The Thursday after the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on October 16, 2025 by under
Scripture: Ezra 9:6-9 (NKJV)
9:6 And I said: “O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens. 7 Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day. 8 And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. 9 For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
Devotion
The Apostles’ Creed teaches “the holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints.” This Christian Church is the “remnant” and “peg” which God will cause to remain till the end of the age, not because of the worthiness of the saints, but because of His great mercy.
Ezra speaks of the historical Babylonian Captivity, from which the Jews had just returned, and of certain historical sins of the Jewish people—specifically, that they married pagan women. Though historical, these things are also representative of the Christian Church, as it exists in this present world. The Church in this world exists in a state of exile, because it is separated from its true home. Like Ezra and those with him, the saints are not without sin and regularly confess their sins to God, both individually and as a community. Because of their sin, Ezra confesses that their preservation is entirely by God’s grace.
Concerning marriage with pagan women, God had expressly forbidden this when the Israelites first left Egypt (Ex. 34:12-17). Such a law offends modern sensibilities, often dismissed as “outdated”. But St. Paul defends its wisdom: “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (2 Cor. 6:14). A marriage of mixed faiths does not function well. It is a hard burden to know that the other is going to hell. Unfortunately, more often the saint’s faith is damaged by an unbelieving spouse, and their children are not brought up in the fear of God.
Collect: Lord, we beseech Thee, grant Thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow Thee, the only God; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
