The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 20), September 21, 2025

God’s Compassionate Involvement

 This week’s readings weave a common thread of divine attentiveness and concern for the vulnerable, the marginalized, and the lost. From the lament of Jeremiah to the sharp critique of Amos, from Paul’s call to prayer for all people to Jesus’ puzzling parable of the dishonest manager, we encounter a God who is deeply involved in the unfolding drama of human life. From an open and relational theology perspective, these texts present a God who suffers with us, responds to us, and invites us into co-responsibility for a more just and loving world.

In Jeremiah 8:18 – 9:1, the prophet’s anguish is a mirror of divine sorrow. “Is there no balm in Gilead?” he cries, grieving over the wounds of the people. This is not a God indifferent to human suffering, but one whose heart is broken by injustice and estrangement. The tears of the prophet are God’s tears. In this passage God is not the impassible deity of classical theism, but one who feels deeply and participates in the emotional life of the world. God’s knowledge of the future is not fixed, but open—because love requires freedom. God invites repentance, not from a place of fear and because the future is set, but because it can still be changed and make a difference.

Psalm 113 offers a hopeful contrast asking, “Who is like the Lord our God… who lifts the needy from the ash heap?” Here, divine transcendence is expressed not in detachment, but in a form of radical condescension. God is exalted because it is God who stoops to raise the lowly. God’s glory is seen in empowering the powerless. God’s character and transcendence are relational in that God is beyond us and yet still turns toward us in compassion.

Amos 8:4–7 brings a scorching indictment of economic injustice. The prophet condemns those who “trample on the needy” and manipulate systems for personal gain. A challenge to all those with power and influence in the world. God’s anger here is not arbitrary wrath, but a passionate reaction to the suffering of the oppressed. Open and relational theologians see divine justice as the outflowing of divine love. God takes the side of the vulnerable and a future where society is bent toward greed is not inevitable. God’s warnings in Amos are a plea for transformation and were echoed by Dr Martin Luther King Jr speaking the National Cathedral on March 31st, 1968. “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” This passage reminds us that we are to work alongside God as agents of justice in the world.

In 1 Timothy 2:1–7, Paul urges that prayers be offered “for everyone,” including rulers and those in authority. His rationale is theological and universal: God “desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” This is a vision of divine inclusion and universal concern. In an open and relational framework, salvation is not a unilateral act imposed from above, but an invitation freely given and freely received. God’s desire is relational, to draw all people into mutual love, respect, and flourishing. The call to prayer here is not passive resignation to divine will, but an invitation into active participation in God’s loving purposes. In todays fractured society the call to remember the humanity of, and to pray for those with whom we profoundly disagree is crucial no matter how difficult this may be.

Finally, Luke 16:1–13 presents one of Jesus’ most puzzling parables, that of the dishonest manager. While difficult on the surface, the story reveals a deeper point that is seen throughout the teaching of Jesus, relationships matter more than rigid systems. The manager is commended not for his ethics, but for his shrewdness, for his recognition that people, not profit, are what ultimately endure. Jesus’ final words cut to the heart: “You cannot serve God and wealth.” Through this parable God can be seen not the enforcer of abstract laws, but the inspirer of wise, loving, and creative choices. God calls us all to steward what we have in ways that foster both community and compassion.

Across these texts, we see a God who suffers, who lifts, who listens, who hopes, and who calls. As Ilia Delio stated at a lecture in Texas in 2017, “Love is the energy that moves the stars and stirs the soul—it is God’s own self, poured out in the evolutionary unfolding of the world.” This week’s readings call us to join that unfolding as justice seeks, co-creators, and co-healers in God’s open future.

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Doral Hayes is the Principal Officer for Ecumenical Development and Relations at Churches Together in England and a Licensed Lay Minister in the Oxford Diocese of the Church of England. Doral holds a MA in Contemporary Christian Theology from Newman University, Birmingham and is currently undertaking doctoral research in ecumenical theology at the University of Roehampton, London. Doral is a contributor to Preaching the Uncontrolling Love of God, edited by Jeff Wells, Thomas Jay Oord, et. al as well as a number of other publications. She lives in Buckinghamshire, England with her husband, two teenage children and a crazy whippet.