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allsaintsjonesboro Sermons

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Yesterday was the annual feast day for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. On the cross of Christ, what looks to our physical eyes like defeat is in truth the victory of God. By His willing sacrifice, Jesus destroys the power of sin, death, and the devil, and draws us into communion with Himself and with one another. The cross alone restores us to God, rescues us from the prison of self, and makes us members of His holy family. Through the Word, the Sacraments, and the life of the Church, the fruits of the cross—light, life, love, and forgiveness—are given to us again and again. Listen and rejoice in the power of the cross, which gathers us together as the children of God.

allsaintsjonesboro Sermons

The Birthday of Blessed Mary

The Nativity of the Virgin (detail). Tempera on Panel by Andrea di Bartolo (1389-1428)

Today, Christ’s holy Church celebrates the birthday of Saint Mary, the Blessed Theotokos. The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, though, is not ultimately about Mary herself, but about God’s faithfulness in fulfilling His promises through her, culminating in the birth of Christ. From the first promise in Eden that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent, God’s people lived in expectant hope, even amid sin and unfaithfulness. Through generation after generation of flawed yet chosen people, God wove the golden thread of His promise, leading to Mary’s birth as a sign that salvation was near. In her womb, by the Holy Spirit, the promised Savior took on flesh to redeem the world. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection fulfilled God’s plan begun in Eden, and even now He continues to keep His promises through Word and Sacrament as we await His final return. Thus, celebrating Mary’s nativity is a way of rejoicing in God’s steadfast faithfulness and His work of salvation for us in Christ. Listen to Father Suelzle’s entire sermon below.

allsaintsjonesboro Sermons

Are You Right with God?

How are you made right before God? Jesus tells the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector to answer that question. While human reason assumes the Pharisee’s outwardly righteous life makes him justified, Jesus reveals that it is the humble tax collector who is declared righteous. The Pharisee’s prayer is full of self-congratulation, whereas the tax collector’s simple plea—“God, be merciful to me, a sinner”—is grounded in faith and dependence on God’s forgiveness alone. True humility is not a human achievement but a gift from God, worked through his Word. Ultimately, God answers our plea for mercy through Christ, who in humility bore our sin on the cross and in turn gives us his own righteousness. Christians daily make the tax collector’s prayer their own, trusting not in ourselves but in God’s promise to forgive and grant us Christ’s righteousness through his merciful means of grace. Listen to the whole of Fr. Suelzle’s sermon for Trinity +11 below.