Pastor Sullivan's Blog

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. The prophet Isaiah wrote in his ninth chapter, “ Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given .” The child that is born for us, this Son that is given to us is no mere child, just as His birth is no ordinary birth. The child born of the Virgin Mary, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manager is God the Word, the one of whom St. John says, “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God .” The Word is eternal, being with God from the beginning. The Word was God, John says. He does not say that the Word became God, or that the Word was created by God in the beginning to stand alongside God or next to God. The Word was not fashioned like the rest of creation. The Word simply was. He has always existed, being eternally generated from the God the Father in a way that is ineffable and indescribable and unfathomable. Paul describes Him in a similar fashion in this...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. The birth of Christ the Lord is preached first not to princes or priests but to lowly shepherds. It matches the lowliness and humility of Christ’s birth. No room in the inn among civilized folk, only room among the animals. No crib for a bed, only the animals feeding trough. It makes sense that this good news would be preached first to shepherds who were generally poor and held a rather low station in life. But in spite of their lowliness they get quite a preacher. “ Behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ” Of course they were afraid. You would have been, too. When an angel of the Lord appears, shining in heavenly glory, fear is the only proper response. In the Old Testament when Balaam sees the angel of the Lord standing before him, “ he bowed his head and fell flat on his face ” ( Numbers 22:31). When Samson’s parents realize...

The Nativity of our Lord John 1:1-14 December 25, 2017 Grace and peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. The Lord says in Micah 5:2, “ But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting. ” The prophet records that the Messiah, the Christ, would be born in the little town of Bethlehem. So Joseph of Nazareth goes to Bethlehem to be registered for Caesar’s tax “ because he was of the house and lineage of David ” (Luke 2:4). He takes his legally betrothed wife, Mary, with him and she gives birth to her firstborn, a son. The Scriptures cannot be broken. The Lord will not let any of His words fall useless to the ground. He fulfills that which He prophesied through the mouth of the prophet Micah. Micah’s prophesy is about more than just the Christ’s birthplace though. The one who will be born in Be...

Christmas Eve Luke 2:1-20 December 24, 2017 In the Name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.  “ It came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ” Perhaps that is better translated in our day as “to be assessed.” This registration was for the purpose of taxation. Caesar decrees that everyone throughout the wide expanse of the Roman Empire be registered. In order to be registered you had to go your own city. Joseph, who had been living in Nazareth, which is Galilee, travels to humble Bethlehem in Judea, the city of David whom we know as king. He took Mary with him. She was his betrothed wife which means that she was already legally his wife. So she went along. “ So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them ...