2025 Sun Sept 7
Recent Articles, Pentecost 13, Sept. 7, 2025
Sept 7, 2025, Pentecost 13 & Season of Creation 1
Pentecost 13 – The Cost of Discipleship & The Season of Creation 1
Lectionary Pentecost 13, Year C
Pentecost 13, Year C, September 7, 2025
Visual Lectionary Vanderbilt, Sept. 7, 2025
These four readings for Proper 18 (13th Sunday after Pentecost) share a unifying theme of radical choice and commitment to God’s way. Deuteronomy 30:15–20 sets before Israel the stark choice between life and death, blessing and curse, urging them to “choose life” by loving and obeying the Lord. Psalm 1 echoes this wisdom tradition, contrasting the flourishing of those who delight in God’s law with the emptiness of the wicked. Paul’s letter to Philemon embodies this choice in action: he appeals to Philemon to receive Onesimus not as a slave but as a beloved brother in Christ, embodying the costly obedience of love that transforms human relationships. In Luke 14, Jesus intensifies the call, insisting that discipleship requires wholehearted commitment—placing loyalty to him above family, possessions, and even one’s own life. Together, the texts invite us to see faith not as a casual affiliation but as a decisive path (a discipleship path) that reshapes priorities, relationships, and identity around God’s life-giving will.
The Gospel, The Cost and Benefits of Discipleship
Sept., 2025 Gospel – The Misunderstood Messiah
The Season of Creation, Sept 1 – Oct. 4, 2025
What is the “Season of Creation”?
The Season of Creation, 2025
Keys to the Season of Creation
An Outline for the Season of Creation
Reflections based on our relationship with nature
The Importance of Native Plants
Pentecost 13, Year C, September 7, 2025
I. Theme – Exploring the meaning of discipleship and commitment.
“Climb That Hill”
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
First Reading – Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Psalm – Psalm 1
Epistle – Philemon 1-21
Gospel – Luke 14:25-33
Today’s readings explore the meaning of discipleship and commitment. In Deuteronomy , Moses challenges God’s people to “choose life” by remaining faithful to God. In his personal letter to Philemon, Paul disarms the slaveholder’s authority by bidding him to receive the slave as a dear brother. In today’s gospel, Jesus describes a disciple as one who knows the cost and is willing to make a radical surrender to Christ.
The Gospel says, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.”
Hate our parents? Reject our spouses? Deny our children? The traditional hyperbole of today’s gospel may have been designed to separate the serious followers from the crowd. Whenever huge throngs gather, we can assume a variety of motives. Did they follow Jesus from curiosity, hope for healing, need for security, peer pressure or self-interest? He dispels all motives but one: radical commitment to a way of life that carries an exorbitant cost.
The final verse of today’s gospel reading (Luke 14:33) reiterates Luke’s concern that possessions might be an obstacle to Christian commitment. His concern can be interpreted in many ways. Jesus was addressing people who didn’t have any possessions, so why would it pose a problem to them? Luke Johnson argues in The Gospel of Luke that the language of possessions is symbolic, referring not so much to wealth (which can be used for good or ill) as to attitudes. Jesus wants vulnerable people, ready to surrender their assumptions and find a new identity in him. On the other hand, he rejects those who cling to comfortable ideas and who resist transformation.
Yet to over-emphasize symbolism would blunt the evangelist’s sharp social criticism. He wrote for a wealthy community, or for well-to-do Gentiles concerned that conversion might mean grave economic loss. He challenged them to continue Jesus’ welcome to the economically poor and to work for a reversal of the social order that would bring justice to all.
While Luke does not offer a definite answer to the problem of possessions, he suggests a direction that is fleshed out in Paul’s letter to Philemon. There we find a concrete example of the radical commitment Jesus demanded. Paul has the audacity to ask a slave owner to give up a costly possession; in this case, a human being. Furthermore, he invites a shift in attitude: that Philemon see Onesimus not as slave but as brother. His plea combines both elements of Luke’s message: relinquishment of possessions, change of heart. If we have the courage to apply the message to our own lives, we probably respond with an honest “Ouch.”
There are other thoughts about living a life according to God. There are two ways to live: to live into God’s ways, or to live into the way of the wicked. It is clear in the Scriptures that the way of the wicked is to abandon God. Do we abandon God in exchange for a set of rigorous rules? Do we abandon God in exchange for worldly success, comfort and wealth? Do we abandon God to be around people who think, look and act like us, where we are comfortable? Or do we seek God’s ways, which are not always easy but are often hard—to be among people who are different, to be open to learning new ways of thinking, to stand against war, injustice, and poverty? One way is more straightforward and easy, but serves ourselves. The other way is harder, but serves others, and is concerned about the whole community—the whole kingdom—the whole reign of God.
Visual Lectionary Vanderbilt, Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Sept. 7, 2025
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The Gospel, Luke 14:25-33 – The Cost and Benefits of Discipleship
Climb that Hill
Here is the passage
This is at least the third time Jesus has said something provocative. Jesus makes a statement in 12:51 about not bringing peace. Also consider his actions on the sabbath in 13:11. Now another teaching moment on the cost of discipleship.
Picture yourself in the crowd following Jesus. You can only see his back. Occasionally, he turns around to deliver a difficult saying, almost as if daring people to continue following him. Yes, he is probably trying to reduce the crowd by making the way harder than it is now. Jesus is beginning to sense the “all” that lies ahead for him personally (betrayal and denial by his closest companions, followed by false arrest, torture, and brutal execution). He is trying to find the genuine seeker.
This text begins and ends with an “all or nothing” injunction about following Jesus, with two practical illustrations in between.
a. introductory statement (25)
b. “hating” family members (26) // Mt 10:37; Th 55:1; 101:1-3
c. bearing one’s cross (27) // Mt 10:38; Mk 8:34; Mt 16:24; Lk 9:23; Th 55:2
d. tower builder (28-30) –illustration 1 no parallels
e. warrior king (31-32) –illustration 2 no parallels
f. renouncing all possessions (33) no parallels
Jesus has three demands three demands or renunciations: (1) one renounces one’s family; (2) one renounces one’s life–by bearing the cross; (3) one renounces all that one has. Note the demands are for disciples, the leaders, not to those who are invited to only come eat at the table. Grace is for all but not discipleship.
Prophetic Voices Podcast, Lectionary Sept 7, 2025
Prophetic Voices is hosted by the Rev. Isaiah “Shaneequa” Brokenleg, The Episcopal Church’s staff officer for Racial Reconciliation.
What is the “Season of Creation”?
The Season of Creation is an optional season for the church year from Sept 1 through the feast day of St. Francis.
For the most part, the seasons of the church year follow the life of Jesus: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, and Easter. The remainder of the church year encompasses Pentecost season (or Ordinary Time), which celebrates life in the Holy Spirit.
For centuries, our theology our theology has focused on relationship with God and our human relationships with one another. The Season of Creation focuses God’s relationship with all creation and with our relationship with creation (and with God through creation). It highlights our role in understanding and addressing address the ecological problems we face today as a part of God’s creation.
“Fun fact: planet Earth is 4.5 billion years old. Mankind? About 140,000 years old. Let me put that in perspective: If you condense the Earth’s lifespan into 24 hours, that’s one full day, then we have been here on this planet for… …drumroll please… …three seconds. Three seconds, and look what we’ve done….”
Prince Ea’s annotation for the video.
The Season of Creation, 2025
“The Symbol for the Season of Creation 2025 is the Garden of Peace inspired by Isaiah 32:14-18.
“The symbol is characterized by a dove carrying an olive branch bringing life to the Garden of Peace. In the Biblical story of the flood, the dove plays the role of the blessed messenger: The dove sent out by Noah returns to the ark with a fresh olive branch in its beak, signalling that the flood is receding.
“As the flood story begins with a situation where “the earth is filled with violence” (Genesis 6:13), the return of the dove with the olive branch came to be known as a sign of new peace.
The Biblical text for this year is Isaiah 32:14-18. The symbol shows two sides – On one side, the tree is barren and the landscape exploited. On the other side, the tree is lush and green, in a flourishing landscape. Above is a dove, carrying an olive branch in its beak
“The prophet Isaiah pictured the desolated Creation without peace because of the lack of justice and the broken relationship between God and humankind. This description of devastated cities and wastelands eloquently stresses the fact that human destructive behaviours have a negative impact on the Earth.
“Our hope: Creation will find peace when justice is restored. There is still hope and the expectation for a peaceful Earth.
“To hope in a biblical context does not mean to stand still and quiet, but to act, pray, change, and reconcile with Creation and the Creator in unity, repentance, and solidarity.”
Keys to the Season of Creation
For centuries, our theology our theology has focused on relationship with God and our human relationships with one another. The Season of Creation focuses God’s relationship with all creation and with our relationship with creation (and with God through creation). It highlights our role in understanding and addressing address the ecological problems we face today as a part of God’s creation.
“Imagine a great circle. God encircles everything else in this circle.
Inside the circle is a second circle, and that circle is us. We human beings encircle the rest of creation, at the center of the circle. Look at the word, earth. If you move the letter “h” from the back of this word to the front, the word “earth” becomes the word “heart.”
We are going to look at 6 keys to the Season of Creation
1 God as Creator The Spirit of God moving over the face of the water created the earth. Creation is also on a journey, it is ongoing constantly in a process of being made new.
The Bible speaks of a God who is not passive or distant, but active and involved. God here exercises divine power through peaceful means. God creates by the word “In the beginning, God designed a home, a home in which God dwells, a home in which God delights, a home which God calls good. The earth is God’s home…”Nothing goes to waste in this creation. All this creation has a purpose, and every bit of this creation depends on every other bit of creation.”
I his letter to the Romans, right up front, Paul makes this statement.”Ever since the creation of the world, God’s eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things that God has made.
The goal in worship then is to deepen our understanding of God as Creator, to celebrate God’s role as Creator, and to examine and deepen and widen our own relationships with God, creation, and with one another. How are we impacting creation which God said was “good.”
Reflections based on our relationship with nature
The works explore a variety of subjects in our relationship – environmental ethics, belonging, stewardship, climate change, Indigenous perspectives, and the spiritual dimensions of nature. There are non-fictional and fictional accounts:
- Henry David Thoreau – Walden (1854)
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
Thoreau retreated to Walden Pond to immerse himself in nature as a path toward self-understanding and simplicity. - Annie Dillard – Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (1974)
“I come down to the water to cool my eyes and to see the actual, literal light of the day, the light as it touches this creek winding its way through the valley.”
Dillard’s observations of the natural world from a small corner of Va. are intensely sensory, revealing her deep attentiveness to the small, vivid details of the natural world. They are both personal and philosophical - Wendell Berry – The Peace of Wild Things (poem)
“When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound…
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief.”
Berry connects nature with emotional restoration and the release from human anxiety. - Mary Oliver – Upstream (2016)
“Attention is the beginning of devotion.”
Oliver’s work often blends quiet reverence for nature with an invitation to deeper presence and gratitude. - John Muir – The Mountains of California (1894)
“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.”
Muir sees nature as a source of health, joy, and spiritual renewal. - Robin Wall Kimmerer – Braiding Sweetgrass (2013)
“In some Native languages the term for plants translates to ‘those who take care of us.'”
Kimmerer weaves indigenous knowledge with ecological science, framing nature as a reciprocal relationship rather than a resource.\ - Ralph Waldo Emerson – Nature (1836)
“In the presence of nature, a wild delight runs through the man, in spite of real sorrows. Nature says,—he is my creature, and maugre all his impertinent griefs, he shall be glad with me.”
Emerson viewed nature as a profound source of spiritual and philosophical insight, a place where individuals could connect with the divine and discover their true selves. He believed nature was not just physical surroundings, but a living, breathing entity that reflected the soul and offered wisdom and renewal. The woods were his cathedral. He saw the handiwork of God everywhere. “In the woods,” he wrote, “we return to reason and faith.” - The Overstory by Richard Powers
A sweeping novel where the lives of diverse characters are intertwined with trees and forests. It’s about resistance, legacy, and the interdependence of humans and the natural world. - Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
Interweaves the stories of several characters in a rural Appalachian community as they connect with nature, land, and one another. - Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
A coming-of-age story set in the marshlands of North Carolina, where a young girl forms a profound bond with the environment around her. - Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
Tackles climate change and ecological disruption through the story of a small-town woman who stumbles upon a mysterious natural phenomenon. - My Ántonia by Willa Cather
While primarily about immigration and settlement, this classic novel includes deep reflection on the Great Plains landscape and its shaping of identity and memory. - Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
A Native American veteran returns from war and undergoes a healing journey deeply tied to the land and spiritual traditions of his Laguna Pueblo heritage.
Fiction