Damnit, God! How Long Will You Ignore Me?

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
October 19, 2025
Proper 24, C
Genesis 32:22-31
Psalm 121
Luke 18:1-8

We have an adorable, 30-pound, terrier-pinscher, mutt-thing of a dog named Thor at home. He is sweet as he can be, a little neurotic, and dumb as a stump, by which I mean he’s actually not that dumb; he just has a mind of his own and doesn’t necessarily do what we want him to do all the time. Take eating, for example. We’ll put the food in his bowl, and if he’s not really ready to eat, it’ll make no never mind to him that our other dog, River, will eat all of his food, followed by all of hers. 

He knows he won’t get more food, so if he’s really hungry, he’ll stop her, otherwise, he doesn’t much seem to care that we want him to eat. He’ll just do without.

When it comes to eating our food, however, he is always hungry. The fact that he rarely ever gets our food doesn’t stop him from staring up at us, not whining, not being a pest, just staring, waiting, full-on expectant, loving puppy dog eyes. 

Not our daughter, but
still Thor begging food.

He did this with our daughter just the other day, following her around the house for five minutes as she went from room to room, eating her breakfast sandwich. We all watched, along with our daughter, chuckling, and eventually, he wore her down. She gave him a bit of cheesy, eggy biscuit, and he trotted off, happy as a dog with a bone…or bacon. 

Thor does this all the time, and he knows that most of the time, he’s getting nothing, but he still tries. He tries because maybe not today, maybe not this week, but eventually, his persistence will pay off, and he’ll get some bit of the people food that he dearly loves. 

So, regarding Jesus’ lesson, teaching us to pray always and not lose heart, my family is like the unjust judge, and our dog, Thor, is like the widow, wearing us down by his persistence. Would that we all had the same persistence in faith and prayer as that little dog has in getting people food, and yes, I realize I just compared all of us to dogs begging for food. Oops. 

Of course, so did Jesus and the Gentile woman who asked Jesus to heal her daughter. So, lesson learned? Call yourself a dog, and Jesus will give you whatever you want? Maybe not?

Faithfulness is what’s really going on: keeping at our faith even when we’re really tired of waiting, keeping at prayer and living the ways of Jesus. That’s what Jesus taught the disciples, “to pray always and not lose heart.” 

So, how’s this prayer sound? “Damnit, God. How long will you ignore me? How long will this crap keep going on? How long are you going to do nothing?”

Sounds a bit cheeky. Maybe a little heretical for a prayer, but it’s not. It’s really just a more modern, angsty teenager version of Psalm 13. “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me for ever? How long will you hide your face from me? Look upon me and answer me, O LORD my God” (Psalm 13:1, 3a)

Damnit, God. How long will you ignore me? How long will this crap keep going on? How long are you going to do nothing? 

“Pray always, and do not lose heart,” Jesus said. Now, sometimes you can’t help losing heart. That’s part of what prayer is for, to offer ourselves to God in those times when we have lost heart. The challenge is to keep praying through losing heart. Keep praying while you lose heart.

Jesus’ advice is to keep praying that “How long, O Lord?”, prayer. It’s an honest prayer. So, keep praying that prayer until it changes from “How long, O Lord?” to “Thank you.” That’s what happens in Psalm 13. The prayer changes from angsty teenager, “How long, O Lord?”, to “Thank you, Lord.” That change may take a while. It may take a long while. The change from “How long?”, to “Thank you,” may take a lifetime or many lifetimes. 

There were times for the people of Israel when it was generations before the prayer changed. Looking at life here in the United States, civil rights and equal rights for all people has been a struggle for generations. The “How long?”, has in many ways been changed to “Thank you,” and yet there are many ways we are still praying, “How long, O Lord?”

The change may take generations and longer, and so Jesus asks, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

What do we do while we are persistently praying and waiting? Our behavior has a lot to do with the answer to Jesus’ question. “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Will Jesus find us waiting patiently, prayerfully, and faithfully? Will Jesus find us living his teachings as we wait? That’s a question not only about our faith and faithfulness, but also the faith and faithfulness we may inspire in others. 

See, regardless of how much we pray or what we pray, what people see us doing is what they’re going to believe about Jesus. Truth be told, regardless of what we pray or how much we pray, what we do tends to show us where our faith really lies. 

In Bible study last week, we were talking about the ways of Jesus: forgiveness, choosing non-violence, etc. “That’s crazy,” one person replied. “In here, in the church,” he said, “it’s easy to talk about forgiveness and non-violence. Outside when you’ve got people coming at you all the time, it’s not so easy. It seems crazy to follow Jesus’ teachings out there.”

Well, yeah. As Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:18, the Gospel does seem foolish, and yet it is the power of God. The ways of the streets are, be stronger, be tougher, be mean so you can survive, and it’s hard as hell not to be, and yet, that’s the way of the world. Are we going to put our trust in the ways of the world, or are we going to put our trust in the ways of Jesus?

Non-violence seems crazy. Fair enough. Non-violence in the face of injustice seems crazy, and yet it was non-violence that brought about the greatest change in the Civil Rights Movement. Looking at today, street protests seeking justice are good, until they get violent. Once violence starts, the people seeking justice are seen as villains, and so the justice they seek is seen as injustice. 

When a group of people cries out, “How long, O Lord?”, but also engages in crime and drugs, fighting and hurting other, how could that people expect that God should grant justice? The crime and violence delay any justice that could come, because the people who might have grant justice no longer will. They no longer see people in need of justice, but simply criminals in need of punishment.

Crying for justice doesn’t work if we do not also follow the ways and teachings of Jesus. “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” 

Where will Jesus find that our faith lies? What will our actions show about where our faith lies? How long are we willing to wait and be persistent in prayer to bring about the justice and peace we desire? How long are we willing to trust in the ways and teachings of Jesus as we wait for justice and peace? 

Are we willing to live the prayer and teachings of Jesus for generations as we wait for justice to come? Are we willing to be faithful over generations so our children and grandchildren can live the fruits of our faithfulness? 

If not, our children and grandchildren will live the fruits of our faithlessness and violence. We will hand them the same injustice and violence that we suffer. 

If we are faithful, however, if we continue in prayer, if we risk enough to follow the ways and teachings of Jesus, then our prayer will turn from “How long, O Lord?”, to “Thank you, Lord.” It may not be today. It may not be this year. It may not even be this lifetime, but the prayer will change. Justice will come. Even if it takes generations. If we are faithful in prayer and in action, if we follow the ways and teachings of Jesus, the prayer will change from “How long?”, to “Thank you.”

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?

Living Into Our True Humanity

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
August 31, 2025
Proper 17, C
Sirach 10:12-18
Psalm 103:1-8
Luke 14:1,7-14

Pride, to feel that I matter above anyone else. Pride, to be so angry when someone hurts me, insults me, or looks at me wrong, that I hurt or insult them back, because after all, I’m more important than they are. Pride, to turn inward, putting walls up around me, letting no one in because it’s safer that way and I don’t need anyone else anyway. In all of these ways, pride is to forsake God.

We heard in our reading from Sirach that the beginning of pride is to turn away from God, to pull our hearts away from God. 

When we pull our hearts from God, then we assume that we are all-sufficient, that we have no need for others, that we trust no one and nothing. When we pull our hears from God, we have pride leaving us alone, hurting, often with violent anger which lashes out at others. As we heard in Sirach, however, neither violent anger nor pride were made for human beings. We’re not made to be prideful and violently angry. We’re made to be loving and supportive towards one another. We find our full humanity in being loving and supportive towards one another. When we withdraw and isolate in pride and violent anger, we pull further and further away from our own humanity.

Sometimes when I’ve seen folks get violently angry, or gotten terribly angry myself, I’ve heard folks say things like, “but he insulted me,” as though being insulted is a good reason for beating someone, punching and hurting them. Talk about pride leading to violent anger. He insulted me; he wounded my pride, so I am going to get violently angry now. 

Ok, so on the one hand, that’s all too human. We strive, we struggle, we get hurt, we make mistakes. We lash out. We isolate. We’re human; we mess up. On the other hand, pride and violent anger take away from our true humanity.

Our true humanity dwells in love. Our true humanity dwells in forgiveness. Our true humanity dwells in kindness and in caring about others. 

I preached several weeks ago about Mr. Rogers. He was someone whom we tend to put on a pedestal. He was like a saint, so wonderful and kind. Ok, but Jesus was telling us not to put people up on pedestals in the teaching we heard today. When we put some people up on pedestals, we tend to devalue others. These great ones are so wonderful, and these others are, eh, not as good. 

When we put folks on pedestals, we also tend to elevate them even above ourselves. They are someone great, not someone like me. They can be kind, and caring, and wonderful because they are special, somehow, not like me. We tend to do that with people like Mr. Rogers, and his widow was adamant that people not put him on a pedestal. After all, Mr. Rogers believed all of us can be people of kindness, forgiveness, love, and caring. If we assume that we can’t, that people like Mr. Rogers are saints and we can’t achieve that, well that’s just another kind of pride. 

I’m different. Someone else can do that, but not I. I’m not special enough to be able to be as kind and caring as that person is. The reality is that for Mr. Rogers and anyone who is kind and caring, it’s a choice and it takes work. 

For any who think that Mr. Rogers was a saint, and I can’t do that, the truth is that it may just take more effort than we’re willing to put in. We’ll, if we’re unwilling to put in the effort, that’s the same kind of pride that says, “I matter above anyone else. I matter too much to waste my time working to be kind, forgiving, loving, and caring to others.”  

When we put people like Mr. Rogers up on a pedestal as some kind of special saintly person and we tell ourselves we can’t be that good, we are forsaking God and others, because it is safer and easier not to have to work so hard. Overcoming our pride takes work. Not lashing out in violent anger takes work. Living into our true humanity takes work.

For Jesus, it took the work of the cross. “Father, forgive them,” he prayed, as he allowed himself to be crucified, rather than calling on hosts of angels to rescue him and kill his killers. That was Jesus’ work for our sake, to free us and to help us live into our true humanity. 

“Take up your own cross and follow me,” he said. We don’t have to be crucified, but living into our true humanity takes work. 

Sometimes that work looks like daily, hourly, or minute by minute prayer for God’s help so that we might live in kindness, rather than lashing out at others. Sometimes that work looks like sharing our difficulties with others and asking for their help so that we might live in love and caring, rather than pride. Sometimes that work looks like taking medicine because our brains need extra help to live into our true humanity, to overcome depression, violent anger, and other mental illnesses that we face. All of that work is what we can do to live into our true humanity.

Jesus taught us not to take places of honor, assuming we’re better than everyone else. Sometimes that means not putting others up on pedestals, as we refuse to do the work it takes to live into our own true humanity.

I had a friend, years ago; we were talking about the saints, and she said, “I don’t want to be a saint.” She was thinking of being a saint as being kinda miserable, giving up everything that makes you happy so that you can be good enough for God. That’s not what being a saint is; that’s just being miserable. No, being a saint looks like doing the work you need to do to care for others. Being a saint looks like recognizing that we are all in this life together.

At the beginning of our service this morning, we sang, “Satan, we’re gonna tear your kingdom down.” Satan, the Adversary, keeps us divided. Satan keeps us saying, “We’re not in this together.” “You don’t belong.” “I’m more important than you.” “We’re against one another,” or at the very least, “You’re against me, so I must be against you.” 

In all of those ways that we remain against one another, we’re helping to build up Satan’s kingdom. When we exclude the undesirables, put others on pedestals, and determine that being kind and caring to others is too much work, we’re helping to build up Satan’s kingdom.

Now, long-term, big picture? Jesus has torn Satan’s kingdom down. While we get to live out Satan’s kingdom if we choose to, Satan’s kingdom has ultimately been torn down, by Jesus on the cross. So, we get to live Jesus’ kingdom. 

We get to live the kingdom of kindness, mercy, love, and caring, and even if we have been building up Satan’s failed and doomed kingdom, we always get to come back. Jesus welcomes us with open arms, saying, “Come on, let’s start building together.” Living and building Jesus’ kingdom is work, but think about how much more work it is to live against one another. Think about how much more work it is to live with pride and violent anger? 

Following Jesus’ way, doing the work, and building up Jesus’ kingdom, we get to let go of our pride and violent anger. We get to live and work for kindness, forgiveness, love and caring for all.

"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.”

Some Mercy Now

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
January 26, 2025
3 Epiphany, C
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Psalm 19
Luke 4:14-21

“Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.” That’s Psalm 123:3, and I can imagine people in the church in Corinth praying those words as others within their church viewed them with contempt. “I belong to Paul,” some said, while others said, “I belong to Apollos.” Some said “I belong to Peter,” and still others said, “I belong to Christ.” 

That last group seems to have at least had part of it right, saying they belonged to Jesus, but it sounds like they were probably also saying, “and you don’t belong to Jesus.” The Corinthian church was a mess, divided among themselves, claiming different leaders, to be part of different churches, some apparently being told they don’t even belong to Jesus. 

Thank God nothing like that ever happens in the church anymore. 

Yeah, I guess the Corinthian problem sounds all too familiar to us today. We have different denominations, which is a good thing because we human people are a diverse lot and need different ways of practicing our faith in Jesus. Unfortunately, with our different denominations, we often hear claims that others aren’t the real followers of Jesus or aren’t the true Christians. 

Now, in our political climate, we also have people claiming others aren’t real Christians because of which politician they support, or which policy they champion, or which latest soundbite they are either angered by or not. 

So, many view others with contempt. Some are seen as merciful, some as stupid. Some are hateful. Some are compassionate. Some are inappropriate in what they say, where, and to whom; others are too, but it doesn’t matter cause they’re on “our side.” Some want to follow the teachings of Jesus. Some think those teachings are weak. I could go on and on, and all of these different groups seem to have contempt for one another, or at least there is so much talking about each other with contempt.

“Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had

more than enough of contempt.”

Jesus found contempt toward him often in his ministry. Just after the portion of the Gospel we heard today, people ended up with violent contempt toward Jesus. In today’s passage, Luke 4:14-21, Jesus stood in the temple and read from the prophet Isaiah, saying, 

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

After that, he told the people that passage had been fulfilled in their hearing. They were amazed and seemed very pleased with Jesus. He was speaking graciously to them, and they loved it.

Then, he said something rather less gracious to the people, calling them out for some of their faults. Well, the people didn’t like that at all, and immediately, they tried to kill him. In one sitting, the people went from, “We like you, Jesus,” to “You have offended us, Jesus, and the only solution is for us to kill you now.” 

Thank God nothing like that ever happens anymore...except that it does. Early last week, Bishop Mariann Budde gave a sermon at the Episcopal Cathedral in Washington D.C., and she preached on unity and the need for unity in our nation. There wasn’t much controversial or displeasing in that part of her sermon. 

Then, she preached to President Trump, asking him to have mercy, noting that there were people who were in fear for their lives due to some of his policies and especially his rhetoric. She asked for mercy for folks who would be impacted, ending her remarks with, “May God grant us all the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, speak the truth in love, and walk humbly with one another and our God, for the good of all the people of this nation and the world.”

Immediately there was anger toward her by many who disagree with her, some even calling for her death. She said something that some people didn’t like, and as a result, many called for her to leave the church, leave the country, or even leave her body and just die. Even for those who don’t want her dead or deported, there have been folks leave the church because of her words, folks consider joining the church because of her words, and many who saw this as a clear marker of choosing sides. Contempt of one another has been flowing freely ever since. 

It may have been inappropriate for her to speak directly to President Trump in a sermon, maybe so, maybe not. Calling people out for some of their harmful behavior is certainly not out line with something Jesus would do…that’s what he did just after the passage we heard today. 

In President Trump’s case, having nothing to do with his policy, the way he talks about people is often dangerously harmful. His word choice and way of talking tends to inflame people’s fear and anger, and that has led and will continue to lead to violence and calls for murder. As James pointed out in James 3:6-8, “The tongue is a fire…full of deadly poison.” President Trump has good things he hopes to achieve, and at the same time, when he speaks without mercy, regardless of his policies, when he speaks with so much contempt and without mercy, he is setting fire to people around him, with deadly poison. 

We found that a Bishop couldn’t even point that out without people calling for her death. “Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.”

As a body of people, we have got to learn to be ok with hearing things we don’t love to hear. When our responses are so full of anger and contempt that for a week and more after a Bishop preached the teachings of Jesus, our national conversation is full of attacks on each other as unchristian, or unamerican, or kinda Christian but definitely the really bad kind, we find ourselves much like the Corinthian church. “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos.” “I belong to Peter,” or “I belong to Christ.” I belong to Trump, or I belong to don’t. I belong to this group or that group, and you are, therefore, enemy. 

That doesn’t work. The hand cannot say to the foot, you are not part of the body because you are not a hand. The eye cannot call the ear enemy because it is not an eye. People who support President Trump and people who do no support President Trump cannot call one another enemy or say the other doesn’t belong. 

Like it or not, we are one body within the Church, and like it or not, we are even one body of humanity. We cannot continue as a church or as humanity telling parts of our body that they don’t belong. We need, as Paul wrote in Galatians 5, to learn to tame our flesh, and the flesh I mean is our emotions and violent, angry responses to one another. 

We are being driven mad by the passions of our flesh, the passions of, “I am right, and you are terrible.” We are being driven mad by our desires to say various parts of the body, “You do not belong; because I find you objectionable, you do not belong.” Our body, our body of humanity cannot continue like this. We must ask Jesus to help us tame the passions of our flesh, the passions of our violent and angry emotions. 

If we don’t, then like the people of Nazareth, we will continue to try to kill Jesus every time he says something we don’t like. Even if killing Jesus just means we have even more contempt for the other, even more looking at the other as some awful part of the body that needs to be removed, we need to tame our passions and live no longer guided by the adversary, whose name is Satan, but to live guided by the Advocate, who is the Holy Spirit. Jesus taught us to follow the way of the Advocate, striving for those we care about, and rather than hating our enemies, loving our enemies. 

So, grant us your Holy Spirit, Lord, that we may love even our enemies. Grant us your Holy Spirit that we may tame the passions of our flesh, the passions of our violent and angry emotions. Grant us your Holy Spirit to have mercy one another. Grant us your Holy Spirit that we may be one body without contempt for one another. “Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt."

Only Love Can Honor Her

In response to the anger, hatred, violence, and murder at a White Supremacist rally in Charlottesville, VA, in which Heather Heyer became a martyr for peace and love, there has been an enormous amount of anger and hatred.  Mr. Trump was criticized for saying there was blame on many sides.  Then he condemned Nazis, White Supremacists, and the KKK.  Later, he again stated that there was violence on both sides of the confrontation at the rally. 

The Nazis, White Supremacists, and KKK were responsible for the violence, anger, and hatred.  I do not believe there should be a platform for their rhetoric.  I do not believe they should be given a pulpit, park, or public place of any kind to spew their venom.  With the freedoms of speech granted in this country, however, they will be granted such platforms.  It is going to happen.  Period.  I further believe, therefore, that when they meet to spew their venom, they should not be met with violence. 

I will write that again.  These groups should not be met with violence. 

Counter-protestors gathered in Charlottesville to let these groups know that they were not welcome, that their hatred will not stand.  I am glad they did.  If such a demonstration happens near me, I will join the counter-protestors, in peaceful, prayerful protest.

From what I have read, most of the counter protestors were peaceful.  From what I have also read, some of the counter-protestors were not peaceful, and some initiated physical violence.  Violence tends to beget more violence.  Anyone who physically assaults another should expect that the violence begun will continue and grow.

In fact, violence merely increases hate.

So it goes.

Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness:   only light can do that.

Hate cannot drive out hate:  only love can do that.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

By responding to the white supremacists with violence, people only cemented the beliefs of the white supremacists.  President Trump said there was blame for the violence on all sides.  From all I have read, and as much as I feel rather ill saying/writing it, Mr. Trump was right.  There were reportedly counter-protestors who initiated violence.  There is blame for violence on both sides. 

Saying so makes me feel rather ill.  I want to blame only the white supremacists, and doing so certainly makes me feel better for any and all ways that I have contributed to violence, anger, and hatred in my own life.  Doing so is also rather disingenuous.  I do not believe physically attacking the other is the right thing to do, no matter how much the other pisses me off. 

As a disciple of Jesus, I keep looking to his teachings and his way.  His way says to “pray for your enemies,” “bless those who curse you,” and even “love your enemies.”  Jesus’ way did not say, “punch a Nazi.”  I’d like to do so.  Part of me would like to find a Nazi and beat him near to death, but that would do no good.  I would not be innocent of violence simply because the person was a Nazi.  I would rather be guilty of violence and guilty of spreading hate…my own hate.  Hatred would remain, and even be multiplied by such an act.  Showing such a person love, however, especially from the very people he hates, just might change his heart.  Love could help drive out the hate.

By saying there is blame for the violence on both sides, Mr. Trump is correct.  I do not support Mr. Trump.  I believe he bears much of the responsibility for the violence in Charlottesville and elsewhere because of his violent rhetoric.  Through his words, he played on the very worst of our humanity in order to get himself elected President.  He used our hatred and our fears (which is not to say that everyone who voted for him did so out of hatred or fear).  He fanned the flames of racism and stoked the fires of anger, and then said we should all come together.  He can’t have it both ways.  I do not trust, believe in, or support him.  I will not, however, ignore a true statement when it is made simply because I dislike the speaker. 

There was, unfortunately violence begun on both sides, even if it was only done by a small minority of the counter-protestors.  If all of the counter-protestors had been peaceful, then the White Supremacists, the Nazis, and the KKK would not have a leg to stand on.  Unfortunately, those on the side of the counter-protestors who led with violence gave credence to the “blame on both sides” argument .  I wish the argument couldn’t be made that there was blame on both sides, but because of

the violence of a few, that argument can be made. 

If we are truly going to come together as a people of peace, then we all have to own our own violence.  That is something else that Jesus taught, that if we are going to call out the sins of another, we have to acknowledge and own our sins first.  Truth be told, none of us is innocent.  None of us can claim not to be a part of the violence all around us.  That is why I believe Jesus came to redeem all people, not just "those people over there."

What am I to do then with my anger, hatred, and desire for violence against White Supremacists, Nazis, and the KKK?  I am to offer in prayer that anger, hatred, and desire for violence to Jesus.  I am literally to pray that Jesus will enact the violence against them which I would like to enact.  Yes.  You read that right.

The reason for asking Jesus to harm those whom I would like to harm, however, is not because I believe he will do so, but rather precisely because I believe he will not do so.  Jesus, God, is the only place my anger, hatred, and desire for violence can be safely left.  Jesus is the only person who can deal with my darkness appropriately, the only person I can truly trust with my anger, hatred, and desire for violence. 

I do not believe God is going to enact terrible violence on someone simply because I’m pissed off and want him to.  Rather, God will take my anger, hatred, and desire for violence and transform my heart so that I will instead have love, compassion, and empathy.  Then, my heart will be in the right place to be able to oppose the anger, hatred, and violence of others.

This usually takes time, and it is not an easy path.  It is, however, the way of Jesus who said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.” 

When I heard about the death and martyrdom of Heather Heyer, I wanted to respond with violence.  I wanted to unleash the full torrent of my anger, hatred, and fear on anyone who could be considered guilty of the anger and hatred which led to her death.  Doing so, however, is not the way of Jesus.  As much as I want to give in to my anger, hatred, and fear, I cannot do so and also follow the way of Jesus.  When I do give in to such darkness, I have to do all in my power to make amends…which is also the way of Jesus. 

Regarding then our President and his assertion that there is blame for violence on both sides.  I don’t want to admit that he is right, because I find him reprehensible.  I don’t want to admit that he is right, but I must.  There is blame on both sides.  There was anger, hatred, and violence by at least some on both sides. 

If we are going to heal and move ahead towards peace, then we must admit to these truths.  Violence and fear towards those whom we fear brings greater violence, not peace.  Violence and anger towards those who anger us brings greater violence, not peace.  Violence and hatred toward those whom we hate brings greater violence, not peace.  We cannot drive out violence and hatred with violence and hatred.  We cannot ignore or excuse some violence and hatred and expect peace to reign.  If we truly want peace, we must denounce all violence and hatred. 

If we truly want peace, we must according to my belief in Jesus, place our anger, hatred, and desire for violence at Jesus’ feet and ask him to transform it into love, compassion, and empathy.  Only then will our hearts be ready to confront the anger, hatred, and violence of others.  Only then will we be ready to risk injury and even death for the cause of love and peace. 

Heather Heyer died for the cause of love and peace.  We cannot honor her with anger and hatred.  We cannot honor her with violence.  Only love can honor her.

Walking On Water: The Martyr of Charlottesville

Brad Sullivan

Proper 14, Year A

August 13, 2017

Emmanuel, Houston

Matthew 14:22-33

Walking On Water:  The Martyr of Charlottesville

Jesus was the Word of God which spoke all of creation into existence.  On some level, even subconsciously, I’d guess Jesus began to have some inkling of who he was.  I wonder if in his encounter with his disciples on the boat, Jesus just forgot for a minute that humans can’t walk on water.  He was tired; it had been a long day.   He’d gone away to be by himself to pray for a while after learning that his cousin, John the Baptist had been beheaded, and instead of getting a break, Jesus ended up teaching and multiplying food some somewhere around 10,000 people (including the women and children).  Finally, after all that, he sends his disciples across the sea in their boat while he gets to spend some time alone in prayer.

So, worn out, dog tired, Jesus spent time alone in prayer, and I think he might have been so caught up in his time with his Father, that he just totally forgot that people aren’t really that adept at walking on things that aren’t solid.  So, like Superman forgetting to put his glasses back on before going to the office, Jesus just starts walking on the sea out to his disciples.  Why not?  Why shouldn’t he walk on the sea?  He made the sea, after all.

So, he’s walking out onto the water, lost in thought, barely aware of his surroundings.  Eventually a storm comes, and he’s thinking, “eh, not too bad, I’ve made worse,” and then the disciples see him.  They’re terrified, and he realizes what’s going on.  He covers as best he can, saying, “Ok, guys, I know this looks weird, but it’s not what you’re thinking.  I’m not a ghost.  It’s just I; It’s just Jesus.”  That calms them a little, and then Peter’s like, “Hey cool, Jesus, can I come out and play?”  Perfect, Jesus thinks.   “You bet, Pete!  Come on!”

Then we all know what happens.  Peter walks on the water for a while, until he notices the wind and waves, and like Wiley Coyote walking off a cliff and staying aloft until he looks down, Peter starts to sink.  So, Jesus picks him up, gets them both into the boat and decides he’s had enough of his little wind storm, dials that down a bit, and tries to pass the whole thing off, real nonchalant,  “so what’s been going on, fellas?”

They start to get the idea pretty quickly that Jesus is more than a prophet, but the Lord of all creation, the one who actually made all of creation.  I’m guessing they got pretty excited at that point, excited and amazed at the wonder of it all.    

I get really excited when I think of the Word of God who spoke creation into existence becoming human and walking on this earth.  I love that God was human and walked on this very earth.  Whenever I start to take the world for granted, that very idea of God walking on this earth makes the whole creation hallowed again.

Then we get people treating creation like garbage.  We get people like the angry mob in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend deciding that only some parts of creation are hallowed, only some types of people are hallowed.  All people are made in God’s image.  All  of creation is hallowed, and yet, despite the beauty and sacredness of people and all creation, people will all too often de-sanctify creation by driving a car into a group of people, killing someone for thinking that racism isn’t a particularly good idea.

Imagine those folks holding a rally within these walls, declaring most of humanity damned.  Imagine people coming in here with shields and sticks and guns, ready and willing to physically harm anyone who disagreed with them.  Imagine that folks who disagreed with them did come in here and were beaten and killed.  That is exactly what happened in Charlottesville, because in God’s eyes, all of creation is hallowed.  Every place is a place of worship.  Everywhere Jesus looks and says, “This place is great; I remember making this place.  I remember speaking this place into existence, and I love this place.”  The same goes for every person on earth, yes, even the angry mob of people who assume that God hates most of the people he created.

Hatred and violence.  Shame and anger.  Assuming one type of person is better than another type of person.  Jesus was pretty darn clear that we are all the same in God’s eyes.  Jesus was pretty darn clear that he loves all people and he loves all of this beautiful Earth which he created.  He was also pretty darn clear that as much as he loves all people, there is no place in his kingdom for the kinds of thoughts and actions demonstrated by the angry white supremacist mob in Charlottesville.

Now, if we’re honest with ourselves, we all have hatred, anger, and violence within us too.  Everyone does.  The question is, what are we going to do with it, and what Jesus calls us to do, what he teaches us to do with our hatred, anger, and violence is not to act it out, not to act upon it, but rather to give it to him, to place it at the foot of the cross so that he can transform it into love.

That is often not done, however, and we have a world that is full of anger, hatred, and violence (as well as love).  So, what are we to do amidst such anger, hatred, and violence?  Well, let’s call the anger, hatred, and violence of the world storms and waves.  Then, let’s do what Peter did.  Amidst the storms and the waves, we look up and see Jesus coming to us, not where we expect, not in the quiet sanctuary, but right in the middle of the storms and waves, right in the middle of the hatred, anger, and violence.  Then, rather than waiting for Jesus to come to us in the safety of the boat, the sanctuary, we ask Jesus to summon us out into the storms and waves.  Rumor has it, he’ll say yes.  Then, like Peter did, we step out of the sanctuary and risk drowning in order to go and be with Jesus amidst the storms and waves.  We risk drowning, going out into the anger, hatred, and violence to be the light of Jesus within the storm.

Sometimes we’re not even entirely sure what we’re going to do there.  We want to bring the light of Jesus with us.  We want to live out the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus amidst the storms and waves, and it is darn scary.  We just may be killed if we go out amidst the storms and waves.  A 32 year old woman was killed in Charlottesville by a man who drove his car into a group of people who stepped out of the boat amidst the storm of anger, hatred, and violence to declare that anger, hatred, and violence have no place in this world.  This woman risked and gave her life to give witness to love rather than hatred.  That’s what we call a martyr, a witness.  I don’t even know if she was Christian, but I know she was amidst the storm, declaring the light of love for all, not just some.  She gave her life for that witness, and that is martyrdom.

Stepping out amidst the storms and waves of anger, hatred, and violence, we too will risk drowning.  We’ll risk our lives and well-being to live out and be the light of Jesus amidst the darkness of hatred, anger, and violence.  When Peter stared to sink, Jesus reached down and picked him up.  I’d like to say that his doing so is a guarantee that so long as we ask Jesus for help, we won’t be harmed, but that simply isn’t true.  Peter began sinking because he became overcome with fear of the storm and waves.  The call to Jesus keeps us from being overcome with fear, keeps us from succumbing to the anger, hatred, and violence ourselves.  The call to Jesus doesn’t guarantee that we won’t be harmed.  The call to Jesus keeps our hearts from falling into hatred, anger, and violence.  The call to Jesus keeps the darkness from overcoming the light of Jesus within us.

Truly to  be the light of Jesus amidst the darkness of anger, hatred, and violence, we truly do need to risk drowning, to risk not only our lives and well-being, but also to risk being overcome by the darkness.  In all likelihood, we will be overcome by the darkness at times, and in those times, we call out to Jesus to save us, to reach his hand out, pull us out of the storm and waves and put us back into the boat, the sanctuary.  Then, once we’ve recovered, we step out of the boat, amidst the storm and waves once again to risk our lives and well-being, to be the light of Jesus amidst the darkness of hatred, anger, and violence once again.

Risk is part of the deal to live as Jesus’ disciples.  We’ve got to risk drowning to walk out on the water with Jesus.  We also need to be able to see the beauty and sacredness of the people and creation all around us, even amidst the storm and waves.  We realize the waves are there, but don’t get too daunted by the waves.  Keep your eyes on Jesus.  Imagine the magic, the possibility, the wonder of seeing him walking to you on the water.  Imagine the magic, the possibility, the wonder of asking him if you can come out and play too, and Jesus saying ,”yes.”