05/09/2026
14th Sunday after Trinity
Ezekiel 33.7-11 Psalm 119.33--40 Romans 13.8-end Matthew 18.15-20
Festival of Creation in Christ
Once again, we are keeping the Season of Creation which began on 1 September and ends on the feast of St Francis of Assisi on 4 October. Sunday 6 September is the first Sunday in this season and is to be known as Creation in Christ focussing particularly on the Creation and the part that we have in caring for it. We are all ministers in Christ and stewards of God’s Creation (not just the folk who are ordained!) and so we all are called to have a care and concern for his Creation – of which we are a part.
We have all experienced the recent heatwaves and drought and some have found this very difficult. We’ve heard about wildfires, including the one on Dunwich Heath here in Suffolk and now of terrifying flooding in Tibet and Nepal. We’ve heard too the concerns of farmers about disappointing harvests and their worries about the welfare of their livestock. Perhaps because of these events, we are much more aware of the increasing fragility of God’s Creation than we were before.
In the Season of Creation Guide for this year Sarah Mullally, our Archbishop of Canterbury, tells us that: In the Season of Creation, we turn again to Christ, through whom all things were made and in whom all things hold together. In his incarnation, death, and resurrection, God’s love is revealed not only for humanity but for the whole created order. To care for creation is therefore an essential expression of Christian discipleship and an integral mark of the Church’s mission: to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and to sustain and renew the life of the earth. As we follow Christ, we are called to share in his reconciling work, seeking justice, healing, and hope for the earth and for all who dwell within it. This Season of Creation Guide also reminds us that: The Christian family unites for this worldwide celebration of prayer and action to protect our common home. It is a special season where we celebrate God as Creator, and acknowledge Creation as the divine continuing act that summons us as collaborators to love and care for the gift of all that is created. As followers of Christ from around the globe, we share a common call to care for Creation. We are co-creatures and part of all that God has made. Our well-being is interwoven with the well-being of the Earth. Furthermore, this is an ecumenical Season and is kept by not only by Anglicans, but also by others including the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed and Pentecostal churches. In view of the current concerns regarding drought and unusual weather conditions, it seems appropriate that the theme for this year’s Season of Creation is Living Water, drawing from Ezekiel 47.9,12. This tells of water flowing from the Temple : Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes. On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water from them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing. (NRSV)
In our Old Testament reading for this Sunday, we find Ezekiel acting as a sentinel. He is warning his people that they need to change their ways and return to God who longs for them to turn from their evil ways. Ezekiel as a prophet knew what it was to suffer for speaking the truth. We might like to call to mind the times when we have been wasteful or misused Creation for our own ends. How might we change our ways? We might also like to remember those who are climate change sceptics, particularly those with the power and authority to make changes, but who lack the will to do so.
Then our reading from Romans reminds us of how a Christian community should live. This letter tells us to love one another. In our reading, it looks as if Paul is having to sort out what was happening in that particular church. He doesn’t quote all of the Ten Commandments, just some of them and then he says that all the commandments are summed up in the phrase Love your neighbour as yourself. This comes from Leviticus 19.18 and is quoted by Jesus when he tells us to love God and to love your neighbour as yourself (Matthew 22.37-40). We call this the Lord’s summing up of the Law.
In our reading from Matthew’s gospel we find advice on what to do if one church member treats another badly. The first piece of advice is actually quite useful and indeed is good practice in any community. Before you take any action, you have a quiet word, just the two of you. Then if things get a bit more serious further steps are taken.
Finally, if the situation cannot be resolved the person who has done wrong is to be treated as a Gentile or a tax collector, the inference being that they are to be cold shouldered and maybe expelled from the church community. This seems a bit strange because elsewhere in the gospels Gentiles (that is, those who are not Jewish) and tax collectors are far more receptive to Jesus than the members of the religious establishment of his day.
The reading from Matthew’s gospel does not tell us what the problem was that led to this development of church discipline over its members, but its aim is probably to limit the damage to the unity of the church. When there is dissension in church communities a contributing factor may well be that we have forgotten to love our neighbour as ourselves. But this is not an always easy thing to do. It may involve taking forgiveness seriously – and that’s not easy either.
Jesus tells us, Love God, love your neighbour as yourself. Paul tells us that instead of quarrelling and jealousy we should put on the Lord Jesus Christ – it’s as if Jesus is being likened to a garment that we put on daily when we get dressed. Perhaps this is something for us to remember as we start each new day. The Psalm for today asks that we are given understanding to live in God’s ways. God loves his Creation and so we should love his Creation too and do our best to take care of it as part of loving God and loving our neighbour.
Each day is a new Creation – and we are part of God’s new Creation, Creation in Christ. May God give us all the grace and strength to nurture and support one another and to care for God’s created world which is home for all of us.
Julia Mann
