The Way of Cain: When We’re not Ready, and the Thief Takes Joy, Love, Peace, and Security

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
August 10, 2025
Proper 14, C
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Psalm 33:12-22
Luke 12:32-40

So, this is like the third or fourth week in a row where Jesus talked about the kingdom of God not being about being rich; the kingdom of God not about having lots of stuff; and the kingdom of God not about being against those we think are wrong, but rather being for other people. Once again, this morning we heard Jesus teach about giving to others, loving others, and finding the kingdom of God in that love of other people. Once again, we heard Jesus teaching that the peace and security for which we are longing comes not through our own power and position over others. We heard Jesus teaching that the peace and security for which we are longing comes from the love and support we give one another, asking the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, to come among us all day, every day and lead us into that love. 

With Jesus continuing these teachings over and over, some might get tired of hearing (or preaching) the same thing over and over. Then again, as often as we hear Jesus’ teaching to love others, not worry so much, and stop making our lives about getting stuff and power, as much as we hear that teaching, we still tend to forget it. So maybe it’s good that we’re hearing this for the third or fourth week in a row. It kinda seems like Jesus really wanted us to take this teaching to heart and to live his words. 

“Do not be afraid,” Jesus said, because God wants to give us the kingdom. God’s desire for us is to live the kingdom, and unlike all the kingdoms and nations on earth, God’s kingdom is not about having power over others, ruling over others, wealth, might, or anything like that. God’s kingdom is what things are like when we care for one another, seek justice, and live in love.

So, “Do not be afraid,” Jesus said, because God’s desire for us is to give us that kingdom of caring, justice, and love.

“Be dressed for action,” Jesus said, and “have your lamps lit.” Be ready to live the kingdom of God at all times, and things are gonna be so great when we do. It’ll be like the master of the house coming home and finding us all serving one another and saying, “Come on, let’s have a party together.” Good times, good news, God wants us to have and live the kingdom of love.

Then Jesus said this kinda fearful bit about being ready and knowing when a thief is about to come, because “the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” That kinda makes it sound like Jesus is the thief we have to be ready for, so be afraid because Jesus is gonna come.

That just doesn’t make sense, and it’s not what the text said. Jesus started this whole teaching by telling us not to be afraid. Then he told us that God is not a thief but the one who wants to give us the kingdom. So, be alert and be ready to receive the kingdom, anytime and anywhere God gives it to you. Be ready always to live God’s kingdom of love.

Well, the thief wants to take the kingdom of God from us so that we can’t live it, and the thief can be lots of things. Sometimes being so tired and so stressed that you just don’t have time for anyone’s BS, even if they don’t really have any BS, that can be the thief. Sometimes the worries of life destroy any hope or joy we have in the present moment, and that can be the thief. 

So, Jesus teaches of a strong need to remain alert and ready to live the kingdom of God. Being ready means prayer. Being ready means seeking and calling on the Holy Spirit. Being ready means giving our hurts and our faults over to God and asking God to give back only that which we need.

What happens, then, when we’re not staying alert and ready? What happens when we stop turning all that we are over to God, when we stop inviting the Holy Spirit, when we stop counting on God and instead take control and rely only on ourselves? The thief comes. When we’re not alert and ready, the thief comes and takes joy, happiness, love, peace, security. 

When we aren’t staying alert and ready, the thief takes the kingdom of God for which we are longing. The thief takes the kingdom of God which we have been living. 

Sin is ever present, lurking just outside, we’re told in Genesis 4. When we are living in love and charity with others, seeking the guidance and support of the Holy Spirit, living in the kingdom, even sin is still “waiting at the door ready to strike! It will entice you,” we’re told, “but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:7)

In Genesis 4:7 God was talking to Cain who was very angry that God had not accepted his offering of grains. Y’all remember Cain, one of Adam and Eve’s first two sons, Cain and Abel, and y’all remember that Cain killed Abel because God accepted Abel’s offering, the very best of his flock, and God didn’t accept Cain’s offering, the leftover crap grain that he had lying around. Cain got angry and jealous enough to kill his brother, all because God did not accept his offering of leftover crappy grains. 

It seems like Cain was living the kingdom of God until the thief came, and Cain wasn’t ready. Now, the thief didn’t come when Cain killed Abel. The thief had already been there. The thief came when Cain decided what offering to give to God.

Cain wanted the best for himself and gave whatever crap was leftover to God. That was where the thief took the kingdom from Cain. 

When people keep more than they need for many lifetimes and give some small percentage to charities, they are following the way of Cain. 

Andrew Carnegie - Steel Tycoon

“I have way more than enough for myself, way more than I need. Oh, others are suffering. Here they can have this leftover stuff that I don’t need. Here, they can have this piddling amount that I’ll never miss.” That’s the way of Cain, when we’re not ready and alert, and the thief comes telling us we’ll never be ok without more than we need and we need to keep the very best for ourselves and give whatever’s leftover to others.

I realized as I was writing this, that a lot of charitable giving is given in this very well-intentioned way. I’m not saying this to dig down on anybody. A lot of charity is given with a heart that truly cares for others, and yet so often we’re still following something of the way of Cain. Keeping far more than is needed. Giving largely what won’t be missed.

This is not because of evil hearts full of hatred and contempt. The reason we often give is because we care deeply about others. The reason we often give only what won’t be missed is that we still tend to place our security in our stuff and in our own power, and when we do, sin, in the form of fear, is waiting at the door, ready to steal the Kingdom of God away from us. By having us hold on to more than we need, trusting in ourselves and in our stuff, sin has us follow the way of Cain, taking from us the love, joy, and peace of kingdom of God.

 

So, Jesus teaches, “Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven.” Do not be afraid, for it is God’s desire to give you the kingdom. So, be ready, stay alert. Realize that sin is always at the door, ready to steal the kingdom away from you. Sin is always at the door, telling you to trust in yourself, and in your stuff, and in your own power. Sin is always ready to snatch love, and joy, and peace away from you. 

So, when we give to others, we don’t give only what we’ll never miss. We live lives of love and prayer, constantly seeking the help of the Holy Spirit that we may truly live for one another, giving the best of ourselves to one another, and receiving God’s kingdom as we do.

Beautiful Neighbors

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
July 27, 2025
Proper 12, C
Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19)
Psalm 138
Luke 11:1-13

Eventually, maybe one day, I’ll feel complete. If I gain enough success in life, I’ll feel like I have accomplished enough to feel good about myself; or maybe if I earn enough money, or get enough stuff, then I’ll feel like I’m ok. That’s kind of ridiculous, yeah? The thought that I’ll finally be a whole and complete person if I only have enough, well, that’s a ridiculous thought, and I’m guessing that if you asked just about anyone if they need more money or success or stuff to be a whole and complete person, they’d likely say, “no,” and yet the drive for more is still there.

What drives us to have more, to get more, to be more? What gnaws at our subconscious telling us, if we just have this one more thing, if we can just achieve this, then we’ll be ok? Something seems to be telling us that as we are, we’re not good enough. Perhaps that starts at a young age?

I was watching a movie about Mr. Rogers the other day. Y’all remember Mr. Rogers, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, the kids show on PBS years and years ago? “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor. Won’t you be, won’t you please? Please won’t you be my neighbor?” He was so kind, and on his show and in his life, he showed others how to be kind. He had a great love of children, and he taught kids how to deal with their emotions and showed them how wonderful they were. 

One thing Mr. Rogers talked about was how wonderful and beloved kids are, not because of who they’ll be one day, but that they are wonderful and beloved just as they are. 

What if, as kids, we already know we are complete? What if, as kids, we already know that we are valued and loved just as we are, not because of who we’ll one day be?

Perhaps then we wouldn’t feel the need for enough money, possessions, or success to feel whole. 

I’m not saying this to knock anyone’s parents, but I’m guessing we’ve all had people in our lives who in one way or another made us feel like we had to achieve something to be ok. Think about some of the messages we often get as kids. “Don’t cry.” “Be quiet.” “You shouldn’t be so angry.” “Stop being so sad.” “Smile more.”

Mr. Rogers pointed out that saying things like that to kids makes them feel like they don’t belong, like they aren’t good enough as they are, like their emotions aren’t welcome. Kids are trying to figure out how to belong, and a lot of the messages they get are, “You don’t quite belong in this adult world. You need to change in order to be ok.” This makes sense because parents are trying to prepare their kids for adulthood, but kids often get this notion that, “I’ll be good enough, I’ll belong, once I have achieved” whatever it is: enough money, enough success, enough fame, enough stuff. 

For Mr. Rogers, encouraging kids wasn’t about telling them how great they’ll be when they’re grown? For him, encouraging kids was about telling them how great they are now.

How children feel about themselves is what I care about most. If we can help our children feel accepted and valued when they are small, they’ll have a better chance of growing into adults who can feel good about who they are, too. – Fred Rogers

That’s right in line with the teaching Jesus offered us in our Gospel today. “Take care!” Jesus said. “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Jesus told this to a man who wanted what he felt was his share of his family’s inheritance. 

Was this guy really struggling for money, or did he just want more to feel better about himself, to feel complete, to feel worthy? He didn’t say he was impoverished, and you’d think he would have led with that if it was the case. No, it sounds like the guy was hacked off that his brother was getting more than he was. It wasn’t right, it wasn’t fair, and if he could only get more of the inheritance, then he’d be ok, and it was all about comparison. 

He had enough, but he had less, compared to his brother, so he felt some aching, some longing to be complete. Jesus taught him, though, that having more or less doesn’t make us more or less. Having enough for status doesn’t actually improve our lives, and we don’t need it to be healed and loved.

That goes counter to some preaching that’s out there. Name it and claim it? Give your money to whatever ministry, and God will bless you with even greater wealth? That kind of preaching ain’t about the gospel. The name it and claim it preaching is simply feeding into our insecurities of not belonging, of not being enough, of not having enough. Rather than telling us the truth of God’s love for us, as we are, for who we are, the name it and claim it preaching is fueling the lie that we need more in order to be ok. 

Jesus wants us to know that our lives are not made complete by status, wealth, success, and stuff. Our lives are made complete by love. 

There was a study done about wealth and happiness, showing that having tons more money that you need doesn’t actually make you happier. Now, for a person making $30,000 a year to get a salary increase to $60,000 a year, they end up much happier. So much less stress and so much more freedom, not worrying nearly so much about where food is gonna come from or if they can afford rent. That doubling of salary from $30,000 to $60,000 makes a huge difference in happiness. 

For a person making $500,000 a year, however, if they double their salary to $1,000,000 a year, they don’t actually end up much happier. They can certainly buy a crud ton more stuff, but that doesn’t tend to translate to improved quality of life or improved happiness. 

It turns out that modern social science is learning the truth that Jesus taught a couple thousand years ago. Our lives are not about having a bunch of stuff, and our lives aren’t actually made better by having a bunch of stuff.

 

The happiest people are those who have quality relationships with other people. Again, that’s what Jesus taught and how Jesus lived. When Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God and having riches in the Kingdom of God, he was talking about the love we have for others and they love others have for us. 

Here’s the Gospel secret, or not so secret, God has that love for us, and we don’t need to be better, do better, earn more, or have more to earn God’s love. We’re already complete, and we’re already completely beloved just as we are. 

“Jesus, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” 

“Dude, I ain’t here to make you rich, man. I’m here to tell you, you don’t need to be. You’re already complete. You’re already whole. You already belong to God’s family just as you are.

"How long, O Lord, will there be such strife in the world?" We Ask. "How long, indeed?" God replies. "How long, humanity? How long?"

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
July 27, 2025
Proper 12, C
Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19)
Psalm 138
Luke 11:1-13

There’s something terribly wrong with the world*, isn’t there? Terrorists kill thousands, and so others respond by killing hundreds of thousands. Folks want as big a return on investment as we can get, and if that is done by paying people poverty wages or worse, well…it’s not really my fault, that’s just how the market works.

Those poor people on the streets are unsightly, let’s put them in jail or drive them far from here, and what happens to them after, that’s their problem. I’m hurt and angry. It feels like that’s all I’ve ever been, and I’m just going to keep taking it out on everyone around me because I really don’t know a what else to do. Most of what the church has ever done is just threaten me with Hell, so to Hell with them too.

We care about people in the abstract (in general), but when it comes to sacrificing our own comfort and security, taking on suffering ourselves for the sake of others, our caring often becomes even more abstract (less). That goes for churchy disciples of Jesus, too. 

How often when I (or others) talk about Jesus’ teachings on economic justice do folks blast it as woke socialist teaching? It’s not. It’s just what Jesus said. “Sure,” folks will counter, “but you can’t apply Jesus’ teachings to our economy, or how we invest money, or how we pay people.” Ok, but that’s just like what the people of Israel kept saying when the prophets kept telling them, “Y’all are sunk because of you exploit the poor and seem to love economic injustice.” Saying you can’t apply Jesus’ teachings to the economy is to place love of wealth above love of people and to place economic might as an idol above God. 

How often do I then hear people agree with the very same teachings of Jesus, the teachings about economic justice, so long as they can pretend that those teachings are only about what happens when we die, and not about economic and social justice in this world and in this life? A lot, very often, that happens.

Yes, there is something terribly wrong with this world, and recognizing that fact, we find a deep longing for people actually to care about one another.

I was saddened last week over the death of Ozzy Osbourne, and I bring him up, one because I love his music, and two because he was one who shared this deep longing for people actually to care about one another. Despite what lots of right-wing fundamentalist preachers have shouted over the years, Ozzy was a Christian. He was a flawed dude, but he was also a dude who despaired at the horrible things we humans do to one another. He wrote songs calling out our human atrocities and longing for hope, longing for people actually to care about one another.

In an interview with The Guardian in 2014, they asked about his faith, and in part of his answer, he said,

My idea of heaven is feeling good. A place where people are alright to each other. This world scares the shit out of me. We’re all living on the tinderbox. It’s like there’s some maniac somewhere trying to devise a new means of destruction. It always amazes me that mankind always goes to find the biggest, powerfullest means of destruction before they find anything good. It’s always the negative things they find first. Since I’ve had kids I’ve thought, ‘What are we leaving these people? Nothing.’ What a future we’ve got for mankind.

He was torn down by how terribly wrong this world is, and he wrote about that in his music, which was aggressive and violent sounding, but like most angry music, it wasn’t meant to harm others but to heal them. “I’d rather have people get rid of their aggression at an Ozzy concert,” he said, “than by beating some old lady over the head and running off with her purse. [The concerts, the music are] a release of aggression.”

  

“How long, must we keep on waiting?”** He wrote in one of his later songs, Diggin' Me Down. That song in particular makes me think of the lament Psalms, like Psalm 13. How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will I have grief in my heart day after day? Look at me. Answer me. How long will the enemy triumph?

The Psalms is a lament and a question, challenging God to answer because there is something terribly wrong with the world, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better.

“How long, O Lord,” and I think there are times when God’s answer may well be, “How long, indeed?” How long will you people continue to hurt one another. How long will you continue to seek all the best for yourself pretending like it’s not hurting anyone else? How long will you continue to go it alone, taking your violence and anger out on everyone around you. How long, humanity? How long?

Knowing all that is terribly wrong with the world, when Jesus’ disciples asked him to pray, he taught them “The Lord’s Prayer,” as we call it, and there are two things I’d like to point out from his teaching. One, knowing all that is terribly wrong with the world, Jesus taught us to pray for God’s Kingdom to come and for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven. 

If we’re praying for God’s kingdom to come, that also means that we’re gonna be working towards it. Remember that Pope Francis said, “You pray for the hungry, then you feed them. That’s how prayer works.” Well, regarding the Lord’s Prayer, you pray for God’s kingdom to be lived out here on earth as in Heaven, and then you live out God’s kingdom here on earth. That’s how the Lord’s Prayer works. 

You pray for people to care about one another and be loving towards one another, and then you actually start doing that. You pray for economic justice, and then you actually start living it. You pray for an end to hatred and vengeance, and then you actually start loving and forgiving people.

Jesus taught that our actions are meant to match our prayer. Jesus also taught that we don’t try to live out God’s kingdom all by ourselves. We are to ask the Holy Spirit constantly to help us. He told the story of the guy who kept beating on his friend’s door asking for some bread because another friend had just showed up at midnight. Weird story, please don’t do that to people. Wait six hours till the morning, your hungry friend ain’t gonna die. 

What Jesus said was that this persistence in prayer was for the Holy Spirit. The guy in the story eventually gave some bread to his jerky friend just to shut him up. “How much more,” Jesus said, “will God give the Holy Spirit to those who ask.”

God gives the Holy Spirit for the church to live out God’s mission of reconciliation and love. God gives the Holy Spirit for the church to bring some kindness and caring into this world, rather than the anger and aggression we so often face.

There is something terribly wrong with this world, and that terribly wrong this is the spirit of the Adversary: us vs. them, me vs. you, fear and anger, get all I can regardless of who it hurts or how it hurts them. The spirit of the Adversary is rife in this world, and we don’t even recognize it. We see the spirit of the Adversary, and we say, “I need a good return on investment, and that’s just how free markets are supposed to work. We’re supposed to get vengeance on our enemies. I’m hurting and in need, and to hell with anyone who gets in my way.”

That spirit of the Adversary is what is terribly wrong with this world, and God has given us a different Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, so that we might no longer be against one another but for one another. God has given us the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, so that we might live out God’s kingdom of economic justice, mercy, forgiveness, and love here on earth, right now, as it is in heaven. 

How long, O Lord? How long will we continue not to ask for the Holy Spirit or to ask selfishly? How long will we keep God waiting? Ask for the Holy Spirit, Jesus taught us, all day, every day, so that we might follow the Advocate, rather than the Adversary, and live out God’s kingdom here on earth, as in Heaven. 

*And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? 

Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression.

― Alan Moore, V for Vendetta

** Digging Me Down, Ozzy Osbourne

https://youtu.be/nqAmREzj6nA?si=Tgjt1yWllbcX9KO2

Sure, People Work Hard for Poverty Wages, but We Pray...Is that Not Enough?

The Rev. Brad Sullivan

Lord of the Streets, Houston
July 20, 2025
Proper 11, C
Amos 8:1-12
Colossians 1:15-28
Psalm 15
Luke 10:38-42

‘Hey Jesus,’ Martha said, ‘I have a bunch of housework to do. Won’t you please come over and sit around while I do my chores? My sister will probably pay attention to you, and honestly, that really gonna piss me off.’ 

That’s usually how we read this story, isn’t it, and it’s really weird. Why would you invite someone into your home just to ignore them? Also, the message that those who sit at Jesus’ feet and listen are better than those who have to do work is not a message Jesus taught. Jesus was consistently for those who had to work and couldn’t spend all day in the temple. After all, if everyone sat around reading the Bible and praying all day long, who would do things like grow food, work at grocery stores, operate power plants. We give thanks for those who work while others rest.

So, as we often read the story of Martha and Mary, it’s kinda weird. Thanks to my wife, however, I was introduced to a different reading of this story which came from Mary Stromer Hanson*. She points out that we tend to read some things into the text that aren’t really there. For one thing, Martha welcomed Jesus, but not into her home. That was an addition, and the most ancient texts don’t have those words. 

So, Martha welcomed Jesus. Mary, we are told sat at Jesus’ feet, meaning she was one of his disciples who learned from him. It doesn’t actually say she was there in this story. We’re told she also sat at Jesus’ feet, meaning Martha did too. Martha and Mary were both Jesus’ disciples. 

Finally, we’re told that Martha was distracted by her many tasks, which we assume means housework, but the Greek actually says “ministry”. Martha was distracted by her ministry in her hometown, and she was asking Jesus to send her sister back to help her. 

Jesus is telling her, then, that she has a good ministry and that her sister, Mary, also has a good ministry elsewhere. You don’t need her here, Jesus was saying. What you need is to draw near to God as you do your ministry. Look at all you are doing; it’s great ministry, but you are becoming distracted from the one who is with you. Don’t forget to join with me as you serve others. You can become so consumed in that work that it becomes a burden. Join again with God, let God’s love fill you, then your service will be a blessing both to others and to you.

Prayer and service work hand in hand. As Pope Francis said, “You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. This is how prayer works.” At the same time, feeding the hungry can be your prayer for the hungry. Prayer and ministry of service are all tied up together as one.

We draw near to God by listening to God. Draw near to God by acting with love towards others.

In our reading from Amos today, God says, 

Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land…Surely I will never forget any of [your] deeds. I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation…The time is surely coming, says the Lord GOD, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. (Amos 8:1-12) 

In "ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN",
Kal-El is a champion of the working
class and working poor. His symbol 
that of the working class on Krypton.

In Amos, the people were no longer able to draw near to God and hear his Word because of how they mistreated the poor and lowly. They went to God in prayer often enough, but they paid the poor poverty wages and rejoiced in their own wealth, blaming the poor for not doing more or working harder. 

Because of how they treated people, they could not draw near to God, no matter how hard they tried. God would not hear their prayers, nor would God let his Word be heard among them. 

Sitting at the Lord’s feet, being Jesus’ disciple, demands action. Drawing near to Jesus for our prayers to be heard demands following Jesus’ teaching and abiding in his love, living out his love for others. Living out Jesus’ love for others is sitting at Jesus’ feet. Following Jesus’ teaching is drawing near to Jesus in prayer.

At the same time, living out Jesus’ love for others requires us to return to Jesus for prayer and learning. That sounds contradictory. Prayer is service. Service is prayer, and we have to do both intentionally. 

Without drawing near to God for times of rest, we can become overcome by the work, the ministry, the suffering of others. That’s what was happening with Martha. She was getting overcome by the enormity of the work of ministry, the enormity of the work of loving others. She was getting overcome by seeing suffering all around her, and so she wanted Mary to come back home and do the work with her. 

What Martha actually needed, however, to take a break from her work, and spend some time sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning again, resting in Jesus’ presence, and drawing near to God in prayer. That means some of the work wouldn’t get done. That’s ok. There’s always more work to do, always more love to give, always more suffering to soothe, and God commanded us to rest, to take time to draw near to God. 

When we don’t take that time to rest, then we can’t hear God anymore, and we often start following the ways of the Adversary. When we’re overcome by the suffering of the world, we often become angry and hateful toward those who are causing the suffering. When we don’t rest in God, we turn against our enemies, rather than for those we seek to serve, and even our service can bring the darkness of the Adversary, rather than the light of the Holy Spirit. 

When we’re overcome by the Adversary, we can’t hear God’s word. We need rest to offer to God all of our hatred and all of our anger. We need rest to offer to God all of our righteous fury at those who pay poverty wages while enriching themselves. We offer all of that to God so that God may heal our hearts and we may live out the light of God’s love once again. 

So, when we hear the story of Marth and Mary, and we’re told we need to be more of a Mary than a Martha, that we need to pray and stop doing so much work, that’s not really what the story tells us. We need both. Prayer without service can lead to selfish faith, not caring about those around us, like we saw in Amos. Service without prayer can lead to being overcome by the enormity of suffering in the world. We need Martha and Mary, prayer and service. True discipleship means we pray for people and we love and serve people, walking with Jesus all along the way. 

* https://eewc.com/new-view-mary-martha/

https://stromerhanson.blogspot.com/2015/11/mary-of-bethany-her-leadership-uncovered.html

The Possibility and Reality of the Goodness within Us

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
July 13, 2025
Proper 10, C
Deuteronomy 30:9-14
Psalm 25:1-9
Luke 10:25-37

Yeah, I got this. I don’t need any self-reflection, no need to evaluate my life, my actions. I know the commandments of God. I know Jesus’ ways. Since I know them, I must be following them, right? I was baptized; I claimed my discipleship years ago, whenever that was, so I’m good. I’m perfectly fine in my faith and my walk with God.

That’s a rather haughty approach to one’s faith and way of life. I did this at one point, I still know what I did, so I should be great. That’s like the star pitcher of a baseball team saying, “I used to practice a lot. I still know all the principles of a good curve ball and slider. No preparation needed for this game. I’m good.”

That seems to be the attitude of the man who asked Jesus about inheriting eternal life. “Yeah, I know the commandments. ‘Love God. Love my neighbor.’ I’m pretty nice to the folks living around me. Kinda bare minimum effort. I should be good, right?” 

It seems like maybe he wanted to squeak by and be in God’s good graces, without actually having to care all that much about others. Follow the rules, and I’ll be fine. I’ll follow the rules and make God happy, or at least not angry with me, so I can stay in God’s good graces, inherit eternal life.

That’s kinda missing the point, isn’t it. Follow God’s commandments just enough to keep God off your back, and call that eternal life? Keep God happy or at least not angry, and call that eternal life?

The priest and the Levite in Jesus’ story were doing just that. They had important work to do, important temple work to do, important religious work to do, to make God happy. I’m being a little unfaith with the whole “make God happy” thing, but when we feel like our religious duty is what makes God happy…These guys were working to make God pleased not only with themselves but with all of Israel, so they had important work to do. 

Because of that important work, they ignored this beaten and possibly dead man. Again, partially because they had to stay ritually clean in order to do their work, so if this guy was bleeding, they couldn’t touch him because then they couldn’t go to the Temple to do their work. So, what were they to do? 

They had to make God happy, or at least not angry, so they had to ignore this guy and go do the important Temple work…darn it, I guess they were missing the point again. 

That’s not Jesus’ way.

To think that we’re doing important work for God’s service while ignoring people who are hurting.

Then, you’ve got this Samaritan, who actually takes care of this guy, and Jesus said, ‘Well, that’s the one who’s your neighbor, so love him.’ Now, that’s a tall order because the Samaritans were among the most hated people amongst the Israelites. The Gentiles, the non-Israelites, they weren’t really any good, but meh, who cares. The Samaritans, though, it’s like the worst rival in a football game, except instead of just the players duking it out on the field, the fans attack and maybe not kill, but at least beat half to death. 

So, the fact that Jesus said that a Samaritan was the one who was a neighbor to the beaten man, he was talking about the worst of the worst, the lowest of the low. He wasn’t doing any of the good religious stuff to keep God happy. He just took care of the guy who got beaten up, and it turns out that’s the neighbor that the man Jesus was talking to was told to love as himself. 

I saw the new Superman movie, loved it, and like with so many Superman stories, the reason I loved it isn’t just because he’s an awesome superhero with heat vision, and X-Ray vision, and ice breath, and super strength, and he can fly…and he has a cool cape. I love all of that too, but what I really love about Superman is he gives us a glimpse into the best version of ourselves. Superman gives us a glimpse into what we could be, and I don’t mean the strength and the flying, although the cape would still be nice.

What I mean is, Superman has an almost irrepressible belief in the goodness and worth of people. He knows we often don’t show our goodness, but he believes it’s there. Then, Superman takes his optimism about humanity, and he takes all of his power, and he chooses to serve and love humanity. Rather than rule over us as a god, which he totally could, Superman chooses to serve and love humanity, and in that love and service, he inspires others to the same. He shows us our best nature and inspires us to live that same love and service for each other. 

That sounds a lot like Jesus. He could have ruled over us as the God he is, and instead he chose to love and serve people as he walked among us. Jesus showed us the best of our natures. Jesus taught us the best of ourselves. Jesus is the possibility and the reality of the goodness dwelling within each one of us. Jesus inspires us to live into that same love and service of others, which is what he was teaching this lawyer with the story he told of the Samaritan, the hated one who chose love and service.

https://youtu.be/GUAj9O0gxsQ

Go and be like that hated one, rather than some religious person, being religious to make God happy. Living into the possibility and the reality of goodness dwelling within each one of us, that is what makes God happy. Living into the goodness, the possibility and the reality of that goodness is also what God’s eternal life looks like.

What did we hear in Deuteronomy? The Word is very near to you, in your hearts, in your selves. That eternal life of God is within us, and we can live that eternal life when we live like that Samaritan did, that hated one. 

“What must I do?” The man asked. Well, keep the commandments, except that this guy saw them as rules to be followed, a list to be checked off. That’s not what the commandments are. They aren’t a checklist to make sure we keep God happy or at least not angry with us.

The commandments are a guide for us that we can live into the possibility and reality of the goodness within us. 

Now, I gave that Superman analogy, that Superman shows us the possibility of the goodness within us. It’s a little unfair because Superman is basically invulnerable, so it’s got to be a little bit easier to keep your cool when someone is being a jerk and punches you in the face, because it doesn’t hurt at all, and it breaks the others guy’s hand, so instant vengeance. 

We don’t have that invulnerability, but we do have resurrection. We do have Jesus telling us over and over again, “Do not be afraid.” Trust in God, for “the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.” The Word and eternal life is not just waiting for us after this life. The Word of God and eternal life are here in this life.

“Go and do likewise,” Jesus said to the lawyer. Experience eternal life now. Join with God. Seek God’s help always. Everyday, live into the possibility. Live into the reality of the goodness within. 

 

...because we don't have to be perfect

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
July 6, 2025
Proper 9, C
Galatians 6:(1-6)7-16
Psalm 66:1-8
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

People tend to really like the idea of perfection, and at the same time, we have terrible problems with perfection. Perfection is not really for us, and we’re not particularly good at perfection. We just can’t really achieve it, and yet we often try to strive for perfection, and it often leads us off the rails. 

Perfection is unrealistic. It’s unobtainable.

Our desires for perfection do tend to make us fight amongst each other, though. Whoever is closer to perfection gets more money. Whoever is closer to perfection is seen as not only worth more, but also more worthy of anything and everything good in life. Look at the latest bill brought by President Trump. Those with the greatest economic output get the greatest benefit by his bill, while those with the least economic output get harmed the most by his bill. The president’s bill follows the lie of perfectionism, that the best are worth the most and the worst are worth the least. 

That runs completely counter to Jesus’ teaching and completely counter to God’s view of human worth. All are worthy, not for being more or less perfect; all are worthy simply for being. We are all God’s children, and we are all equally worthy of love and belonging, honor and respect. We are all worth the same human dignity, regardless of how nearly perfect or drastically imperfect we may seem. 

How do I know this? Two things: Jesus’ teaching and Jesus’ death on the cross.

Look at Jesus’ teaching. In Matthew 20, Jesus told a parable of a landowner who had a vineyard and went out to get laborers to work in his vineyard. Early on, he found some folks who worked all day, and he told them he’d pay them a living wage. Later in the morning, he found some others to work part of the day. Again he found others to work starting at noon, then mid-afternoon, and then he finally found folks who were still looking for work and hadn’t been hired. He hired them to work just for an hour.

At the end of the day, he paid everyone the same. All received the same living wage, which is what they all needed to survive. Those who had worked the full, perfect day were outraged that they hadn’t received more than those who had only worked the woefully insufficient one hour. They weren’t perfect; they don’t deserve as much. 

Not so, the landowner said. They were only able to work an hour, but they had to live a full 24 hours each day. They were just as worthy of getting to live as those who had been able to work all day. Our ideas of perfection and worth based on productivity run totally counter to Jesus’ teachings.

What about Jesus’ death on the cross? Did Jesus die for the worthy or for the unworthy? He died for all: worthy, unworthy, greater, lesser, middling. Jesus died to join all of humanity’s sins and mistakes with God. We’re told in Hebrews that Jesus was the perfect sacrifice to atone for humanity’s sins, and we’re told that Jesus made the perfect sacrifice because we couldn’t make the perfect sacrifice. 

If we look at the prophets, though, we also find that God didn’t really want all these sacrifices. God wanted us to treat one another like the landowner did in Jesus’ parable. God wanted us to bear one another’s burdens and to live the law of love for one another. We were never going to be perfect at it, and God never expected perfection from us. We’re human. We’re screwed up. We can’t be perfect, and God knows that. 

So, God became the perfect sacrifice for us, essentially telling us, “Y’all, the perfect sacrifice has been done, it’s finished, once for all, so you don’t need to do any more of this sacrifice things on an altar type stuff. The sacrifice is done, and it was perfect. Y’all don’t need to be. So, stop worrying about being perfect, and get on with loving one another. Get on with bearing one another’s burdens. Get on with treating one another as equally worthy of love and belonging, honor and respect.” 

Jesus was that perfect sacrifice for us not because God needed it, but because we did. We thought we had to be perfect. We couldn’t be, and God finally said, “Guys, I’ll just do it for you because you can’t be perfect, and you don’t need to be.” God stepped in to help us because our self-sufficiency was not enough.

That continues in all of our lives, Jesus joining with us to help us when our power and our self-sufficiency is not enough. We’re not meant to be in this life alone, and we’re not meant to be perfect. We’re meant to share this life with others, and we’re meant to seek help from God. 

With that help, we can then accomplish what we can’t do on our own. With God’s help, we can be in greater unity and love with one another and do together what we can’t do on our own. Then, for all those times when we hurt one another and screw up, God has already made amends for that so we can make amends with each other. 

We don’t have to become right with God. We are, so we can get on with the business of loving one another. 

That’s a lot of the message that Jesus told his disciples to go and preach to others because the world was pretty messed up, and the world is still pretty messed up. People still need that message that we don’t need to be perfect, that it’s not the great who are worthy and the not great who aren’t worthy. We’re all worthy, and any law or supposed gospel that preaches that only those who produce a lot, or work a lot, or are worth a lot of money, are the ones who are worthy…any gospel or law like that is completely anti the Gospel of Jesus. 

So, we get to go out and proclaim this message to others. What did Jesus say about those who didn’t want to hear it? We heard last week that his disciples wanted to rain fire down upon them, and Jesus said, “no.” When people don’t hear it, we say, “ok,” and we go. We leave them, hopefully, in peace. We don’t lose ourselves in rejection and get upset. We let our peace remain. We take our peace with us, and we go on to bring peace to others, and if they don’t accept it, that’s ok. We don’t force them. We just say, “peace be upon you,” and we go, because even our sharing of the Gospel doesn’t have to be perfect.

I’d love to say I have a good ending to this sermon, but I don’t, and it’s actually not even finished, but I figure that’s ok, because it doesn’t have to be perfect. 

It Isn't Just a Flesh Wound

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
June 8, 2025
Pentecost, C
Acts 2:1-21
Psalm 104:25-35, 37
John 14:8-17 (25-27)

 

Our bishop has said, “God has a mission, and God’s mission has a church.” Well, God’s mission is to unify humanity with God and with one another, and we are God’s church. God has formed us to live out God’s mission of unity and reconciliation. More accurately, we are part of God’s worldwide, one church, which God has formed to live out God’s mission of unity.

Anglican, Episcopal, Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Congregationalist, Presbyterian, Mennonite, Church of Christ, and countless other church groups, we may argue amongst ourselves, and some of us may say others of us aren’t really Christian, but despite our objections, we are one church throughout the world. We are one Body of Christ, all formed to live out God’s mission of unity and reconciliation.

Of course, we believe that the unity of God and humanity happened a couple thousand years ago when God became human with the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. God united physically with every aspect of our lives, so that we are fully united with God, and nothing can change that. Nothing can separate us from God because God has become human in Jesus Christ.

So, since that mission unity with God is done, accomplished, and finished, what is left for the church to do? Well, as I said before, God has formed the church to live out that mission of unity. God has formed the church to live the truth that we are one with one another and with God.

When we don’t live into that truth, when we don’t live as though we are one, we are deceiving ourselves.

In the movie, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, King Arthur is on a quest to search for the Holy Grail, and in his travels, he comes across a fearsome knight who picks a fight with Arthur. It wasn’t the best idea, Arthur makes quick work of him and when the knight won’t yield, Arthur cuts off the knight’s arm. Then, when the knight claims it’s just a scratch, Arthur cuts his other arm off. Then the knight starts kicking Arthur, and Arthur says, “You’ve got no arms left.” “Yes, I have,” the knight replies. “It’s just a flesh wound.”

Eventually, Arthur cuts off both of the knight’s legs as well (because he still kept trying to fight Arthur), and the knight says, “Alright, we’ll call it a draw.”

So, the knight saying that his arms being cut off was just a flesh wound, that was nuts. Even more nuts was that he seemed to actually be trying to convince Arthur that he still had arms. He seemed to actually believe his own lie, but alas, saying that he still had arms didn’t change the fact that they had both just been cut off.

In a similar way, when we deny that we are one with one another, we are lying to ourselves. When we say this part of the church or that part of the church isn’t really the church, then like the knights, we’re cutting off our arms and legs and claiming it’s just a flesh wound. This goes beyond the church as well. When we harm or dismiss any human and claim that it doesn’t hurt us, we’re like that crazy knight. 

We can think that we can harm others without harming ourselves, but those lies we tell ourselves don’t make the harm any less true. The arm being cut off will never just be a flesh wound.

We are meant to live and acknowledge the truth that we are one. Anything else is a lie.

So, how does the church live out God’s mission? Well, we stop lying to ourselves. We stop pretending that we aren’t unified. We may not like other parts of the church, but as Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 12, that’s like a human body where the mouth tells the eyeballs they don’t belong. That’s a pretty stupid thing for the mouth to say, almost as stupid as one denomination telling another they aren’t really a part of the church.

I mean, I get the mouth not liking the eyeballs. To a mouth, eyeballs are just really weird. No teeth, no tongue, strangely spherical, and to eyeballs, I’m sure the mouth is equally strange. Wet without being sad, smelly, can’t see a damn thing. It’s like the Baptists and the Catholics; the two could hardly be more different, but either one saying the other doesn’t belong, well, that’s just dumb.

And, one part of the church telling another part it doesn’t belong is a lie, denying God’s mission of unity, rather than doing the hard work of living out God’s mission of unity.

Now, why do I think God’s mission of unity is hard? Well, a cross, three nails, and a crown of thorns. God’s mission of unity ain’t easy. Easy is seeing the people we don’t like and just giving in to our disgust. Easy is letting anger turn to hate. Easy is saying, they’re weird, they’re different, they’re sinners, and they’re going to hell. The lie that we aren’t one is easy. The lie that God is angry with them but not at us is easy. The lie that we follow Jesus, each one of us for our own personal salvation, and not as a part of one another, that lie is easy, as easy as saying my arm is still here when it has clearly been cut off.

Realizing and trusting that our own personal salvation has already been accomplished and that we are now meant to live out that salvation in and through one another, that truth is harder than the lie, but that truth also gives life. Just like Jesus dying on the cross was hard, but his death gave life.

So, to help us with the hard work of living out God’s mission of unity and reconciliation, God sent the Holy Spirit to unite us, to guide us, and to strengthen us so that when we don’t have enough to live God’s mission, God’s Holy Spirit can work for us, strengthening, guiding, and uniting us as one, because that is what we are. That is the work Jesus accomplished. That is the mission of God’s church which we are invited every day to live.

Whatever is hateful to you, do not do to another...Everything Else Is Commentary

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
June 1, 2025
7 Easter, C
Acts 16:16-34
Psalm 97
John 17:20-26

“I ask…that they may all be one.” That was Jesus’ prayer for his disciples before he was killed. That was Jesus’ desire for his church. That is Jesus’ desire for the world, that people may be united to one another just as Jesus and God the Father are united to one another, that we all may be one. 

Imagine a world in which we are one. Imagine making decisions based on how they will affect ourselves and others. Imagine the world doing that, realizing that if we are one with each other, then when they hurt, we hurt. Imagine actually feeling and knowing the pain that we so often carelessly and unknowingly cause others. Imagine also knowing and feeling the joy we cause others. I daresay the world would be different if we truly acted and lived as though we were one. 

The world of not being one, well, that’s the world the in which we found Silas and Paul in our reading from Acts today. It was a world of slavery, oppression, violence, and unjust imprisonment. 

It all started with a couple of slavers who had young girl kept as their property so they could make money off of her. She wasn’t a business partner, not a person to them, certainly not one with them. She was just a useful thing to them, but when Paul and Silas freed her from the spirit that was possessing her, she was no longer of value to them, so they had Paul and Silas beaten and imprisoned. Once again, not exactly a world in which people saw themselves as one with each other.

Then there was the earthquake which opened the doors of the cells where Paul and Silas were being kept. The gaoler* who guarded Paul and Silas’ prison, thought they had escaped, and so he drew his sword and was about to kill himself...with a sword. How crazy is that? Never mind that the prison cells were only open because of a huge earthquake. Even nowadays, many insurance policies would call that an act of God, so any potential escape was very much not the gaoler’s fault, and yet, this man’s first instinct when he thought they had escaped was to kill himself.

That indicates to me that the people he worked for probably weren’t particularly kind or understanding. Knowing that he worked for Rome, we can assume their cruelty with almost certainty. Better to kill myself with a sword than face their wrath, this man thought.

The gaoler was on the outside of the prison, and yet he was bound in
chains, whereas Paul and Silas, sitting there in prison, were free. They were one with each other and with God. The gaoler was alone and fearful of the government that would kill him without a moment’s hesitation.

So then, when he saw that Paul and Silas had not left the prison, he asked them what he needed to do to be saved. “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household,” they told him, and after going to his house and telling them all about Jesus, “he and his entire family were baptized without delay.”

The gaoler and his family became even more one than they were before, and Paul and Silas, well, they went back to prison. You didn’t really think they were going to take advantage of the little mini-Gospel-jailbreak and let the gaoler be killed, did you? Of course not. That’s not what you do when you’re one with them. 

Then, the next morning, the authorities went ahead and released Paul and Silas, but the gaoler was the one who was freed. Even on the outside, he had carried his prison with him wherever he went.**  The gaoler’s chains were what: fear, isolation, working for an unjust Roman regime? We don’t know exactly what his chains were, but I think we can all recognize that he was bound in chains. 

Chains keep us separated from one another, afraid, bound, and alone. 

Jesus makes us one with one another. The gaoler was made one with Silas and Paul, one with his family, one with other believers he met. He was freed from his chains of fear and isolation.

What if the slavers had been freed of their chains and worked with the girl not as their slave, but as a business partner? What if Rome had been freed from their chains of domination and cruelty so that an earthquake opening prison doors wasn’t reason to be so afraid that death seemed the only option? That would have been a very different world. 

What about us? What are some of the chains which bind us and keep us separate from one another? Mistrust. Fear. Impatience and annoyance with others. Valuing success and achievement more than the people around us. Constant competition. 

How might we unbind those chains and become one? Well, Paul and Silas said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” Believe in Jesus, and be freed from your chains. Believe in Jesus, and be one. 

Joining with Jesus and being freed from our chains, being one with one another, is Jesus’ prayer for us. It is our choice, then, to choose to follow Jesus and to strive for that unity with Jesus’ help. Jesus makes us one as we make a decision to follow him, trust in him, and live the way of life he taught. It is an everyday, all-day decision and striving on our part.

What does living that unity then actually look like? Well, Rabbi Hillel, who lived a little before Jesus, was once asked by a Roman to tell him the whole of the Jewish law. He said, “I will convert to Judaism if you will tell me the whole law while I stand on one foot.” So, everything about how the people of Israel were to live as God’s people while he stood on one foot, and Rabbi Hillel said, “Whatever is hateful to you, do not do to another. That is the whole of the law. Everything else is commentary.” 

“Whatever is hateful to you, do not do to another. That is the whole of the law. Everything else is commentary.” Well, if we don’t do to others what is hateful to us, we’ll stand a pretty good chance of being one with one another.

“Those who love me will keep my commandments,” Jesus said, and what was Jesus’ commandment? That we love one another. When we love one another, we love Jesus, and we become one.  

Now sadly, the world in which we live is still not a world in which most of us are one with each other, and yet Jesus’ prayer continues. We continue striving to be one, praying that same prayer that Jesus prayed, every day, all day, that we would be one with each other just as Jesus and God the Father are one.

“Whatever is hateful to you, do not do to another. That is the whole of the law. Everything else is commentary.”

*"Gaoler" is the old English spelling of jailer. I've been reading so much fantasy writing 

over the last several years, in which the authors write gaoler, that 

writing "jailer" just looked wrong. Thank you for indulging me.

** “There is more than one sort of prison, captain. I sense you carry yours wherever you go.” 

– Chirrut Imwe, Rogue One

 

"That's All" - Locking Jesus Out (and letting him back in)

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
May 25, 2025
6 Easter, C

Lord of the Streets, Houston

Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5
Psalm 67
John 14:23-29

So, I’m gonna talk today a little bit about demons, which is always tons of fun, and it may seem kinda weird because there weren’t any demons in our Gospel reading today. It was really all about Jesus making his home with us, and I’m gonna get to that, but thinking about Jesus making his home with us make me also think about other things that make their homes with us.

Anger can make its home with us. Violence can make its home with us. Fear and resentment can make their homes with us. We have all sorts of things that can make their homes with us, and that got me thinking about what Jesus said in Luke 11:24-26.

When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ On its return, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there. And the final plight of that man is worse than the first.

A demon leaves someone, comes back, finds the place looking swell and figures it’ll invite some friends and really have a party in there.

Ok, so let me clarify what I mean about demons making their homes in us. I’m not talking about full on Exorcist kind of demon possession. I think Jesus was, and what he said also works with lesser demony-type things. I’m talking about some of our desires or emotions, ways of life which really harm us, and we just can’t quit. Get what I’m saying? I don’t want everyone leaving here saying, “The priest said I’ve got demons in me.”

When Jesus talked about demons making their homes with us, again, think about us choosing ways of life that harm us. Let’s say you wake up in the morning, you’re in a foul mood for whatever reason, and you choose just to stay in a foul mood, if you even think about it at all. So, now you’re grouchy, and you’re angry, and you’re taking it out on everyone around you. Let’s call that grouchy anger a demon. You keep nursing it; you keep feeding it, and eventually it just becomes part of who you are. Sure, you’re occasionally happy sometimes, but basically, you’re just a pissed off, bitter, angry person. I’d call that something like a demon that has taken up residence. 

At some point, you decide to kick the demon out. “I’m tired of being grouchy and angry all the time,” you say. So you decide to put on a cheery disposition. You smile, you have some optimistic thoughts, and for a couple of days, you’re feeling better. Then one bad thing happens, and now not only are you pissed off and grouchy because of the bad thing that happened, but you’re also pissed off and grouchy because being cheerful didn’t work. In fact, it made everything worse because you’re just as pissed off and grouchy as you were before, but you were also hoodwinked by all that damn smiling optimism. 

That sounds like what Jesus was talking about, with the demon leaving, then coming back with a bunch of his buddies to make things even worse than before. We hear people talking about fighting our inner demons. That’s what I mean, and boy howdy, we can have a lot of those. I’ve mentioned anger, grouchiness, violence. What about addiction to drugs, alcohol, sex? What about thinking the world is against you, what my dad called, “having a chip on your shoulder”? God, I hated it when he said that. He was right. I did have a chip on my shoulder, and it was based in fear and insecurity. Again, we’ve all got our inner demons that we struggle with.

Jesus said in our Gospel lesson today, “Those who love me will keep my word, and I will come and make my home with them.” “Those who love me will keep my word, and I will come and make my home with them.” That sounds a whole lot better than angry, lusty, fearful, spiteful demons making their home in me. “Keep my word,” Jesus said, “and I will come and make my home with [you].”

Here's where the altar call happens, right? Come up here, proclaim that you want to keep Jesus’ word, and all will be well from here on out, right? Nah, see keeping Jesus’ word is not a one-time deal. Jesus said he’d make his home with us. That’s an everyday kinda deal. We’re following in Jesus’ ways as best we can, not perfectly, but we’re trying, and Jesus is with us, staying in our house, in our selves. Then we see something we want to do that we know Jesus is going to say “no” to, so we ask Jesus if he’d like to just take a walk for a little while, stretch his legs, and when he gets around the block, we lock him out. 

Now, when we do that, and we all do that, Jesus ain’t gonna force his way back in. The demons will. They don’t knock. They just force their way in and say, “Piss off, this is my house now” Jesus doesn’t do that. Jesus knocks and says, “What’s going on? You wanna let me back in.” 

Well, we’ve kicked Jesus out, we’ve followed ways that we know are harmful for us, so at this point, the house is already a wreck. Even without any major terrible demons coming in, it’s pretty messy. We’re not sure we wanna let Jesus in. We’re kind of ashamed. At the same time, things have been kinda fun. We’re not sure we wanna give things back over to Jesus just yet. Tell you what, Jesus, let me have my way for a while, and you come one back whenever I want you here. Thanks so much.

I’m not saying Jesus won’t come back when we treat him like that. Rumor has it he will, but when we kick him out and lock him out, we do tend to let in a lot of demons. We do tend to hurt ourselves. We do tend to hurt others.  

So, the suggestion Jesus has instead is that we keep his word, we keep his ways, we seek his guidance and follow his teachings, and he will come and make his home with us. In God’s kingdom, Jesus has many dwelling places, and we are those dwelling places. 

Jesus is resurrection and life, and Jesus offers to dwell within us. Jesus is love and peace, and Jesus offers to dwell within us. Jesus is way, and truth, and life, and Jesus offers to dwell within us.

Way, truth, life, love, peace, resurrection: those all sound pretty good, a far cry from the various demons we often invite in. So, rather than give an altar call and ask people to come here and commit to keeping Jesus’ word and ways, let me offer this. Make the altar call every morning. Every day we decide to trust Jesus enough to follow his ways. Every day we chose Jesus’ way, truth, and life. Every day we choose Jesus’ love, peace, and resurrection. 

Every day we do well; every day we mess up; and every day we return again to that altar call and invite Jesus in, committing to keep his word as best we are able. Some days we’ll be more able than others, and Jesus will reward our efforts by making his home with us. 

Some days, we may kick Jesus out, and even then, Jesus will be outside, ready to come back in when we’re ready to unlock the doors and welcome him back in. So, “Do not let your hearts be troubled,” Jesus says, “and do not let them be afraid.” “Peace I leave with you; my peace own I give to you.” For, “those who love me,” Jesus says, “will keep my word, and I will come and make my home with them.”

A Place Where People are Honored, Respected, and Loved

The Rev. Brad Sullivan

Lord of the Streets, Houston
May 18, 2025
5 Easter, C
Acts 11:1-18
Psalm 148
John 13:31-35

Love God, and love people. It’s just that easy, right? Love God, and love people. All of the commandments and all of the laws and ways of God really boil down to those two simple things. Simple, easy, until we actually try to start living it. 

Anyone ever felt like, “I love God, and because of that, I just can’t stand people”? Yeah, me to sometimes. People can be hard to love. That’s why it’s not easy.  Of course, the book of James points out that we can’t love God if we don’t love people. So…yeah, it might be that loving God isn’t always easy either. 

It takes work and commitment, loving someone. That means loving them when you don’t like them and staying committed to them at the times when you’d rather just turn tails and run. To make it even tougher, Jesus tells us to love even our enemies, and let’s face it, I have a hard time loving my friends sometimes, much less people I consider enemy, but there it is. Jesus tells us to love, like, everybody. By doing that, we show that we actually love God.

In the commandment we heard from Jesus today, however, he gives us a starting point with that love, making things potentially a little easier. “Love one another,” he said. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Love your fellow disciples; love your fellow followers of Jesus. Realizing there are disciples of Jesus all over the world, let’s keep it really simple. Love the people in your church.

That doesn’t mean don’t love everyone else, but particularly, as a start, focus on loving your fellow disciples in your church. Make sure your church is a community of love, a place and a people where others would see the love we have for one another and recognize that as the love of God. 

We’ve been hearing about the decline of church for decades now. More and more people are not going to church, more and more people are saying they don’t believe in any religion, and even among those who believe in Jesus, more and more are believing privately, choosing not to be a part of a church community. 

I wonder if part of that might be because the church hasn’t been a place where people truly love one another. I mentioned a couple weeks ago about things like people being shunned for backsliding. Think about the fighting we have in the Church over whose Baptism is the right kind of Baptism. We fight over how exactly salvation works, and we tend to divide over which groups disagree too much. We have some denominations claiming that other denominations aren’t really Christians. 

On a congregational level, I know people who have been gossiped about until they left their church, then came back and gossiped about others. I know churches that have divided and then fought over who got to keep the building. Hell, I even know folks who have fought over things like which flowers were the right ones to put in the church. 

Is it really that surprising that people see that and think, “Yeah, maybe not so much”? 

I don’t mean that people within churches should never fight. That’s not possible. People fight over things. Also, not fighting doesn’t equal love. Love is not just the absence of conflict. Love is striving together to work through conflict and come out stronger and even more committed to one another on the other side. 

Marriages that last 50 and 60 years don’t last because of a lack of conflict. Those marriages last because the couples are committed to staying together and working through the difficult times, sometimes the difficult years. Marriages last because couples are willing to let some things die in the marriage and see what is resurrected on the other side. It’s the same with the church.

A church where people love one another is not a place of fake love, of surface level pretending, and just being politely nice to one another. A church in which people love one another means actual love. That means when we don’t like each other, we choose to look for what is lovable about each other. When we disagree and harm one another, we work to be reconciled; we work to mend the harm done to the other and to heal our broken relationships. 

If anything, that’s what the church is meant to be known for. They will know you are my disciples, Jesus said, they will know you are my church because of how you love one another. Now, what if people saw and heard about churches being places like that? 

What if people saw and heard about churches being places where people weren’t shunned, but embraced? 

What if people saw and heard about churches being places where people honored and cared for one another?

What if people saw and heard about churches being places where people knew that if they did fight with someone, they would do the hard and beautiful work of making things right and healing any harm done?

What if people saw and heard about churches being places where people believed they would be respected and loved?

Anyone else feel a need for a place like that, a place where you know you will be honored, respected, and loved? I get the feeling there’s not a whole lot of that going around nowadays. Honor. Respect. Love. I get the feeling the world could use a lot more honor, respect, and love.

That’s why Jesus commanded us to love one another. Make your church a place where people are honored, respected, and loved. Make your church a place of healing. You need it, and those around you need it.

When we love one another inside the church, even loving the ones we don’t like, then we have a place we can invite others to for peace and healing. When people see they are being invited into a community of honor, respect, and love (love without conditions), then folks just might want to join that community of peace and healing. 

Everyone here needs peace and healing. Everyone here needs to be honored. Everyone here needs to be shown respect. Everyone here needs to be loved. That’s why Jesus made his church, that we might be a place where we choose, and strive, and commit to love one another every day. 

Apostles of Forgiveness

 The Rev. Brad Sullivan

Lord of the Streets, Houston
April 27, 2025
2 Easter, C
Acts 5:27-32
Psalm 118:14-29
John 20:19-31

Jesus talked a lot about forgiveness. He gave us parables about the forgiveness of God, like in Matthew 18:15-20 with a parable about guy who owed 2000 lifetimes’ worth of wages and was forgiven all of his debt. Jesus taught his disciples that as far and as long as there is vengeance in the world, that is how far and how long you are to forgive. Then, Jesus showed that he actually meant what he said when he forgave his murderers in the act of killing him. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

Sure, they didn’t know that they were killing God incarnate, but I think he meant that they didn’t know that their killing him, even just as a regular human being, their killing him was wrong. I know that because “Jesus didn’t count equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself,” and Jesus taught that whatever we do to the least among us, we do to him. 

Father, forgive them, because they just don’t get that killing other people is wrong. Forgive them, even though they’re incurring over 2000 lifetimes’ worth of debt. Forgive them because they just don’t get it; they just don’t understand the horror of what they’re doing.

Then, when Jesus was raised from the dead and met with his disciples, he said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” just as he had received the Holy Spirit in his baptism, and he told them that he was sending them just as he had been sent by God the Father. “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them,” he said. “If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

If you forgive sins, they are forgiven. If you retain sins, they are retained.

This has become a bit of a power play in parts of the Church, hasn’t it? Some folks believe that priests, standing in for Jesus, proclaim people as being forgiven or not forgiven. Jesus did say, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” So, there you have it; if you don’t forgive, they’re not forgiven.

Is that really what Jesus meant, though? If you select few proclaim my forgiveness, then I have forgiven someone, and if you don’t proclaim my forgiveness, it is because I have not forgiven someone? Is that really what Jesus meant? Maybe. Then again, maybe not.

Remember just how darn much Jesus forgave and how seriously Jesus took forgiveness. He taught his disciples to forgive for as far and as long as there is forgiveness in the world. I don’t know that he’s then going to say, “Oh, by the way guys, I’m often not going to forgive, and you’ll know when, so you can retain the sins of some people.” Nah. Not so much.

“If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven.” If you, or I, or anyone forgives the sins of any, they are forgiven. When you forgive someone, that person is freed and so are you. So, don’t worry about whether or not Jesus will forgive; I’m pretty sure we’ve seen that he already has. Instead, focus on your forgiveness, the forgiveness you give others. Your forgiveness is real. Your forgiveness is true. Your forgiveness is healing and life-giving.

At the same time, realize that your lack of forgiveness is just as real and just as true. Your lack of forgiveness is harmful and deadly. “If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” You get to keep that poison, if you choose, slowly killing you and those around you. Even though Jesus has forgiven, our lack of forgiveness can still harm us and kill us.

So, forgive, Jesus told us. As the Father sent Jesus to forgive, so does Jesus send us to forgive, at least that’s what the story says.

How do we know that Jesus really did send us to forgive? How do we know that Jesus was even right in his commands for us to forgive? We often don’t want to forgive. We often feel like people don’t deserve forgiveness, and we’re probably right. They probably don’t. When it doesn’t feel like people deserve forgiveness, or even ask for forgiveness, how do we know that it really is ok to forgive? How do we know that it really is the right thing to forgive?

Well, the short answer is, we don’t. We don’t know that forgiveness is the right thing. We’re asked to believe.

Thomas didn’t know if it was Jesus he was seeing. His fellow disciples had seen Jesus, and Jesus showed them his scars. Then, when they told Thomas about it, he didn’t believe, and said he wouldn’t believe until Jesus showed him his scars. Then, when Jesus offered to show Thomas his scars, Thomas said, “No, that’s not necessary. You are my Lord and my God.” Thomas didn’t see what his fellow disciples saw, and yet he believed. His fellow disciples saw even more, and they believed. Mary Magdalene, the first apostle, saw Jesus outside the tomb, and she believed. 

We have their stories, and we are asked to believe, and we are also asked to believe Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness. We are asked to believe that we are Jesus’ apostles of forgiveness, sent by Jesus to forgive.

So, how’s that work? Does being sent as apostles of forgiveness mean that if someone kills someone we love, we should just say, “I forgive them, so just let them go kill again?” Of course not. We can forgive and still have people in prison. Safety and keeping others from harm is still a thing, but what about forgiveness and even release when someone is sorrowful for what they’ve done and has repented? Might forgiveness involve advocating for their release from prison? Might that be part of the life-giving healing Jesus had in mind? 

I read a story published in People magazine about a man who did advocate for the release from prison of his brother’s murderer. Kimyon Marshall was 15 years old back in 1998, when he killed Ruben Cotton over a pair of tennis shoes. Ruben’s older brother, Darryl Green, was torn apart by grief and anger at his brother’s killing, for which the murderer, Kimyon, received a life sentence. Over the next decade and a half, Darryl struggled with his anger and struggled for purpose, even though successful in his career. “Although Kimyon was the one behind bars,” he said, “I was in my own prison, a prison of hatred.” After 15 years, Darryl and his father agreed that it was time to forgive Kimyon. So, they went to his resentencing hearing, and they heard his remorse, and they advocated for his release.

At the hearing, Darryl shook Kimyon’s hand. They both cried, and Darryl said to him, “You’ve been known for taking a life, now let’s go save some lives together.” From there, they started an organization called, “Deep Forgiveness” which works with young people, helping them break free from cycles of violence. 

They have been doing this work together for years now, and forgiveness is still work for Darryl, but he said that “Once you forgive, you’re now able to unlock the key to your own prison cell.” As for Kimyon, he says that when he received the gift of freedom from Darryl’s family, he was able to give back to the community and work to save lives.

That’s the power of forgiveness. Darryl and his family retained Kimyon’s sins for 15 years, and those sins were retained. Then, they were ready to forgive him his sins, and his sins were forgiven. What came next was healing and life-giving. A man and his brother’s murderer, reconciled, working together to bring forgiveness and life to the world. That’s resurrection. That’s the gospel of Jesus lived out among us. That’s two men believing in the forgiveness of Jesus and then living as Jesus sent them to live, as apostles of forgiveness.

So we are asked to believe and live as well. Jesus said when we retain people’s sins, they are retained, and indeed they are. We keep that poison and remain imprisoned ourselves until we’re able to forgive, and that takes time. Then, when we forgive people’s sins, as Jesus sent us to do, they are indeed forgiven. We are apostles of forgiveness, sent by Jesus to forgive, just as Jesus was sent by God the Father to forgive, and when we do, we are freed, and there is healing and new life.

https://people.com/darryl-green-deep-forgiveness-man-forgave-brothers-killer-exclusive-7506937