Pastor Sullivan's Blog

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. When Christ calls Himself the Good Shepherd He calls His people sheep. Israel sang in Psalm 95, “ For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. ” Even though the Lord is the true shepherd of Israel, He used undershepherds throughout history. Psalm 77:20 says, “ You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. ” The undershepherds appointed by the Lord were to lead the flock with the Word of the Lord, guide the sheep into repentance, teach them to avoid sin, and protect the lambs of God’s pasture from those who threatened the safety of their faith with false teachings which would scatter and destroy the flock. After Moses and Aaron, the Lord appointed priests and the Levites to teach the flock the Word of God. But mostly they were hirelings who didn’t care for the sheep. The Lord condemned such false shepherds. He said in Jeremiah 23:2, “ You have ...

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 ...

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 ...