As we enter a new Church year, we are reminded that our need is no obstacle to God. In the wilderness of our lives, Christ takes what little we offer, blesses it, and multiplies it. Our need becomes the very place where His abundance breaks in.

This sermon for the Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity reflects on the collect and Psalm 121, reminding us that God grants His people pardon and peace. When we lift our eyes, we see that our help does not come from our own strength, luck, or circumstances, but from the Lord who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121 teaches us that God is our keeper, always watchful, never sleeping, guarding our steps in every season of life. As we look toward a new Church Year, we are encouraged to face both joys and trials with quiet minds and confident hearts, trusting that the Good Shepherd preserves our going out and coming in, now and forever.

All Saints’ Day honors the countless faithful who have trusted in Christ’s redeeming grace. Revelation 7 reveals a vast multitude from every nation, clothed in white robes washed in the blood of the Lamb. Their joy in heaven mirrors the Beatitudes’ call to live righteously on earth, sustained by hope in Christ’s eternal kingdom. In Holy Communion, we join the saints and angels in worship, anticipating the great reunion where all tears are wiped away and salvation belongs to God and the Lamb forever.

In the Book of Job, we encounter the timeless cry of the human heart: why do the righteous suffer while the wicked seem to thrive? Job’s lament paints a world filled with injustice and despair—yet the Gospel reveals God’s answer. In Christ, the power of forgiveness destroys the works of the devil, offering redemption and hope to all who believe. What Job longed for, Jesus fulfills—restoring hearts, renewing minds, and revealing God’s mercy in a fallen world.

In this Gospel passage, the Pharisees question Jesus not to learn, but to trap Him. Their inquiries echo the serpent’s ancient “Did God really say?”—questions born of unbelief. Jesus responds by uniting the two greatest commandments: to love God wholly and to love our neighbor as ourselves. True obedience begins not with skepticism but with love—a love that transforms questioning into trust and compels us to live faithfully before the Lord who is both David’s Son and David’s Lord.

Today’s Gospel contrasts pride and grace. Pride blinds us to God and others, while grace opens our eyes to mercy and truth. Jesus heals the man with dropsy, exposing the Pharisees’ self-righteousness and calling us to humility. As our Collect prays, may God’s prevenient grace—His favor that goes before and follows us—keep us from pride and make us ready for every good work. True discipleship begins in humility, where grace, not pride, shapes our hearts and actions.

“O LORD, let thy continual pity cleanse and defend thy Church.” Isaiah and the Gospel of Luke reveal God’s mercy as both personal and communal. In Isaiah, the prophet’s cleansing and Israel’s future redemption point to Christ, the well of salvation. In the Gospel, Jesus’ compassion at Nain transforms grief into joy, signaling God’s visitation and deliverance. His pity revives both individual souls and His whole Church, assuring us of cleansing, defense, and life through Christ our Lord.

Our frailty leads us to love the wrong things, but God calls us to love Him first. As Moses urged Israel and Jesus reminds us, blessings come when we obey, trust His provision, and seek His kingdom above all.

At Holy Cross Anglican, Alpine, Fr. Wyatt Boutwell preaches on Trinity XIII: the Good Samaritan, Christ as our true healer, and the mercy we are called to show.