Millie Vette, read by the Rev’d Lucy Nguyen
Sunday, 20 September 2026
Readings: Ezekiel 47:9-12, Psalm 65:5-13, Revelation 22:1-7, John 7:37-39
‘The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming
out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced
east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of
the altar. 2 He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the
outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was trickling from the south side.
3 As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a
thousand cubits[a] and then led me through ankle-deep water. 4 He measured off
another thousand cubits and led me through knee-deep water. He measured off
another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. 5 He measured
off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water
had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross. 6 He
asked me, “Son of man, do you see this?”
Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 7 When I arrived there, I saw a great
number of trees on each side of the river. 8 He said to me, “This water flows toward
the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah,[b] where it enters the Dead Sea.
When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh. 9 Swarms of living
creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish,
because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river
flows everything will live. 10 Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En
Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds—like
the fish of the Mediterranean Sea. 11 But the swamps and marshes will not become
fresh; they will be left for salt. 12 Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the
river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear
fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for
food and their leaves for healing.”
The Season of Creation, which runs from 1 September to 4 October, is an annual
celebration of prayer and action for creation that Christians globally have
commemorated for years. The Season of Creation is a time to renew our relationship
with our Creator and all creation. During the Season of Creation, we join our sisters
and brothers in the ecumenical family in prayer and action for our common home.
This year, for the first time, the global Church — spanning traditional liturgical to
Pentecostal/independent networks—officially recognises 1 September as the Feast
of Creation / Creation Sunday, setting a shared, spirit-filled tone for the month.
Every year, the Season of Creation ecumenical steering committee comes up with a
theme to help churches around the world strengthen our united response during this
shared season of reflection and action, and A Rocha International is part of this
steering committee.
This year’s theme for the season of creation is “living water,” drawing on the passage
in Ezekiel 47:1–12 that was read today.
The context that Ezekiel finds himself in is one of loss and devastation. When he
receives this vision, Jerusalem has fallen, and the temple has been destroyed.
Ezekiel and the exiled Israelites are now living in Babylon, and all hope seems lost.
But amidst this chaos, God is still faithful, giving Ezekiel a picture of restoration, not
of despair.
Beginning with a small trickle from the temple, life starts to flow. Slowly over time, it
grows deeper and wider, though wild areas where water didn’t seem possible,
bringing life everywhere it goes. The land is restored and hope bubbles up as this
stream grows stronger and stronger.
This river reminds us that life begins with God. We cannot produce water, and it is
not something that we can always control. It flows out to us and all of God’s creation
as a gift, bringing us life. This image is repeated throughout Scripture as a sign of
God’s generosity. From the word hovering over the waters at the beginning of
creation, to the Jordan River, to Jesus offering living water. God’s life always flows
outward, bringing life where there has been death, hope where there has been
despair and restoration where there has been brokenness.
- The Waitematā Harbour – Relationship
I want to share this image of my local Mowana, the Waitematā Harbour.
This is a picture of the local mowana close to my whare in Tamaki. A tidal estuary
that is an offshoot of the Waitematā Harbour. I have lived alongside this body of
water for all of my life, walking along the various tracks that flow alongside it and
riding bikes around the neighbouring park.
For Māori, connection to whenua and wai is often expressed through pepeha, a way
of opening kōrero that names the places, people and relationships that shape who
we are. Māori educator Keri Opai explains that while pepeha traditionally expresses
whakapapa connections for iwi, hapū and whānau, non-Māori can also find
respectful ways to acknowledge the places that have shaped them, with humility and
care.
Sharing pepeha is a beautiful way to begin a kōrero because it points us towards
relationship — not only our relationships with one another, but our relationship with
ALL of God’s creation. It invites us to see rivers and waterways not as objects or
resources to use, but as living gifts we belong with: gifts from God that sustain and
shape us.
In Ezekiel’s vision, the river brings life wherever it flows. In a similar way, pepeha
remind us that our lives are shaped by the relationships we have with people AND all
of God’s creation.
Invitation:
So my question to you is: What river, lake or ocean has shaped your own story?
Give thanks for it, and ask how you might care for it. - The Opawaho River – Restoration
Third picture: Members of Ōpāwaho Church at the Ōpāwaho River.
Once a month, members of the church, joined by people from the community, head
down to the river at the end of their street, to restore and care for it.
Many of our rivers carry stories of both damage and hope. The restoration of the
Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River reminds us that healing is possible when communities
work together.
Ezekiel’s vision is not simply about a beautiful river. It reminds us that God is always
moving towards restoration, and invites us to join that work.
Invitation:
Where is God inviting you to participate in the healing of people, places, or creation? - Rach’s river artwork – participation
The last river image is artwork created by our friend Rach Doragh from Tawa
Anglican Church.
Rach reflects that, in Ezekiel’s vision, the temple represents the dwelling place of the
Creator within creation — a place of relationship, where the love of God flows out
into all creation, bringing life in abundance.
In her artwork, the heart represents this love from which the living waters flow. The
words hope, restoration, and life express what these waters bring, while the
piwakawaka, tuatara, and tawa tree remind us of the interconnected web of creation,
where all life depends on one another.
We are reminded that in Ezekiel’s vision, the river does not stay within the temple – it
flows outward, bringing healing and life. Perhaps this is our invitation as the Church:
to allow God’s living water to flow through us into our communities and the wider
creation, becoming channels of hope, restoration, and life.
Invitation:
Where is God inviting you to let living water flow through your life this season?
Jeremiah.
Now we’re going to shift gears slightly. At the same time that Ezekiel was in exile in
Babylon, there was another prophet left behind. Jeremiah, and he writes this to those
in exile in Babylon.
Jeremiah 29 1, 4-7
‘This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the
surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other
people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
This is what the lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile
from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat
what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons
and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters.
Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also see the peace and prosperity of the
city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it
prospers, you too will prosper”.
As we have established, Israel was in one of its darkest times. Babylon had
destroyed Jerusalem, tearing down the city walls, the great buildings, and the
temple—the very heart of their faith. The leaders, priests, and influential people like
Ezekiel were taken into exile; only the poor and powerless remained. Jeremiah was
among those left behind, witnessing the devastation firsthand.
It was a bleak and uncertain time. Many hoped their exile would be short, but God’s
message through Jeremiah told them otherwise: seventy years—most would die in
Babylon, never seeing their homeland again. This was not welcome news. Babylon
was hostile, foreign, and godforsaken. “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a
strange land?” they asked (Psalm 137:4).
Yet God’s response through Jeremiah was surprising. He didn’t say “Don’t worry,
you’ll be home soon,” or “Just ignore this place and wait until I come and get you.”
Instead, he said:
Build homes, plant gardens, eat what they produce.
Marry, have children, and multiply.
Work for the peace and prosperity of the city, praying for its welfare, because your
welfare depended on it.
Jeremiah calls a displaced, disoriented people to root themselves where they are.
Build, plant, nurture, and pray for the flourishing of the land and community around
them. Instead of escape, God calls them to engage – to love the place they’re in.
With the state of the world at the moment, it can feel easier to simply disconnect and,
much like the Israelites in Babylon, ask, ‘When is God coming to rescue us?!’
Instead, Jerhamiah is inviting us to imagine the beautiful possibilities that come when
we stay put, when we commit ourselves to tending and renewing the places where
God has planted us. Creation care is a faithful response to an overwhelming
problem, and it is by being in-between people who show the love of God to all people
and all creation that we will see the kingdom of God break through.
It is easy to look over at other people’s lives, churches, families, or work and see
where the stream is flowing deeply for them. To see the goodness and life that is
bursting forth for them. You can look at some areas of your life and only see the dry,
barren areas where it seems impossible for life to come from. But as Ezekiel reminds
us, life begins with God.
Questions for reflection:
Where is God inviting you to participate in the healing of people, places, or creation?
Where is God inviting you to let living water flow through your life this season?
As we come to the end of this reflection, I invite you to hold these three movements before
God:
The river as gift: Water is a gift from God, something we receive with gratitude and wonder.
The river as relationship: We are deeply connected to the water, land and creatures around
us.
The river as calling: Because creation is God’s gift and we are part of it, we are called to care
for it. Where is God inviting you to notice, protect, restore or nurture creation?
Take a moment now to be still. Perhaps one of these three movements stands out to you.
● What is God inviting you to receive?
● What is God inviting you to notice?
● And where is God inviting you to act?
Let us bring those thoughts, hopes and commitments into prayer:
Loving God,
Thank you for the gift of water that gives life to your whole creation.
Thank you for the rivers, oceans, lakes, and streams that surround us.
Help us to see water as a gift, to value our relationship with creation, and to care for the
places you have entrusted to us.
May your living water flow through our lives, bringing hope, healing, and life.
Amen.