Revenge or Repentance? Rage or Remorse?

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
September 14, 2025
Proper 19, C
Exodus 32:7-14
Psalm 51:1-11
Luke 15:1-10

Revenge or repentance? Rage or remorse?

Every Sunday, we pray together a prayer of repentance, the confession of sin, we call it, and that prayer includes not just each of our individual sins, but how we as a whole body of people have fallen short, hurting one another, putting our fear and our anger out into the world. We confess that we have sinned.

Say, for example, two people get into a fight. They’re both in not great moods, one pisses the other off, and they start throwing punches. I’d like to think it’s got nothing to do with me, especially if I wasn’t anywhere near them and didn’t even know them, but that’s not how sin works. The truth Jesus teaches is that even if I didn’t know them, I still contributed to their fight. In John 15:5, Jesus calls us branches on a vine, so whatever we’re contributing to the world, we’re contributing to everyone. 

I may not know the two people who fought with one another, but I have put my hurt, and fear, and anger out into the world in countless ways and in countless people’s lives. I may not know these two people who fought, but I contributed to the hurt, fear, and anger in the world which helped lead them to fight with one another. When violence happens in the world, when sin happens, we’re all a part of it, whether we’re directly responsible for it or not.

So, when right wing political activist and provocateur, Charlie Kirk was assassinated last week, on the one hand, I had nothing to do with it; I didn’t even know who the guy was until after he was killed. On the other hand, I have contributed to the hurt, anger, and fear in our world which helped lead to his death. 

When tragedy strikes, when people are killed, we are all responsible because we all contribute to the hurt, fear, and anger in the world.

And so, I ask the questions, revenge or repentance? Rage or remorse?

Jesus talked about there being more joy in heaven for one sinner who repents than for 99 righteous persons who need no repentance. Of course there’s no joy in heaven over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance because those 99 righteous persons are fooling themselves. “We need no repentance,” they tell themselves. “Yes, you do,” the world replies back. 

Jesus gave this teaching in response to some religious leaders who were angry that he was eating with sinners. Sinners, as opposed to those very religious leaders whom society said were pretty good guys, but who also contributed to the hurt, the fear, and the anger in the world. 

So, to show these religious leaders that they weren’t as perfect as they seemed to think they were, Jesus told the story of a shepherd who left 99 sheep in search of the one sheep that was lost. Jesus was showing the importance of the sinners, the importance of the folks those religious leaders would have written off as being no good. Jesus was also showing those religious leaders that they weren’t as high and mighty as they seemed to think.

They were like the 99, but wouldn’t those 99 sheep still need the shepherd to fend off wolves and keep them together and safe? Of course they would. If the shepherd left the 99 to go get the one sheep, maybe instead of saying, “that God we’re not like that one dummy,” the 99 ought to follow the shepherd. 

Jesus’ message to the religious leaders was, y’all are sinners just as much as these other guys I’m eating with. Y’all need repentance too.

The same is true for us in our response to tragedy and murder. We tend to want to blame the one who did it, to blame only the one who did it, unless that one is a part of a group we don’t like, then we get to blame the whole group. That puts us in the same place as the religious leaders, incensed that Jesus was eating with sinners. We rage and want revenge. They are the bad ones. They deserve vengeance.

Jesus’ response to us, when we rage and call for revenge, is to ask us instead to seek repentance and remorse. “Hold on a second, Jesus,” we say. “We had nothing to do with it.” “Yes, you did,” the world replies. We poured our hurt, our fear, and our anger into the world and them somehow thought that the world would not be full of violence and hatred. 

We fight for what’s best for us, paying no never mind to how that may harm others, and we think that the world should not be full of violence and hatred. We assume our beliefs and ways are right and the others are wrong and so we dismiss them as wrong, and we think that the world should not be full of violence and hatred. We condemn others for their sins, giving thanks that God has forgiven us for ours, and we think that the world should not be full of violence and hatred.

Repentance and remorse is the response to tragedy that Jesus calls us to, our repentance and our remorse for our part in all of the violence and hatred in every tragedy in the world. 

When schoolchildren are gunned down in their classroom. Revenge or repentance? Rage or remorse?

When a senator and her husband are assassinated in their sleep. Revenge or repentance? Rage or remorse?

When an unarmed black teenager is killed for ringing the wrong doorbell. Revenge or repentance? Rage or remorse? 

When our government makes of show of force, botches a raid, and leaves 76 people killed, including 25 children. Revenge or repentance. Rage or remorse?

When terrorists kill thousands, flying planes into buildings. Revenge or repentance? Rage or remorse?

The revenge and rage response to all of those is totally justified. Of course people rage and want revenge in the face of terrorism, assassination, and murder. Of course people want revenge. The rage and revenge that we have sought, however, has only led to more killing, to more mistrust, to more hurt, fear, rage, and revenge.

So, what kind of world do we want to live in? What kind of lives do we want to lead? Revenge or repentance? Rage or remorse?

In the face of tragedy, murder, assassination, terrorism, government brutality, Jesus calls us to repentance and remorse, because we are all the one, the lost sheep Jesus goes and looks for. We’re also all the 99, the ones who think we are righteous but who really need to follow the shepherd when he goes to look for the one. We need to ask ourselves when that one is lost, when tragedy strikes, what kind of world do we want to live in? What kind of lives do we want to lead? Revenge or repentance? Rage or remorse?