Homily For The Seventh Sunday after Trinity 2025

14 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, 

Which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: 

Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.

15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt 

Will I shew unto him marvellous things. 

16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: 

They shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. 

17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent, 

They shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: 

They shall be afraid of the Lord our God, 

And shall fear because of thee.

Our Old Testament Lesson both promises the perfect shepherding of the Lord - a parallel with our Gospel and fullest pardon of sin - a theme within our Epistle.   It is the general consensus that Micah served as God’s prophet to Israel about the same time as Isaiah.  Roughly 700 years before Christ’s coming in the flesh.  

All the kings of Israel and Judah were leaders, shepherds.  The problem was that they were generally leading the people astray, abandoning them to the abuse and starvation through false worship and ungodly pacts with their unholy neighbors.  In Isaiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah, the prophets lament the treatment of earthly kings who devour the sheep rather than providing pasture for them. By contrast, God in numerous places promises to perfectly shepherd his people.   “I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep” (Ezek 34:11, 15) and He says, “I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David” (Ezek 34:23).  The Lord promises to show great tenderness toward his sheep.  Jeremiah describes him as gathering those sheep that are scattered and Isaiah depicts God as carrying the lambs about in his arms.  In Micah and Zechariah, Yahweh appoints and is also said to be the shepherd.  

Earlier in Micah 4 we have the prophecy of the Shepherd being born in Bethlehem and in our OT Lesson for today, Yahweh himself promises to shepherd his people.

Micah begs God to rule and guide his people so that by his guiding they might dwell safely.  Being provided for completely, being set apart as a wood separates meadows from each other.  Enjoy the rich pastures, the blessing of God symbolized by Bashan and Gilead - renown as the finest pastures in the region.  Not only will God provide for his people, we read that the Lord promises to do more than Micah thinks to ask.  Israel will be reminded of the greatest event in their history - their deliverance from Egypt and God will add to it marvelous things.    In doing so, the nations, the Gentiles will see it and be overwhelmed in awe, much like the nations surrounding Israel were astounded by Yahweh’s presence and power.  So shall the nations see and have their senses overwhelmed by His works on behalf of God’s people.   The enemies of God’s people will lick the dust.  They will seek shelter and they shall fear the Lord because of what he does.   The former enemies who were characterized by pride like Satan, will be humbled and overcome by the power of God.   Not to their destruction but to new spiritual life.  A new exodus is promised. The spiritual exodus of all the children of Adam, through the work of God Incarnate, the true Seed in whom all the nations will be blessed. 

St. Mark in our Gospel presents unto us the fulfilment of God’s promise to come as the Good Shepherd.  Jesus, born in Bethlehem, in accordance with Micah’s prophecy, conveys the idea of the successor of Moses, bringing about a greater exodus than that of Moses.  Leaving not just physical bondage to Pharoah, but conquering mankind’s spiritual bondage to sin and death through Christ’s death and resurrection.   

In Mark 8, we have Jesus leading the people out into the wilderness.  Moreover, there are hints that his mission included the Gentiles.   We read earlier that Jesus was passing through the region of Tyre and Sidon - regions that were primarily Gentile.  While he passed through, he met the Syro-Phoencian women who begged for healing for her daughter - the crumbs of blessing for the Gentile dogs.  

They remain with him for three days witnessing his healing power and, presumably, being taught about the kingdom of God.  Now, reasonably, they are hungry.    Unlike  the earlier account of the feeding of the 5000, there are no villages to which they can have hope of food.  The need for this mixed multitude is even greater than the earlier miracle. Jesus the Good Shepherd knows the limits of his sheep; he knows that they will faint, even die, if they try to return to their homes without food.  It is clear from the record of Scripture that Jesus didn’t just care about teaching.   He had compassion on the physical limitations of mankind.  He had compassion on the maladies of body and soul.   

In the verses that directly precede our Gospel, we read, 30 And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them: 31 insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.  Notice also, he doesn’t relieve the tension of the disciples' limitations.  He asks them what they are going to do.   The disciples in Mark’s Gospel observe the same reality as some of the Israelites in their journey to the promised land.  They are in need for their physical sustenance.  Here, today, Jesus, the greater Moses, provides new life, healing, sustenance, for that mixed multitude  in the Wilderness.  

As Micah considers the unanticipated grace of God in the Good Shepherd, he is moved by the Holy Spirit to celebrate the ultimate healing for mankind - the forgiveness of sins.  In addition to grace, Micah considers God’s mercy.  

In the second half of our Old Testament Lesson, Micah muses in verses 18-20 -  Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance?     You do not stay angry forever    but delight to show mercy. 19 You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. 20 You will be faithful to Jacob, and show love to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our ancestors in days long ago.  

The gods of the Canaanites require blood, they are vengeful;  Molech required the sacrifice of the first-born in the fire.  The true God pardons sin and forgives sins, because He will bring His justice to bear. He disciplines but he is eager to show and is predominantly defined by his mercy.  Indeed, the Lord delights in mercy.   Notice the next verse: “You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”  

Why does Micah and the children have assurance of God’s mercy and forgiveness?  All of it is rooted in the fact that God remembers his covenant.  He keeps his promises. He promised to Jacob and to Abraham.  The Lord remembered his covenant for those physical descendants of Abraham.   Abraham in whose blessing all the nations would be blessed.  Mercy, pardon and forgiveness promised not only to God’s covenant people through the flesh, by blood but also to the nations of the world, inclusive of all the tribes and tongues. 

Our Epistle echoes the sentiments of the Old Testament Lesson.   We share this Gospel in common with the 1662 book of common prayer and I find it instructive that our northern neighbors, the Canadian church includes the previous two verses in Romans.   

There we read THANKS be to God that you, who were once slaves to sin, have obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching whereunto you were delivered; you were set free from sin, and have become servants of righteousness.    Thanksgiving because the forgiveness promised in Micah - to the seed of Abraham, according to the promises made to him - has been fulfilled in Jesus, who is the perfection of Israel.  Not just for Abraham’s physical seed but those who are Abraham’s descendants by faith.   All of us were slaves of sin.  All bound in the chains of our rebellion; enemies of God.   The bondage that we could never break but for the grace, the mercy, the forgiveness of the Lord.  For those in Christ, we have been delivered from our sins and exchange one form of slavery for another.  Redemption from sins does make the Christian an autonomous actor; rather, he or she has a new master.  Moving from the subjection to the devil to complete service and devotion to the King of Righteousness.  

Do we marvel at the forgiveness of sins?  Do we celebrate with great joy the fact that God is rich in mercy and forgiveness?   If not, the question is whether we realize how great our burden of sin really is.  Sin is not just some moral misstep, a lapse in judgment, an insignificant mistake.  Any sin is an affront to a holy God.   Any sin is worthy of eternal separation and punishment by him.   One sin is an offense, much less the multitude, the immense number of sins that we commit in though word and deed.   When we consider our great debt which we never could repay,  when we contemplate the God who loves us so much that he gave himself in death so that sin might be conquered, that by faith in Jesus, God can look at the perfection of His Son and declare us righteous, declare that the perfection of Jesus is ours in the eyes of the Lord, this should move us to unspeakable joy.  It should encourage us on to godly obedience.  

Marvel, brothers and sisters, that sin can be forgiven;  enter into this joy more fully as we celebrate the mystery of our redemption in the Holy Communion.   Come and draw near with faith and hopeful celebration that forgiveness is ours, in Christ’s name.  Amen.