K-Pop Jesus - Driving Out Hate with Love (& Fantastic Singing, Dancing, and Outfits)

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
August 24, 2025
Proper 16, C
Isaiah 58:9b-14
Psalm 103:1-8
Luke 13:10-17

So, being the father of an 11-year-old daughter, I sometimes end up reading books and watching shows that I wouldn’t necessarily watch on my own. The latest example of this was on Friday night, watching the Netflix animated movie, K-Pop Demon Hunters. The story is about a 3-member, girl K-Pop group who, as the title suggests, also hunts demons. When they’re not killing demons, they are using their music to fight against the darkness of demonic influence. 

The songs are really catchy and fun, and I really enjoyed watching K-Pop Demon Hunters with my daughter. Welcome to your glimpse into the Sullivan household. As interesting as that may be, however, I bring it up because of how they work to overcome the demonic influence in the world. 

Of course, they use magical swords and things like that to attack the demons, but they also use their music to stop the influence of the demons over everyone else. At one point, however, they are also coming under the demonic influence. They’ve let their hatred of demons eclipse their desire to help others, and they begin fighting with each other. They’d been trying to hide all their faults from one another, so when their struggles come to the fore, they turn against each other, and the darkness spreads even further.

Then, after coming together again, they sing a new song, admitting their pain and brokenness, admitting everything the demons had been using to drive them apart. They sing:

We’re shattering the silence, rising, defiant

Shouting in the quiet, “You’re not alone”
We listened to the demons, we let them get between us

But none of us are out here on our own 

 

So we were cowards, so we were liars
So we’re not heroes, we’re still survivors
The dreamers, the fighters, no lying, I’m tired

But dive in the fire, and I’ll be right here by your side

 

I broke into a million pieces, and I can’t go back
But now I’m seeing all the beauty in the broken glass
The scars are part of me, darkness and harmony

My voice without the lies, this is what it sounds like

As they sing their new song, the light spreads and the demonic influence is driven out. Their light spreads, not because of how much they hate the demons. Their light spreads because of how they love each other and connect to all the people around them through that love. 

Now, I’m pretty sure none of us have superpowers to hunt and kill demons, none of us have visible light that emanates from us as we sings, I’m guessing most of us aren’t K-Pop stars, or animated. 

Even without magic, glowing swords; energetic dancing; and aggressively cheerful music, however, we do have a way, to overcome the demonic forces in our lives that keep us separated, that keep us down. We have a way to be freed from the demonic influences that bind us and keep us alone and angry, fearful and contemptuous of others. That way is Jesus. 

While the K-Pop Demon Hunters didn’t exactly ask Jesus for help (it wasn’t that kind of film), they still found the truth Jesus taught, that Satan cannot drive out Satan. As Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that.”

We heard in our story today from Luke 13:10-17, that Jesus freed a woman who had been bound by Satan for 18 years. We don’t know what had happened to her, only that a spirit had crippled her and she couldn’t stand up straight. Whatever it was, we know from Jesus’ previous teaching that she hadn’t been crippled by the spirit because of being particularly awful. 

Despite a lot of the beliefs of people at the time that any tragedy in your life was because you had angered God, Jesus had made clear in the first part of Luke 13 that this woman wasn’t a worse person than anyone else. So, when he saw her in need of healing, he healed her. He freed her from her bondage to Satan. Now, we’re not talking eternal damnation here. We’re talking about a woman who had been crippled by the devil. 

Most of the people, when the saw her healed and heard Jesus proclaim that she had been set free from the Adversary’s bondage, most of the people began rejoicing. Her being set free set them free as well. The influence Satan had on all of their lives was lessened when Jesus freed this one woman. 

That was true for most people, but it wasn’t true for the leader of the Synagogue. The leader didn’t like seeing this woman freed, and he immediately began telling the people Jesus was wrong for healing her because he did so on the Sabbath, the day of rest. He saw a miracle. He saw a woman healed after 18 years of suffering, freed after 18 years of bondage, and all he could say was, you should have waited till tomorrow. 

There was no love there, only fear. There was no freedom there, only continued bondage. The leader of the Synagogue was so caught up in doing things in just the right way and believing things in just the right way, that when God performed a miracle right in front of him, he didn’t even recognize it. He was also trying to free people from bondage, but he was so bound up in being right, that he turned against God, thinking that he was speaking for God. 

‘Behave, y’all. Don’t you dare mess up with any bit of the laws of Israel, or you’re gonna be in a world of trouble,’ or maybe he was more forgiving towards others, and he just really had a problem with Jesus. It’s hard to say exactly, but any way you slice it, the leader of the Synagogue was very upset when Jesus freed this woman from bondage, and it’s hard to see how he could have been walking in the love of God with a heart so bound against a woman being made well.

So, what about us? How are we bound, and what might freedom from that bondage look like? Thinking eternally, we are freed from Satan’s bondage, Jesus has freed us, and nothing can separate us from God. Still, in this life, there are many ways we end up bound or influenced by dark forces. As Paul writes about in Ephesians 6:12, we can end up bound by “the cosmic powers of this present darkness…the spiritual forces of evil...” 

What is it like to be bound by these forces? We have an idea from Jeremiah what it is like to be bound by spiritual forces of darkness and evil. It looks like pointing the finger and speaking evil, being constantly at odds with others. Being bound by forces of darkness looks like being so full of fear and anger that we don’t care about others. 

Being bound by spiritual forces of darkness looks like a nation, and state, and city that criminalizes being homeless, without putting up the money needed actually to house people. Look at what Jeremiah said.

If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.

As individuals, we can be bound. As a nation, we can be bound. As individuals, we can’t force a nation to unbind itself to injustice and oppression of the poor, but we can show others what freedom looks like. Being freed, ourselves, from the darkness of constantly being at odds with those around us, we can let the light and love of God shine from within us and into the lives of those around us. We can call on the Holy Spirit to grant us peace and patience, gentleness and self-control, peace and joy, faith and love. We can offer a little dose of kindness and let that light shine, freeing others from little bits of bondage, just as we are freed from the little bits of bondage in our lives. 

Most of us probably aren’t K-Pop Demon Hunters, but we do get to be freed from the forces of darkness, we get to be freed by Jesus, and as we are freed, the light of that freedom shines into the lives of others, as love spreads, as kindness spreads, as faithfulness spreads, calling on Jesus to set us free.

Blessing In the Face of Cruelty

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
August 17, 2025
Proper 15, C
Jeremiah 23:23-29
Psalm 82
Luke 12:49-56

During the time of the kings of Israel, from King David all the way up to 700 years before Jesus was born, they had a series of good kings, and decent kings, and really terrible kings. The bad kings forgot about following God and God’s ways and instead began worshipping other gods and idols. They treated the people terribly with injustice, oppressing the lowly, and gaining wealth through lies and exploiting workers. Under their leadership, others did the same, and Israel became a place of injustice, exploitation, and oppression. 

The very worst of these bad kings was Ahab. Ahab was married to Jezebel, who was famous for her devotion to Baal, the deity of her native country. Ahab started worshipping Baal with Jezebel, and that led to all sorts of other atrocities. He even had a man killed because he wanted the man’s field. Never mind that he had no legal right to the field. He wanted it, so he killed the man and took it. 

Long afterwards, the prophet Micah told the people of Israel that they were doing the same things as when Ahab was king: injustice, oppression, exploitation. They weren’t worshipping Baal. Their words and prayers were worship to God, but by their actions, they were worshipping something other than God. It wasn’t called Baal, but it was something other than God. If you’re practicing injustice, oppression, and exploitation, you can’t be worshipping God, even if your words say you are.

So, Micah told the people of Israel they were living in a time just like when Ahab was king, and as a result, God was going to give them over to oblivion. They would work and produced nothing good. They would never be satisfied or filled. Children would rise against their parents, and their enemies would be members of their own households.

Well golly, that’s just what Jesus said in our Gospel reading today. “I’ve come not to bring peace, but division. From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

That was God’s judgment against Israel during the time when Micah was prophesying, and Jesus was declaring God’s same judgment for the same reasons. Jesus was declaring to the people of Israel, Y’all are living just like during the time of Ahab. Y’all are living with injustice, oppression, and exploitation. 

There will be division, Jesus was proclaiming, because of how so many in Israel were going along with oppression. Then, in addition to proclaiming God’s judgment, Jesus asked them how they could be so blind to the injustice of their leaders.

You can tell when it’s about to rain, Jesus said. How can you guys not realize you are living in the time of Ahab? How can you not tell that your leaders are sending you down paths of oppression of the lowly, injustice, and exploitation? How do you guys not get it? Jesus wondered.

When we have leaders who oppress people, who give unjust rulings and support unjust laws, who exploit workers to get as much wealth for the rich as they can, then we too are living in the time of Ahab. When we live in the time of Ahab, then we will live in a society that is divided. We will live in a society that can never get enough. We will live in a society that works constantly and yet finds mostly emptiness for all of our labor. 

That sounds kinda like today, and I find Jesus’ words are just as relevant now as they were when he spoke them. Divisiveness and emptiness are the judgements of God for a nation that lives with injustice, oppression, and exploitation. We have a nation deeply divided. We have so much emptiness in our lives. We strive for fame and fortune as for a lover, and we’re left empty because neither fame nor fortune can love us back. We strive for power and possessions as for a dear friend, and we’re left empty because neither power nor possessions can love us back.

We’re living in the time of Ahab, just as Israel was when Micah prophesied to them and just as Israel was when Jesus spoke to the people. So, what are we to do about living in a time of injustice, oppression, and exploitation? Are we to fight, and kill, and destroy leaders who are taking us down these dark paths? Of course not.

We are to follow the teachings of Jesus who taught us to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, and love one another as he loves us. When our leaders follow ways of injustice, oppression, and exploitation, how we treat one another matters even more. When there is cruelty from leadership, the love we practice is vital. When the powerful have disgust for the lowly, then compassion for one another is more needed than ever.

Where there is hatred, we are to live in love. Where there is discord, we are to bring about communion. Where there is darkness, we get to be light for one another. Where there is sadness and misery, we get to hold one another and cry together. 

We are to worship God in word and in action. We are to remember that when we follow paths of injustice, oppression, and exploitation, we can’t actually worship God, no matter what our words say.

 

So what do we do with our hatred, with our anger, with our desires for vengeance? We offer those desires to God as part of our worship. We say, “Here you go, God. Here is my hatred. Here is my anger. Here is my desire for vengeance. I don’t know what to do with it all, so I am giving it to you, and you can do with it whatever you know is right.”

We make offerings of praise and shouts of joy to God, and that is true worship. Just as our offerings of rage are true worship. That way, we give our rage to God and don’t take it out on one another.

We follow the teachings of Jesus to show our faith truly is in God and not in something else. We live the kingdom of God and follow our prayers and worship with actions that make our words true.

Throughout our lives, we’re going to have good leaders and bad leaders. We’re going to have leaders who seek justice and those who seek injustice. We are called to follow not the way of those leaders, but the way of Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life. Our leaders are not our God, and no matter how good or bad they are, no matter how much harm or healing they bring to the world, our calling as the church is to follow Jesus. Our leaders come and go. Jesus remains forever. Following Jesus, we seek justice. We seek to lift up the oppressed. We seek to help the exploited. 

In how we vote, in what we tell our elected leaders, in how we treat one another, in how we rise in the morning, and how we go to sleep at night, we seek justice. We offer love and mercy. We walk humbly with God. 

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.