Pastor Sullivan's Blog

In the Name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. The evangelists give us a few stories of the first months of Jesus’ life, but tell us almost nothing about the childhood or early adult life of Jesus. Today’s gospel lesson is the only glimpse we have of Christ before His baptism and public ministry. And while in the early church curious individuals wrote infancy gospels imagining what His early life might have been like, the few texts we have of Christ’s infancy and today’s gospel tell us everything we need to know. On the eighth day of His life He was circumcised according to the Law of the Lord. On the fortieth day after giving birth, Mary goes to the Temple to offer the sacrifices for own purification and to present Jesus in the Temple according to the Law of the Lord. Jesus’ life, from the beginning, is lived under Mosaic Law so it should come to no surprise when Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph went up to Jerusalem every year for the Feast of the Pass...

Grace and peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Mary and Joseph have been frantically searching Jerusalem for three days. After celebrating the Passover in the holy city, as the Lord commanded through Moses, Joseph and Mary set off on their journey home. They’re travelling in a large caravan of worshipers who are heading north toward Nazareth. Jesus was such a good natured boy that they assume He is with his friends or distant relatives that are part of the caravan. It isn’t until the end of the first day’s journey that His parents realize He’s missing. They experience one of every parent’s worst nightmares. They have no idea where their son is. Therefore they have no idea if He’s even safe. No one probably wants to admit it, but this is something that happens to every parent at one point or another. Except Mary and Joseph’s anxiety have another angle to it. It’s not just their own son whom they’ve lost. Their child is the only begotten Son of God ...

Order of Holy Communion - Pg. 15 Hymn # 1 Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty Hymn # 133 Within the Father’s House Hymn # 106 The People That in Darkness Sat   Introit   I saw the Lord sitting on a throne High and lifted up, And I heard the voice of a great multitude, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! (Isaiah 6:1b; Revelation 19:6a, c) Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. (Psalm 100:1-2a, 3a, 4a, 5) I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, High and lifted up, And I heard the voice of a great multitude, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! (Isaiah 6:1b; Revelation 19:6a, c) Collect for the First Sunday afte...