Pastor Sullivan's Blog

Grace and peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Have you ever had one of those days where you work and don’t see a single result, where you toil and don’t seem to get anywhere? It doesn’t even necessarily have to be with a job. It could be with your children, your non-profit, your studies, your marriage. It happens from time to time in all our vocations. We ply the task assigned us and often have nothing to show for it. That’s the sort of day Peter had the night before Jesus asked to get into his boat. Peter and his crew out of their boats, washing their nets, doing the menial work of the trade, when Jesus approaches. The crowd had been slowly pressing Jesus closer and closer to the Lake of Gennesaret so that He had nowhere to go. But they wanted to hear the Word of God. So He gets into Peter’s boat and asks the fisherman to put out a little from land. At this point Peter already believed in Christ. He had already heard Christ’s preaching and Jesus...

Grace and peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. In today’s Gospel lesson Christ preaches to a large crowd that pressed in on Jesus because they want to hear the Word of God. Like a fisherman, Jesus casts the net of the Gospel and catches a great haul of souls. He teaches them to repent of their sins, be sorry for them, and strive to leave them behind. He preaches to them the good news that God loves mankind and has sent His Son to come to the aid of sinners. He teaches them that they have no righteousness of their own and that God the Fathers offers them a righteousness apart from works of the law that is offered to all. He has come to forgive the sins of those who are penitent and bring them new life in God’s kingdom. This is how Christ calls men to salvation. He has cast the net of His Word and drew them to Himself. The multitude crowded Him up against the shores of the Lake of Gennesaret. There He climbs into Peter’s boat and tells the tired fi...