The following homily was shared at our Sunday Evening Eucharist Service 11/9/25.

Old Testament Reading:

The angel brought me
back to the entrance of the temple,
and I saw water flowing out
from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,
for the façade of the temple was toward the east;
the water flowed down from the southern side of the temple,
south of the altar.
He led me outside by the north gate,
and around to the outer gate facing the east,
where I saw water trickling from the southern side.
He said to me,
"This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah,
and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.
Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;
their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.
Every month they shall bear fresh fruit,
for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.
Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine." (Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12)

New Testament Reading:

Since the Passover of the Jews was near,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money-changers seated there.
He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen,
and spilled the coins of the money-changers
and overturned their tables,
and to those who sold doves he said,
"Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father's house a marketplace."
His disciples recalled the words of Scripture,
Zeal for your house will consume me.
At this the Jews answered and said to him,
"What sign can you show us for doing this?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."
The Jews said,
"This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,
and you will raise it up in three days?"
But he was speaking about the temple of his Body.
Therefore, when he was raised from the dead,
his disciples remembered that he had said this,
and they came to believe the Scripture
and the word Jesus had spoken. (John 2:13-22)

God’s Holy Ones have brought me and you back to the temple of the LORD, where His life-giving Stream flows, and where His love and joy and peace are found. This temple, this altar, is the place where you will find the River that leads back to Eden.

If you do not know already, then you will soon find the way which leads you there, from drinking the Blood and eating the Body the River is made of. Through God’s grace, you will be sanctified and led back to your home where you will live and not die.

So sing, “hallelujah,” for God is good. He has turned death into life, and He has turned desert into glade. So drink from the river of His blood, lest you perish along the way. In this way, he will be your refuge and your strength. His marvelous power on display will, in time, awe you, yet not terrify you, for you will know that you are His. He is with us, and He is holy, so worship him here and now, the king of all things that are, that were and will come.

You who are not clean, bathe in the waters of His forgiveness, and you will be clean. You do not need to do anything more, because He loves you and will hold you and will protect you. Simply follow Him. You will find that in time, zeal for His house will consume you, and that it will not be possible for you to live as you once did. It is not as though you do not have a choice- you will simply choose the good. You will want God because you love Him and He loves you. You will want to pray because that is where He talks to you, you will want to sing because it makes Him laugh. You will love others – and yourself – because they are who He has made.

In short, through spending time in His presence, through consuming His flesh and His blood, through being forgiven over and over and over and over again, you’ll fall in love with God. You will be consumed by a love and a desire to please Him, and you’ll want to turn the world upside down if only to make Him smile. Yet, you need not do anything but be still and know that He is God. Because despite and because of your best efforts, you’ve killed Him, you have crucified Him. You personally are the reason the body must be broken and the blood must be shed. Yet, out of love, He did it nonetheless. He died for you because you wanted Him dead. Out of love He was raised from the dead. And out of love, He will raise you from your own death into His life.

Amen.

Death into Life: Adam Guillory

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