FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

PROPER 18

View from the Pew

The World Council of Churches calls Christians world-wide to observe the Season of Creation from September 1 to October 4, 2026. It is a month-long ecumenical season of prayer and action for the environment.

The observation of The Day of Prayer for Creation – September 1 - goes back almost three decades. It is supported by various organizations including the Anglican Communion. The "Feast of Creation”, or “Creation Sunday” – also known as the “Feast of Creation in Christ”, – is celebrated by many Christian churches on September 1 or the subsequent Sunday.

The Biblical text for this year is drawn from Ezekiel 47: 1-12, which portrays God’s life-giving water flowing from the temple of God. The river grows deeper and deeper restoring barren land, reviving waters, and sustaining flourishing ecosystems. The theme for 2026 is “Immersion in Living Water”. (Season of Creation Steering Committee)

I would suggest that we read and reread the text from Ezekiel 47:1-12 as part of our personal activity for the Season. I have extracted some of the theological interpretations of the text, by various Christian leaders who extended the invitation to observe the Season of Creation.

H.B. Pierbattista Card. Pizzaballa - Latin Patriach of Jerusalem

“We are reminded of the Lord’s promise of living water – water which becomes a spring, welling up to eternal life. Water is a sign of life, blessing, renewal and the grace that flows from God, from Jesus’ side to heal both humanity and creation. It also tells us that God’s grace can soften hearts and make life flourish, even where hope seems fragile.”

Bishop Wallace Padgett - President World Methodist Council

“This year’s theme explores the message from Ezekiel as a powerful biblical vision of ecological restoration and hope … which is extremely relevant for our times. The image of living water flowing from God’s sanctuary reveals divine healing that renews land, waters, biodiversity and human responsibility in today’s climate crisis. Through the living waters, healing comes, but in order to receive new life, we too must step into the waters and also become part of God’s river of life, taking part in the healing of creation.”

Rev. Jacynthia Murphy – Anglican Church in Actearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia

“This is Ezekiel’s powerful vision of hope.  So powerful is this water which flows from the temple, that when it reaches the Dead Sea, the water becomes fresh and everything will live where the river goes and healing will follow.  Ezekiel’s vision reconfigures the meaning of the temple. In Israel’s tradition, the sanctuary was the place where life was offered through sacrifice and where blood – the bearer of life – was shed for reconciliation. In Ezekiel 47, the dominant image is no longer blood flowing toward the altar but water flowing outward from the temple thresholds.  The direction of holiness is reversed: divine presence does not consume life; it releases it.”

Rev. Mari Valjakka – Reverend in the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Finland

“In verse 12, Ezekiel says “the trees will bear fruit every month”. He is describing a form of life that has moved beyond scarcity, seasons of lack and ecological fragility. The image is intentionally extraordinary. It signals restored creation, not improved agriculture. Fruit trees were seasonal and vulnerable to drought, pests, war and famine. Monthly fruiting contradicts that reality. This is Eden restored and opened up.”

Allison Fenton