Homily For The Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity 2025
Today we will be looking at our collect and psalm (121 p. 502). At Morning Prayer, if a priest is present, he announces the forgiveness of sin to the penitent after the general confession of sin. He is the voice of Christ to the conscience that needs to hear the declaration of forgiveness. In the absence of a priest, a deacon or layman is instructed to pray our collect for today in lieu of the absolution. He prays - GRANT, we beseech thee, merciful Lord, to thy faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve thee with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. He asks that the Lord, who is full of mercy, may grant unto his faithful people, those who trust in Him, who look to Christ for forgiveness, pardon and peace. That God will forgive their sins and grant them the peace of Christ.
To the end that they, seeking forgiveness and being desirous of peace with God, may be granted cleansing of their sins that results in service to God with peace - knowing that God is in the process of making all things right, convinced that God is the source of strength and hope in this world.
Our Psalm appointed for today characterizes this conviction, this trust in God. The Psalmist has been cleansed from his sins and is able to look out at the challenges, the legitimate threats of his world and serve the Lord. He is able to praise the Lord with quietness of mind. For David’s God, and our Lord, is a God who conquers the true enemies of His people, who keeps and preserves them and defends them in all circumstances of their lives. This Psalm is one of Ascent. It is part of the collection of Psalms in which the faithful pilgrim, in obedience to the commandments of God, appears before the Lord at the Temple for the three mandated feasts of the Old Covenant.
As he ascends, as he goes up to Jerusalem, he would have these words in his mouth. This is a Psalm of the sure promises of God for the pilgrim, for they were reaching the holy city, their goal in the journey. In the case of the Psalmist, King David, it had a slightly different meaning. It is the climbing, the approach toward Jerusalem. In our circumstances, it is the ascent toward heavenly Jerusalem. It is interesting to note that this Psalm is given to us as we approach a new Christian year. In a couple of weeks, we will enter, by God’s grace, a new Christian year. It is most appropriate. As one has said - it is imperative to contemplate the greatness of our need - that we face an uncertain future. In this new year we will confront the certainties of our obligations, our duties, our trials, our varied temptations and God-given opportunities. We are confronted with the uncertainties of what may come - some circumstances of great joy, some of sorrow;
Lifting up one’s eyes - this is the instruction from King David. By looking up we can see our true help. It isn’t the work of man, it isn’t luck or some arbitrary circumstance. Our help as Christians comes from the Lord - the creator of heaven and earth. The one who has power over all creation. It is He who is the foundation, the certainty of our lives; he will root us in his power so that our feet will not slip; he will watch over us with unfailing watchfulness of a God who will not sleep. Indeed, the one who protects his covenant people will not even take the briefest of naps. He is completely awake and active. Truly, as the Psalmist says, the Lord, the God of creation is our keeper. The one who created the world and made our greatest enemies submissive to us, never falters in his care for us.
One of the more curious, or perplexing portion of this psalm is the reference, “So that the sun shall not burn thee by day, * neither the moon by night.” We live in West Texas so the prospect of being burned by the sun during the day is plausible.
It is why we wear hats, so we can be protected from the blazing sun. This is rational, understandable. What does it mean to be burned by the moon by night? In the ancient Near East, they believed that the sun and the moon were both gods and could bring harm. In NT times, there was the malady of being moonstruck - an epileptic seizure - that accompanied certain phases of the moon. You may recall the story of the demon-possessed boy who was thrown into the fire and water by evil spirits. The description of the epileptic seizure that accompanied his possession was literally - moon struck. So, in light of the variety of ways that the moon could harm, the Psalmist acknowledges that Yahweh is greater, for he is the 24-hour God who provides protection from all harms that can come by day or by night.
More importantly, from an eternal standpoint, the Psalmist speaks to the preservation of one from all evil and the keeping of the soul. There is much in the language of being hedged or preserved.
It reminds me of the protection afforded Job before his affliction, before his troubles. Recall how God directs Satan to consider Job’s faithfulness and how Satan responded. The evil one said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10Have You not placed a hedge on every side around him and his household and all that he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. Satan knew that God had protected Job with a hedge of providential lovingkindness - so that Job flourished. In St. John’s Gospel, Jesus speaks to the safety of the sheepfold - the enclosure that protects sheep from predators - with one entrance guarded by the Good Shepherd himself. Notice how the sheep enter in and go out - with the same protection that the Psalmist speaks to in the final verse - The LORD shall preserve thy going out, and thy coming in, * from this time forth for evermore. There is no time or place in which the Lord of heaven, the one who is the creator of all things, when his people are not truly safe. Safety, security, peace all rest in the One who never fails.
Of course, there is temptation to look at the circumstances, for I mentioned earlier that David looked to the hills - those places higher than even Jerusalem. He’s tempted to look at the circumstances - to fear, to be afraid. Perhaps he was thinking of those who threatened the security of his kingdom, those who sought his life. Those who betrayed him - his own familiar friend who had eaten at his table and has now taken league against David. Maybe he was pondering the perplexities of his dysfunctional family. His failure as a parent with Absalom, his failure to protect his daughter Tamar from her half-brother, Amnon. Whatever the case, his eyes look higher, to the one who took him from the sheepfold to defeat the invincible giant. His eyes looked up to the one that preserved him in all his troubles, who brought David joy in worship, the Lord who never fails.
What is your horizon? What tempts you to be anxious or afraid? I would encourage us all to look at the future - the Church Year that begins in a few weeks and the new civil year - that unbelievably begins in a couple of months - with the assurance of the Psalmist. Who looked beyond the circumstances to the surety, the peace that rests with the immovable love of God for his people. A love that never sleeps, the surest defense in all circumstances. The Good Shepherd, who is our keeper, who drives away all that would threaten the health of our souls and provides ultimate protection in all our activities, both day and night - all our going out and coming in. Let your heart rest in this truth. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life - with assurance that we will dwell in the House of the Lord forever. All of this because of a God who, in the words of our collect, grants unto us pardon and peace, that we are fully cleansed of all our sins so that we may serve him with a quiet mind. A peace and quietude that encourages us as we make our way to the heavenly Jerusalem.
A peace and quietude that strengths us as we walk in the good works the Lord has prepared for us to walk in. Beloved, let us now feast at his holy table and receive strengthening as we take this Eucharist by faith to go out into the uncertainties of this world full assurance that the Lord who never sleeps, who never fails, who cares for us perfectly will send us forth in his peace. Amen.