Pastor Sullivan's Blog

In the Name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. They brought to Jesus a paralytic man lying on his bed. The men who carried the man, along with the paralytic himself, surely believed that Christ would give him a new life, otherwise they wouldn’t have gone to the trouble. And it was quite a trouble. St. Mark records that “ when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying ” (Mark 2:4). Great was their faith in Christ’s mercy. Invincible was their trust that Christ would grant the paralytic new life. This all happens in Capernaum, Jesus’ own city, where Christ dwelt, taught, and did many miracles. These men, the paralytic included, would have heard the good news about Jesus. They believed Him to be compassionate toward the poor, the infirmed, and brokenhearted. They go in faith in Christ’s mercy and His ability to save. This is ...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. In today’s Epistle lesson St. Paul summarizes the new life we have by faith in Christ. Through faith our sins are forgiven. God declares us righteous through faith apart from the works of the Law. Through faith in the promise of the Gospel God adopts us into His holy family, making us heirs of all His heavenly blessings. Because we are sons of God by adoption, we are brothers of Christ Jesus. Being brothers of Christ and co-heirs with Christ, we suffer in this life as He suffered in this life, knowing that if we suffer with Him, we will be glorified with Him at the consummation of all things. This new life of faith in Christ is beset by many challenges, one of which Christ warns us against in today’s Gospel lesson. There will be false prophets, preachers and interpreters of His Word, who intentionally, and most unintentionally, try to draw us away from the new life of faith. Paul begins by reminding us that ...

Grace and peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. The first part of today’s gospel lesson occurred on the evening of the day Christ was raised from the dead. The disciples had heard the report of Mary and the other women who had found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. The doors are locked because they feared the same Jews who had arrested and crucified their Lord. Perhaps they reasoned that as word of Jesus’ resurrection got out, the Jews would come for them next. They also had fears within themselves. Each of them had, after all, fled from Jesus in the Gethsemane garden. Peter had even drew his sword and cut off a man’s ear. He later followed Jesus to the High Priest’s home where he publicly  denied Christ three times. It was in the midst of their fear and guilt that the resurrected Christ suddenly appeared in their midst and said, “ Peace be with you. ” He goes on to show them His hands and His feet, where the nails had fastened Him to ...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. This young man had had enough of home life. He wanted to get out from his father’s roof, be on his own and spread his wings. Actually he wanted to live high on the hog. He wanted to live the good life on his own terms. That meant pursuing whatever pleasures his heart desired. He loved the things of the sinful world much more than he loved his father. This is evident by the way he approached his father. “ Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me ,” meaning, “I’d like my inheritance now, thank you.” Inheritances are typically only disbursed to sons upon their father’s death, making this quite a request. The father doesn’t argue with his second son. “ He divided to them his livelihood. ” According to Jewish custom, the eldest son received two-thirds of an inheritance while all the other children split the final third. This son gets one-third of his father’s possessions. Not many days after the disb...

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 1)         “ From the day s of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. ” These are difficult words. What does it mean that the kingdom suffers violence and the violent take it by force? Was there violence and persecution against the kingdom of heaven at the time when Jesus said this? There had been none up to that point. John was still alive, although imprisoned. Jesus had not yet been crucified, nor His apostles martyred because of their preaching. That would all come in due time. But at this point in the ministry of John and Jesus, violent men had not yet tried to lay hold of the kingdom of heaven. They would try. They would execute John, crucify Christ, and martyr the apostles. They would persecute the church, burn her books, and give Christians over to lions and other creative fates. But none of the...

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 1)         Jesus enters Capernaum, His own city, and is confronted by several men carrying a paralytic on his bed. St. Mark gives us more details. Mark records that Jesus was in a house, and “ Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door ” (Mark 2:2). Jesus preaches repentance and God’s mercy to the packed house. But the crowd poses a problem for the friends of the paralytic. They can’t get their friend’s bed to Jesus. Undeterred, they climb onto roof, hauling their friend in the bed up their too. The Israelites build their houses to have flat roofs, which is why these friends can then dig a bed-sized hole in the roof. Once “ they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying ” (Mark 2:4). It must’ve been quite a sight. Their ...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.  1)         Before Matthew was known as ‘Saint Matthew,’ before he was a disciple and apostle, and before the Holy Ghost inspired him to write the account of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection that bears his name, Matthew was simply a tax collector. He writes, “ As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office .” Matthew had a tax booth at the edge of the Capernaum city limits, so that travelling merchants and traders would have to stop and pay tax on their wares as they headed to market. Being the tax man is just another God-pleasing vocation. Paul tells the Roman Christians that we pay taxes so that the civil rulers can govern. He says, “ Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor ” (Romans 13:7). But it goes for the tax man as it does for all m...

Order of Holy Communion  - Pg. 15 Hymn #  294 O Word of God Incarnate Hymn #  342 Chief of Sinners Though I Be Hymn #  526 In God, my faithful God Introit GOD IS || in His holy habi- | ta- | tion. *             God sets the solitary in | fam- | i- | lies. || The God of Israel is He who gives | strength | - *             And power to | His | peo- | ple.  (Psalm 68:5b, 6a, 35b) || Let God arise, Let His enemies be | scat- | tered; *             Let those also who hate Him flee | be- | fore | Him. || But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before | God; | - *             Yes, let them rejoice ex- | ceed- | ing- | ly. || O God, when you went out before Your | peo- | ple, *             You, O God, provided from Your goodness | for | the | poor. || Blessèd be the Lord, who daily loads us with | bene- ∙ | ...