer to this question could (and does) lead to all sorts of larger theological interpretations, how I see it relating to my current reflection is that Ezekiel recognizes that some dead ends appear to be left as such even upon encountering the presence of God—salty and seemingly missing out on the “life” given to that around it. I can certainly identify with this. My own dead end of a lost dream and chronic pain often feels like one of the marshes or swamps that misses out on the restoration that I see happening elsewhere. Unanswered prayers, fruitless therapies, and countless hours of research, appointments, and discussion with doctors often lead me to question the “life” and restoration that I thought I was promised. This is where Advent comes in.
Advent, like Ezekiel’s hopeful anticipation of the consequences of God’s presence, offers us hopeful anticipation that Christ dwelled amongst creation and met people in their own dead ends, often mysteriously bringing what was dead back to life (literally and metaphorically). But, just by taking a look at those around us, we know that Jesus did not offer a quick fix to every ailment, hardship, or dead end imaginable. But he certainly points to a future where this is the case. Living on the completed side of canon, during Advent we not only know who we are waiting for, but we also know how it all turns out. Though some dead ends might feel like salty swamps and marshes now, we wait in hopeful anticipation, knowing that God will once again dwell in fullness with God’s people and wipe away every unanswered salty tear and every unresolved dead end (Rev. 21:1–4).
What Ezekiel has to offer in 47:1–12 is not a quick fix to the dead end that Israel experienced, but a hopeful vision of God coming face to face with it, bringing life and restoration to places that had not previously known this to be possible. In our anticipation of Christ’s coming again, may we experience a hopeful vision of the impending life and restoration that is still to come!
Some questions for reflection:
What is a dead end that I face?
Where might God be in the midst of my dead end?
How might I partner in God’s life-restoring mission to the dead ends of all creation?
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Join us in the Learning Centre on December 15th as we make room for connection and contemplative practice over these Advent weeks. Learn more here.