Pastor Sullivan's Blog

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...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.  Today’s appointed gospel lesson tells us how Jesus left Judea and traveled north into Galilee. He came into Cana of Galilee where He had turned water into wine. There He is met by a nobleman. This nobleman had heard about Jesus’ miracle at the wedding when He had turned one hundred and eighty gallons of water into wine. Knowing Jesus’ power, He goes out to meet Him. The nobleman has a son who sick to the point of death. Not content to remain at his dying son’s bedside, He hurries to intercept Jesus where he implores Him to come down and heal his son. The man comes to Christ in faith, but it is weak faith, for He imagines that Christ has to be present in his house, in his son’s room, at his son’s bedside in order to heal him. Jesus’ answer isn’t what the nobleman expects. “ Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will be no means believe. ” It’s as if Christ were saying, “Everyone believes in me when...

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Today’s Gospel lesson shows us Christ’s compassion on a deaf mute. The man is brought to Jesus and those who bring him ask Jesus to put His hand on him. They had heard how Christ had touched others and healed them. Christ takes the dead mute away from the crowd and touches him, though probably not in the way that the man’s friends intended. Jesus sticks His fingers into the man’s ears. He spits and touches the man’s tongue with the spit. By doing these things Jesus communicates to the man that He intends to unstop his ears and loosen his rigid tongue. He then looks up to heaven since “ every good gift and every perfect gift is from above ” (James 1:17). Then He speaks one word. “ Ephphatha ,” and with that word commands the man’s ears and mouth to be open. The man is healed at once because the One who has commanded the ears and mouth to open is the one whom formed man’s ears and tongue in the beginning...

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Two very different men live two very different lives. The first man is very wealthy. He wears the color of kings. His clothing is soft and luxurious. His table is always filled with good things to eat. The second man is the opposite in every way. Instead of great wealth he has great poverty. Instead of being clothed with the finest linens, his body is covered in terrible sores. Instead of full table, Lazarus has a perpetually empty stomach. The rich man’s crumbs would have been a feast to Lazarus, but none fell from the rich man’s table. The rich man lived a life of comfort and ease. The only comfort poor Lazarus received was from dogs who came and licked his sores. As they are very different in life, so they are very different in death. The beggar Lazarus dies and angels carry him away to paradise, the bosom of Abraham, where finally receives comfort and rest from his burdensome life. The rich man di...

Grace and peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Today our Lord teaches us to pray. This is a lesson that you need often because the devil, your adversary wants to convince you that you are not worthy to pray. He tells you that you deserve none of the things for which you pray and too often you believe that, so you don’t pray as you should. The world in which you live insists that your prayers are ineffective. Too often, you feel the same way, wondering why the Lord hasn’t answered your prayer. So you don’t pray as often as you should. Your own flesh tempts you to imagine that self-reliance is more godly and pious than humbly asking the Lord for what you need. Your flesh likes the sound of worldly aphorisms like “God helps those who help themselves.” So you imagine if you just work harder at things, that’s better than prayer and reliance upon the Lord. It is because we are hounded by the devil, influenced by the wicked world, and tempted by our sin...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. In today’s appointed gospel lesson, St. Matthew shows us a woman in dire need. Her daughter is severely demon-possessed and the woman has no way of helping her. She of herself has no strength to save her daughter. So she goes to Jesus. He had left the ancient boundary of Israel and gone into the region of Tyre and Sidon where this woman and her daughter lived. She seizes her opportunity. The woman goes to Jesus and prays mightily, “ Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed. ” She is not an Israelite, yet she knew that Jesus was Lord. She knew that He was the Son of David. She knew that Jesus was merciful to people who called upon Him in the hour of utmost need. The good report about Jesus had spread to this far away region and she believed it. In faith she approaches Jesus and asks Him to have mercy on her utterly helpless daughter. This is a great picture of faith. Fait...

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. 1)         Ten virgins wait for the Bridegroom to arrive. He has already married his bride. Now He comes to take her to her new home. In Jesus’ day, when a man and woman were pledged to be married, they were legally married at that moment. But they did not immediately begin living together. The bride went back to her parents’ home while the groom went back to his home and made it ready for his new wife. Then one evening, the man would gather his attendants, form a procession, and go to his bride’s home to fetch her and bring her to her new abode, where Bride and Groom, family and friends, and all their attendants would feast in joy over this life-long union between man and wife. That is what these ten virgins are looking forward to. They know the Bridegroom is coming that evening so they get their lamps and wait at the home of their newly married friend. All ten have lamps....

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 1)         Jesus approaches the city of Nain, surrounded by His disciples and a large crowd who wanted His teaching and His miracles. As that crowd approaches the city, it meets another large crowd from the city, which is on its way to the cemetery. That crowd is led by pallbearers carrying the casket of a young man, the only son of his mother. The young man’s mother follows close by, mourning for her only son. This isn’t her first funeral procession. St. Luke tells us that she was a widow. She buried her husband some time before this. Now she buries her only son. The depth of her loss is unfathomable. Everyone looks at he with eyes of sympathy. Everyone, except Jesus. The Lord sees her and is moved with compassion for her. The heart of the Messiah goes out to this woman who has lost everything. He offers no condolences or well-wishes. He doesn’t fill her ears wi...