By Deacon Timothy Siburg
Revised Common Lectionary reflection for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 21, Year A
September 27, 2026
Key verse: “for it is God who is in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure” – Philippians 2:13
God is at work in you! Paul writes, “for it is God who is in you, enabling you both to will and to work for God’s good pleasure” (Phil 2:13). Hear that again. God is at work in you!
That might sound trite or overly simple, but it is central to an understanding of stewardship: God is at work in you, and God is at work in me. When we pause and breathe in that truth, we might feel amazed, confused, overwhelmed, or even unworthy. Yet whatever we feel, this tenet of stewardship reminds us that God is not finished with us. God is active and at work in us, through us, and for the sake of the world.
This past week, I was on the campus of United Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, for the fall board of directors meeting of the Stewardship of Life Institute. There is something overwhelming to me about being there. Outside of our library meeting room, tours were happening as visitors explored the sights of the Civil War that are all around the seminary campus. At the same time, students were in class and studying as part of their seminary studies, while local neighbors in Gettysburg were going about their daily lives and vocations. I experienced in real time the interplay of history, the complexities of story, the realities of the current day-to-day life of the community, and, amid all of that, the reassurance of doing God’s work in the midst of it all.
Our own daily lives and contexts may not always be as pronounced as they felt in Gettysburg last week, but no matter where we might find ourselves, God is there. So, if “it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for God’s good pleasure,” (Phil 2:13) what might God be up to? What might God be doing through you? In you? With you? For you? For your neighbors? For all of God’s beloved? Those questions are stewardship and discipleship questions, any one of which might make for a timely stewardship message.
Within the larger narrative of Philippians 2, Paul and Timothy are writing to the disciples in Philippi commending them to imitate Christ’s humility. They encourage the disciples to “make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind” (Phil 2:2). They point to the importance of being in relationship and in community with their neighbors, writing, “Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:4-5). From there they quote what is sometimes called, “The Christ Hymn” (Phil 2:5-11). Pointing to who Jesus is and what God in Christ has done for God’s beloved and inviting the disciples’ response to “confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Phil 2:11).
It is that confession and profession of faith, where Paul then encourages and challenges the disciples to “work on your own salvation with fear and trembling,” not implying that we can work to earn our own salvation, but that we can grow in our relationship of following the one who is our salvation (Phil 2:12). We can do and we get to do this, because “it is God who is at work” in us (Phil 2:13).
What might this work entail? We can name the wideness of God’s work to paint that picture, but a particular example might be found in Ezekiel 18. Ezekiel quotes God who says, “Know that all lives are mine; the life of the parent as well as the life of the child is mine: it is only the person who sins who shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4). Without God at work through Jesus, that would seemingly be the end of the story, for no one is without sin. That’s the work of salvation that Paul is referencing in his letter to the Philippians.
But some of that work, too, comes through the response as disciples and stewards: to repent, confess, forgive, and turn back to God. It’s kind of the Lenten discipline one might focus on during that season, but it’s part of life as stewards and disciples every day, too. Ezekiel writes quoting God, “Repent and turn from all your transgressions; otherwise iniquity will be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!” (Ezek 18:30-31).
Maybe it’s just me, but that warning seems even stronger amid the realities of daily life right now. Even so, we are reminded that God has “no pleasure in the death of anyone,” so we are called and commended to “Turn, then, and live” (Ezek 18:32). Doing so means recognizing that God is at work in us, inviting us to wonder, to imagine, and to join God in the work God is already doing in the world.
Leaning into this reality, that God is at work in you, is both a joy and a wonderful promise. It can also feel intimidating and frightening at times. But knowing that God is at work in us gives us the freedom to risk and experiment, and to live with hope and faith. Because if God is truly at work in us, then we already have what we need to be who God is calling us to be today, for the sake of our neighbors, as stewards and disciples.
In Worship
A number of years ago, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) began observing what it calls “God’s Work, Our Hands” Sunday. This year, it was observed on Sunday, September 13. Given the themes and focus of this week’s readings, however, it might be worth revisiting the hymn “God’s Work, Our Hands.” The text, written by Wayne Wold, beautifully captures the interplay of God working in us and through us that Paul describes. For example, verse 4 proclaims:
“God is at work in and around us: seedlings are sprouting and bread’s on the rise! Washed and set free, humbled and honored, gifted by grace, we respond in God’s love. Bless, God, our lives as we answer your call, sharing the good news of your gospel.”Wayne L. Wold and David N. Johnson, “God’s Work, Our Hands,” as found in All Creation Sings, (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 2020), 1000.
The verse paints a beautiful picture of God being at work in and around us while also connecting that reality to our response as stewards of God’s love. We receive God’s grace and gifts, and then, in response, we are invited to share that love with others.
Worship with Youth
During Sunday School, Youth Group, or perhaps as part of the sermon itself, you might begin by asking the question rhetorically and then inviting people to name their responses: “How has God been at work in you this week?”
Give the youth some time to think about the question, and then invite responses. If you are in a space with a whiteboard or a computer projected onto a screen, consider recording the responses in real time so everyone can see them. Naming these experiences can be a powerful witness to God’s creative activity in and among God’s people today.
After the responses have been shared, take a moment to notice some of the themes and give thanks for the many ways God is at work. Close the time with prayer.
Worship with Children
Paul writes that “God is at work in you,” but that also means God is at work in our neighbors. To help the younger saints imagine this, ask during a Children’s Message or Sunday School, “Where have you noticed God showing up through your neighbors or classmates this week?”
They might be shy or unsure at first, so you may need to offer an example: perhaps a friendly smile from a classmate on a difficult day, a teacher holding the door open while you carry a heavy backpack, or a classmate inviting you to sit with them at lunch. An example like one of these might spark other stories or experiences from the past few weeks. And once the ideas begin to flow, the naming of God’s presence and activity can spread.
If the larger congregation hears these stories from the younger saints, they may be inspired to look for and name the ways God is at work around them and through the people in their own lives.
Previously published reflections for Proper 21, Year A:
2023 – What is the source of true spiritual authority?
2020 – From Me to We
2017 – Words, Actions, and the Goodness of God
2014 – Stewardship is a Self-Less Thing
2011 – What will it be – Yes or No?
