Pastor Sullivan's Blog

Grace and peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Jesus, a teacher of righteousness, accomplishes quite a feat. “ All the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him .” Tax Collectors worked from the Roman government, collecting taxes and customs. They were notorious for demanding more than the required amount to skim that bit off the top and increase their own wealth. This job attracted the greedy and dishonest. Greed and dishonesty are of course sins, but what makes their sin that much worse is that they do it openly for all the world to see. They were what we called “manifest” sinners. Their sin was well-known and obvious. Then there’s the “sinners” who draw to Jesus. Luke doesn’t mean “sinners” in the sense of people who fall into sin because of human weakness, but people who live their lives in open sin. Anyone with a hint of moral fiber would stay away from these people and be ashamed to be seen with them, let alone share a sup...

Grace and peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. St. Luke tells us how tax collects and sinners drew near to hear Jesus teach. He wasn’t teaching that these public sinners were fine just as they were, that they could stay in their sins and be welcomed into the kingdom of God. His message wasn’t “God loves you just the way you.” His teaching had teeth. After Herod silenced John the Baptist by locking him up in his dungeon, Jesus entered Galilee and began preaching, “ The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel ” (Mark 1:15). His message contained Law and Gospel. The Law was that sinners were not fine as they are. Sin separates men from God. So sin must be repented. Change your ways. Be different people from now on. The Gospel was that God the Father does love sinners, not in a mushy, toothless way that excuses sin and overlooks it, but with a love that causes Him to send His only-begotten Son into the ...