For the the Hurt, the Blessed, and the Damned

For the Hurt, the Blessed, and the Damned was years in the making.

From college and campus ministry, through seminary, and into parish ministry, I became increasingly aware of the damage done by some theologies within the church: specifically, the "Believe in Jesus or to go Hell" theologies. Knowing people who turned away from the church and from God because they'd been lambasted by such theologies, I decided to address those beliefs head on and look deeply at scripture, rather than simply ignore the tricky passages.

My goal was and is to bring healing to folks who have been harmed by those older, even foundational theologies, and to help free people from those theologies - people who don't believe in "believe in Jesus or go to Hell", but also don't know how they can't believe in them without ignoring much of scripture.

May you find peace and healing in the pages of this book, and may you help bring that healing to others.

Peace and love,

Brad+

The Beautiful Sunset of Life in the Kingdom of God

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
October 27, 2024
Proper 25, B
Jeremiah 31:7-9
Psalm 126
Mark 10:46-52

Anyone ever ask for help, only to be ignored by others? Anyone ever ask for help and been silenced by others, told to keep quiet and to stop being such a bother? Anyone ever been made to feel ashamed for asking for help? That was the story of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar who called out to Jesus. “Have mercy on me,” he cried. “Oh, do shut up!” The people responded.

The crowd had contempt for Bartimaeus. Maybe because he was blind, they thought he was a sinner? Maybe he smelled bad and looked weird? Maybe they just didn’t want to be bothered by that rather annoying blind guy who was constantly begging and therefore constantly reminding them that they had plenty to be able to help him and were too self-absorbed or too fearful to do so? Perhaps they wanted to protect Jesus from that same annoyance and mild guilt that they felt? “We’re here doing religiousy godly stuff with a religiousy godly guy, and you’re just wrecking it Bartimaeus; go away.”

Whatever the case, Jesus didn’t share the crowd’s contempt for the blind beggar, Bartimaeus. Instead, Jesus invited the crowd to be a part of Bartimaeus’ healing. “Call him here,” Jesus said to the crowd, giving them the chance to repent of the contempt they had toward Bartimaeus, speaking to him with invitation rather than pushing him away. So, the first healing Jesus gave Bartimaeus was to have him be one with the people around him again. Then, as one with the crowd, Bartimaeus came to Jesus, and Jesus spoke to him like a human being. He restored Bartimaeus’ sight, and Bartimaeus joined him on the way.

In that whole encounter, the kingdom of God was revealed.

We’ve been hearing Jesus’ preaching for weeks now about life in God’s kingdom. We heard Jesus tell a rich man that eternal life means loving God and loving people here in this life. We heard Jesus teach his disciples that serving others, not ruling over them, but serving others, is greatness in God’s kingdom. Love God and love people, and let everything else flow from there.

So, when Bartimaeus asked for healing, Jesus continued his teaching about eternal life and God’s kingdom by showing the people what love God and love people is like. Those in the crowd who saw themselves as above Bartimaeus were turned into Bartimaeus’ servants. Jesus sent them to give Bartimaeus the message that Jesus was calling for him. The crowd became like a servant in a household who would call to the master of the house, letting him know that someone had arrived.

Jesus let the people become servants, rather than the important people they saw themselves as, and by giving them that servant role, Jesus helped heal the crowd, letting them live the life of the kingdom of God. Love God and love people. Through love God and love people, Jesus gave Bartimaeus and the crowd the eternal life of love in God’s kingdom.

Now, I’m going to guess a couple things here. One, that eternal life of the kingdom of God sounds lovely; it sounds great to me, I’m guessing it sounds great to others. Two, I’m also guessing that, as lovely as it is, the image and feeling of the kingdom of God will quickly fade, and we’ll end up back with contempt, maybe contempt for those like Bartimaeus whom we see as beneath us, maybe contempt for the crowds who see us as beneath them.

Like the beauty of a sunset, we’re captivated and awed by the images of the

kingdom of God, and then like a sunset, the beauty fades, and we are brought into the dark of night.

Then, it is easy for us to have contempt, especially for the crowd. Forgetting the beauty of God’s kingdom, let’s face it, it’s fun to be right and righteous. Having contempt for the crowd feels right and righteous. Having contempt for those around us whom we see as the crowd feels right and righteous. Don’t they deserve our contempt?

I imagine Bartimaeus having contempt for the crowd. It does feel like they deserved it. He had been living the violence of looking out for me alone because of their indifference to him and their contempt of him. It was Bartimaeus against the world, or the world against Bartimaeus. His life was me against the world, a life of darkness and contempt. I imagine him being exhausted, drained of life.

The struggle of waking up to a world of darkness, not his blindness, but the darkness of him against everyone and everyone against him. That darkness drains the life from people. Me against the world saps us of our humanity. Struggle, fear, anger, with no one in your corner. Little or no trust. Little or no joy. That’s the life of me against the world, the darkness of night when the beauty of the kingdom of God fades.

I can imagine Bartimaeus still having contempt for the crowd even once his sight was restored. He could have still felt that it was he against the world, but Jesus helped heal his heart of contempt before he healed his blindness. Bringing the crowd into Bartimaeus’ healing, allowing them to be Bartimaeus’ servants, Jesus allowed healing of contempt, restoring not just sight, but the beauty of that sunset of eternal life in the kingdom of God.

As a result, when his sight was restored, Bartimaeus followed Jesus on the way. They walked off into the sunset of the kingdom of God. The eternal life of the kingdom of God in this story of healing. Jesus healed the crowd. Then Jesus healed Bartimaeus, not primarily of blindness. Jesus healed Bartimaeus of isolation. He healed him of me against the world.

From the darkness of isolation and contempt, of violence and anger, Jesus brought both Bartimaeus and the crowd around him to the eternal life of love God and love people. From the dark of night, Jesus brought the crowd and Bartimaeus the beautiful, and healing sunset of life in the kingdom of God.

“Nope,” Jesus said. Rather than bring death, Jesus transformed death into life.

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
October 20, 2024
Proper 24, B
Isaiah 53:4-12
Psalm 91:9-16
Mark 10:35-45

So, there’s an election coming up in a few weeks, and yes, I am encouraging you all to vote, and no, I’m not encouraging anyone to vote in any particular way. I’m bringing up the election because it is once again rather contentious, hotly contested, and there’s this feeling in the air of, “Holy Dear Lord Almighty Sweet Baby Jesus, if the right side doesn’t win, then the Kingdom of God will be destroyed, and Jesus will never return.”

That is, of course, not the case. Neither side winning is going to bring about the destruction of the Kingdom of God. The election may be important, but it ain’t that important. Not even the gates of Hell can prevail against the Kingdom of God, and the president and congress of the United States, as much power as they may wield, aren’t powerful enough to destroy or bring about God’s kingdom.

Our hope is not in whoever becomes president. As Jesus pointed out to his disciples in our Gospel lesson today, our hope is not in any human power or position. Our hope is in Jesus, in the unity with God and one another which Jesus has forged. The Word of God which spoke creation into existence became human, fully uniting humanity and divinity. God and humans are one, and nothing, not even a bad president can separate that unity.

So, despite the terrible angst and seemingly large stakes of the upcoming election, our hope is in Jesus’ victory. His is the victory and power not of human governments, not of domination, or enforcing his will. Jesus’ victory is the power of service, surrender, and resurrection, transforming death into life.

That resurrection power of service and surrender is the power we live out when we live the life of the kingdom of God which Jesus taught us to live. In today’s Gospel reading, once again, Jesus taught us to wield resurrection power not through the might of ruling over others, but through loving and serving one another as we were created to do.

When James and John sought great power from Jesus, he assured them that such power of ruling over others is not what makes us great in the kingdom of God. They wanted to sit one on his right hand and one on his left, and they weren’t thinking of life after this up in heaven. That idea was kind of a concept in Jesus’ day, but not the dogma we have now. The thought of, “Let me serve with you after I’ve died,” was almost certainly not in their brains.

No, James and John wanted earthly power to rule with Jesus as his co-world-dominating vice-presidents. They wanted power and might over other human beings, and that is simply not the way of the kingdom of God.

“You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you;” Jesus taught, “but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant.” That sounds a lot like Eden, being one another’s companions and helpers.
That teaching that those who wish to be great must be servants in God’s kingdom is pretty darn similar to the teaching we heard last week with the man who had great wealth. Remember, he wanted to make sure that he had the best of everything in this world and this life, and also to make sure that he had the best of everything in the life to come. “Sure, Jesus, I care about others and hear you teaching that I can use my vast wealth to serve others and to make sure they have enough as well, but I really love my stuff more than I do other people.” He wanted an “all about me” salvation, making sure that he was going to be ok, and not thinking too much about the well-being of anyone else. That’s not salvation; it’s just selfishness.

Remember the man in the parable Jesus told who used his great wealth to make sure everyone who worked for him, had a living wage. He even went searching for more folks to work for him, even if only for an hour, to make sure that they had a living wage too. That’s greatness in God’s kingdom, using wealth as a servant, not as one to be served.

Greatness in God’s kingdom comes from using what God has given us for the benefit of others, not for ourselves to get even more, and greatness in God’s kingdom does not come by forcing the world to be how we want it to be. Even when we’re right, it’s not our world to force our will upon. Even if we’re right, forcing our will on others is being a tyrant, and Jesus expressly taught against being a tyrant. The world is not any of ours to rule, not even by proxy, electing the folks we think are the right ones to be in office. God’s kingdom and our hope do not come from us or through elected proxies on our behalf. No, our hope and God’s kingdom come from Jesus, from the unity with God that he gave and through the resurrection life that he continually gives.

Even so, a lot of us are going to be mightily disappointed the day after the election. Some will be angry. Some may be legitimately afraid because of who gets elected, and some will be afraid probably not so legitimately. Fear, anger, and angst are very human and understandable reactions to the changes and chances of this life. Reacting out of our fear, anger, and angst, are also understandable, and, those fearful and angry reactions go against the kingdom of God. Those fearful and angry reactions come from feelings of powerlessness, wanting power over a world that is not in our control.

That is the power that James and John wanted, and Jesus told them, “No.” That power is not the way of God’s kingdom.

Jesus teaches us instead to accept our powerlessness, just like he did before Pontius

Pilate. “I have the power to kill you or to save your life,” Pilate said. “Nope,” Jesus said. “I could command hosts of angels to save me and destroy you all, but I’m not going to do that.” Jesus could have brought death to thousands and saved his own life. Instead, Jesus accepted the seeming power that Pilate held over him, and because of that, rather than just bring more death, Jesus transformed death into life.

So, what are we to do then with our fear, and anger, and feelings of powerlessness? Once again, we follow Jesus’ example and teaching. We give our fear and anger over to God. We ask God for the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We act out of the fruit of the Spirit, rather than the burning fire of our anger and fear. Let by the fruit of the Spirit, we can call and write our political leaders to let them know of our fear and anger. They probably won’t care, but we can.

We can let go our fear and anger, accept our powerlessness, and choose to love and serve one another because that is who and how we were made to be. Loving and serving one another is how we live the eternal life of God. Loving and serving one another is how we live the life of God’s kingdom.

Our hope is in Jesus, and our hope is in the resurrection life of service and surrender, loving one another, even loving our enemies, so that all things, even death itself, are transformed into life.

Eternal Life Is for After We Die, and other Ridiculous Things Preachers Say

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
October 13, 2024
Proper 23, B
Amos 5:6-7,10-15
Psalm 90:12-17
Mark 10:17-31

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” That’s what the man in today’s gospel story asked Jesus. Of course he buttered him up a bit first, calling him “good teacher.” Maybe he was just being polite, but he also seems a little bit smarmy to me, like he was trying to butter Jesus up a bit to prove that he really was worthy of eternal life, that he really would get the best of everything. It seems that this man’s only real interest was himself and getting into God’s good graces.

Notice that his initial question was totally selfish. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” He wasn’t interested in helping bring about the Kingdom of God here on earth. He wasn’t interested in healing the wounds of the world.

No, his only interest was himself. “How can I make sure things turn out as well as they possibly can for me…and only me?” He asked. “I’ve got enormous riches, I have no interest in helping others, and I want to make sure I have the best of everything after this life too.” Like I said, kinda smarmy. Selfish.

Of course, wanting to be worthy of God’s rewards and wanting to inherit goodness for himself, that probably went along with what he’d been taught. Keep God happy with you. Make sure to follow all the rules just right so you don’t make God angry. If others aren’t following God’s rules, make sure to stay away from them so you don’t get defiled by them. Look out for you and yours. Follow the laws, and God will reward you. Sound kinda familiar to some?

The trouble is, such a selfish way of life is completely misunderstanding scripture; misunderstanding the laws of God; and misunderstanding salvation, eternal life, and the kingdom of God.

Making sure things turn out well for me is not the way of the Kingdom of God. Making sure things turn out well for me is not inheriting eternal life. Making sure things turn out well for me is not, in fact, salvation.

Eternal life, the kingdom of God, and salvation itself are “Love God, and love people.” Anything that helps you do that is following the ways of God. Anything that helps you love God and love people is inheriting eternal life. See, eternal life is the life of God, and when we love God and love people, we are living the eternal life of God. If any want to inherit eternal life, love God and love people, and you’ll find that you are living the eternal life of God here and now.

For the man asking Jesus about what he needed to do to inherit eternal life, he seems to have been thinking about life later on, after life here on earth. He somehow had the life of God detached from this life. He seems to have had the ridiculous notion that life here on earth is just setting us up for something better or worse later on, as though the only point of this life is the next life. Does that also sound familiar to some? That’s insane. The point of this life is this life and how well we love God and love others in this life.

We were made to be people of love. We were made to be people who support one another and care for one another. We were made to care for the earth, this beautiful home God has given us.

You may have heard a song called, “Made to Worship,” with a chorus which begins with, “You and I were made to worship.” My response in hearing that chorus has always been, “No we weren’t,” because I thought the song was saying that we were made for the purpose of being in churches singing to God. That sounds to me like we were made to make God happy be stroking his ego. If I’m religious enough, God will be happy with me and will reward me. That’s insane. That’s not what we were made to do.

So, when I was preparing this sermon, I thought of the song “Made to Worship” as an example of religion gone crazy, and then I looked at the rest of the lyrics, and it’s actually talking about living the kingdom of God. “You and I were made to worship; you and I are called to love; you and I are forgiven and free. You and I embrace surrender; you and I choose to believe, then you and I will see who we were meant to be.”

Loving others. Accepting and surrendering to God’s forgiveness and the freedom God gives, choosing to believe in God and in God’s ways, despite them not always making sense to us…by doing those things, the songs says, we will see who we were meant to be. We’ll see that we were meant to be people of love. Our worship is meant to help us understand that above all, God desires us to love one another, and then when we do, we find that love to be our true worship of God.

Now, when the man asked Jesus about inheriting eternal life, Jesus responded that the man’s wealth was getting in the way of him loving God and loving people.

“What are you talking about, Jesus, I can have as much wealth as I want. There ain’t no law against it.” True, there’s no specific law against having great wealth, but Jesus’ teaching asks us, “Does what you’re doing help you to love God and to love people, or does what you’re doing make loving God and loving people harder?”

For the man who asked Jesus about inheriting eternal life, his great wealth was making loving God and loving people harder for him. We know this because when Jesus suggested that he sell some of his stuff and give the proceeds to the poor, he walked away from Jesus. He loved his stuff more than he loved people in need. Love God and love people was eclipsed by, “But I really love my stuff.”

Jesus taught that even though there ain’t no law against having as much money as you want, the reason one would have all that wealth is to care for other people, to love God by loving people. Jesus told a parable of a wealthy landowner, who paid everyone who worked for him a full, living wage. Even folks who were only able to work for an hour got a full living wage.

The man in Jesus’ parable had more than enough, and he had love in his heart so that what he did with his stuff was to make sure others had enough as well, not just enough to barely scrape by, but truly enough. Using his wealth to make sure that even those who could only work an hour had a living wage, that was his worship. That was inheriting and living eternal life, not in some after-we’re-dead future, but right then and there, because his life wasn’t bound up in his money, his stuff, for his sake. His life was bound up in the love and care he had for others.

The man who asked Jesus about inheriting eternal life was primarily focused on himself, and any salvation this is primarily focused on things turning out well for me is ultimately not salvation but just more love of stuff. In such a false salvation the stuff we love is just ourselves, and a salvation centered on self is not eternal life; it’s just selfishness.

Jesus showed us in his life and ministry what salvation truly is, what eternal life truly is, and what the Kingdom of God truly is. “Love God and love people.” Whatever helps us love God and love people is true worship of God, and a life lived by loving God through loving people, that is eternal life.

God Makes Things so that People Won’t Feel Lonely, and the People Love Their Things, and God Is Happy.

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
October 6, 2024
Proper 22, B
Numbers 11:4-6,10-16,24-29
Psalm 19:7-14
Mark 9:38-50

All too often in life, God finds that people are fearful and terrible to one another, so God helps keep them apart. God gives them anger and resentment so they won’t come near one another. God gives them enemies and reasons to hate so they’ll be against one another and stay separated even more.

Then, God finds that people are sad and alone, and it is not good that people are alone, so God helps people deal with their loneliness. God makes all sorts of things to comfort people and help them feel less alone.

-          God makes cell phones with apps, and shows, and social media to keep people company, and the people loves their phones, and God is happy.
-          God makes cars so people can drive from one place to another, and God makes the cars fun and sexy and customizable, and the people love their cars, and God is happy.
-          God makes drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes so people will feel better about being alone, and the people love their drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes, and God is happy.
-          God makes guns and knives for people to feel safe and protected, and the people love their guns and knives, and God is happy.
God makes all sorts of things so that people won’t feel so alone, and the people love their things, and God is happy.

That’s not exactly how the story goes in the beginning of Genesis, is it? We are often fearful and terrible towards one another, and we often do stay away from others. We do have anger and resentment, and we have enemies who we end up hating. We are often sad and alone, and we do often turn to things to help us feel better. We end up loving our stuff which helps us feal less lonely.

The problem is, none of that is how God actually wants things to be.

In the beginning, it wasn’t good that the human was alone, and to fix that problem, God made another human so that the human wasn’t alone. God didn’t make a bunch of things for the human to love to make the human feel better.

God’s desire is for people to be together with one another in honor and love. As the 14^th Dalai
Lama said, “People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used.”

Yup. We make things to cure our loneliness, and then we often end up trusting in and loving those things, and just as often, we end up using people to get what we want out of them, treating people as things and things as people.

That’s part of what was happening when the Pharisees asked Jesus about divorce, folks were treating people as things. Specifically, husbands were treating their wives as things. See, women couldn’t ask for a divorce; only men could, and the reasons why men could ask for a divorce could have been just about anything. We argue too much. She doesn’t obey me as I’d like. Her cooking isn’t very good. Eh, she just ain’t doing it for me like she used to.

When men divorced their wives, they could just get another wife, trade up for a more desirable model. When women were divorced by their husbands, however, they were treated more like second class citizens. If this woman couldn’t please her husband, something must be wrong with her. She’d have a hard time finding another husband. Also, in that society, women weren’t all that free to enter the workforce, so many divorced women had to go live with family, or if they didn’t have any, they would often have to turn to prostitution to make a living.

So, men who divorced their wives tended to leave them with few options, prostitution being one of the only options. This same society, however, looked down on women who were prostitutes. See the problem here?

Why can’t we divorce our wives, Jesus? The Pharisees wanted to know. Because you are treating your wives like things, was Jesus’ reply, and women are not things to be used and then discarded when they are no longer desirable.

“…from the beginning of creation,” Jesus reminded them, “‘God made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh.”

Your wives, Jesus reminded them, are not your property. Your wives, Jesus reminded them, are nor less than or beneath you. Your wives, Jesus reminded them, are equals with you, one flesh with you, because in the beginning, when the human was alone, God created another human to be an equal partner and companion.

So, Jesus told them they could not divorce their wives unless their wives had been unfaithful. They were not to treat their wives as things to be used. Once again, things are meant to be used, not loved. People are meant to be loved, not used.

Now, in addition to Jesus talking about divorce and teaching people not to use others as things, Jesus then said to receive the kingdom of God like little children, saying, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs”? It's a wonderful teaching, but what in the world does it have to do with anything that came before?

Well, just after Jesus taught the Pharisees to treat their wives well, and not use them like things, Jesus’ disciples saw people trying to bring some children to Jesus, and they tried to stop them. It was as though Jesus’ disciples were looking down on the children and saying, “Stay away, lesser people. Jesus is too important for you.” Jesus recognized their behavior for what it was, once again treating people like things.

Once again, wasn’t going to have that. Children, women, men, transgender, exalted, lowly, we were all made as beloved human beings, and we were all made to be partners and companions for one another. Whether in marriage or friendship, or in any relationship, we were made to love and cherish one another.

Using one another as though we were things fights against our very nature. Treating one another as things to be used and discarded, that puts us as though we were in God’s place, thinking we are so much better than another human being that we get to treat them as less than human. Not even God treats us that way. Who are we to treat each other that way? No wonder we’re lonely when we treat each other like that. Our cure for loneliness is one another, not our stuff.

So, Jesus tells us to receive the kingdom of God as a little child. Receive the kingdom of God as those who are dependent upon God. Receive each day as those who trusts in God’s love. Receive each moment as those who place their love in one another finding our truest selves in the people we love. When we do, we may just find that we’re not as lonely. When we place our love in one another, we may just find exactly what we’re looking for, the peace and unity of the Kingdom of God.

The Medicine We Need

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
September 22, 2024
Proper 20, B
James 3:1-12
Psalm 116:1-8
Mark 8:27-38

So, when my kids were younger and they had colds and various other things for which they’d take medicine, I would give them the medicine, and they’d pretty well take it. Maybe they’d ask, “What is this?” I’d tell them it was cold medicine and would make them feel better, and so they took it. Even then, though they had no idea of what it was or what it did.

It wasn’t not like it was some new food that they could eat and spit out if they didn’t like it. The medicine was something they didn’t really understand at all, other than “Mom and Dad said it’s good for me, so I’ll take it.” It occurred to me at one point just how much trust there was in that. They were curious about it, but otherwise, the thought of not taking it didn’t really occur to them. We said it was good for them, that it would help them, and so with no further understanding, they took they medicine.

Jesus’ trust in God was like that trust of a child. What did he do in the garden of Gethsemane, when he wanted to walk away from it all and not be arrested and killed? Jesus prayed, “not my will be done, but your will be done.” God had joined with humanity by becoming human as Jesus, and so in dying on the cross, God joined physically with humanity even in our death, so that nothing, not even death itself, can separate us from God.

To Jesus, in the garden of Gethsemane, it is as if God said, “Your death is the medicine that humanity needs,” so Jesus, without even fully understanding said, “Ok, I trust you; your will be done.” Jesus had the trust of a child.

Jesus also compared himself to a child. When his disciples were arguing among themselves about which one of them was the greatest, Jesus brought a child to them and said, “If you welcome a child, you welcome me.” Don’t worry about who is greatest. Trust in God. The child that Jesus brought to them had no greatness like the disciples wanted, but the child did have the trust of a child beloved of their parents. Jesus didn’t desire greatness from his disciples, but rather trust, knowing that setting aside their egos and trusting in God is what would be best for all of them. Trusting in God was the medicine they needed.

In James’ letter which we heard today, he wrote to a church that was in need of some medicine as well. The sickness from which some of them seemed to be suffering was “bitter envy and selfish ambition,” kinda like Jesus’ disciples before them.

“Who is the greatest?” Jesus’ disciples asked. They were jockeying for position, wanting to have power and glory in Jesus’ kingdom. Those to whom James was writing seem to have been doing the same thing, fighting among themselves, trying to gain advantage over one another. Who was going to be in charge? Who was going to have more power and authority over the others?

I dare say that’s something we do in our lives too. Whether we’re wanting greatness in the larger society around us or we’re simply wanting some power over the people in our lives, most of us have some ways that we want greater power. That need for greatness is fueled by insecurity of not being good enough. That need for power is fueled by fear and a desire for greater control in our lives, control over others so they don’t have control over us. Our desires for greater power and control are totally understandable, and those desires sound like wanting the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, trusting in our own power, rather than letting go some of our power and trusting in God.

Jesus taught his disciples to give up their desires for power and to trust God like a little child because Jesus knew that would heal them more than gaining the power they sought over one another. If they got the power and greatness they wanted, their fear and insecurity would still be there. They would constantly be at odds with one another, constantly fighting for more power, not trusting each other. Power and greatness wouldn’t heal them, but just give them more over which to be fearful and insecure.

The medicine that would heal the disciples and did heal the disciples was to entrust their lives to God. When they did, what happened in their lives? Peace, gentleness, mercy. They found they could face the challenges of life, not always getting their way, but finding greater peace with life’s challenges, trusting in God. Greatness be damned, Jesus’ disciples found they didn’t need it.

What Jesus’ disciples found was that greatness within the church wasn’t about power but about service. Those who seek power within the church by seeking positions of authority misunderstand the way of Jesus and the places of importance within the church.

What is the most important work of the church, and where is that work done? The most important work of the church is done in the actions and relationships of all of the members of the church. The most important work of the church is how all of us live and teach the love of Jesus. How do we love and serve one another? How do we heal the wounds of the world by caring for those around us? How do we help others have the peace of God that comes through trusting in Jesus? That is the great work of the church, and it is done by everyday Christians, regular folks.

All of the perceived greatness within the church, the pastors, the priests, the bishops, all of their work is done to support the great work of the church, the work of everyday people living as Jesus’ disciples in our everyday lives.

Where does that work come from? How is that work done? The great work of everyday Christians is done first and foremost by trusting in God. In all of the changes and chances of our lives, we find peace and belonging by seeking God’s wisdom from above. As James wrote, “the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.”

Our conflicts and disputes come from our cravings, even our cravings to be right, even our cravings to force others to be right and righteous. That’s wanting control over the world, wanting power and greatness. Rather than seek power and greatness, we are taught to submit ourselves to God. It may seem like getting our way would heal us, but it won’t. Like a kid getting medicine they doesn’t understand from their trusted parents, we are healed by trusting in God more than in ourselves.

Walking with God in the Way of Love

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
September 1, 2024
Proper 17, B
James 1:17-27
Psalm 15
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Hey guys, don’t think about kittens jumping around in front of a scared looking puppy. Stop, I said don’t think about it. No kittens jumping. No scared puppy. Keep it out of your mind.

Failures. Kidding.

It’s hard not to think about something when you’re focusing on not thinking about it. Ok, now think about Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel we just heard. ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ Spending time in worship can be really good for us, and the worship God truly wants is caring for one another. Loving one another. Think about someone in need and choosing to help them out. Think about a time you were in need and a kind and loving person came to your aid. I’m guessing you weren’t just thinking about cats and puppies anymore, were you?

Jesus said that the things that defile a person are the harmful things that come out of our hearts. Fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly, these selfish things that we do are what defile us, not doing our religion wrong.

So, I could preach about not doing those things, talking about each one in detail, and saying “That’s bad; don’t do it.” The problem is that sometimes the harder we try not to do something, the more we fixate on it and the harder time we have not doing it. Don’t think of the kittens and the puppy, right? And as soon as I tell us not to, we start thinking about it.

Jesus giving us this list of things not to do is important and teaching we often need to realize that these things are harmful, and there’s more to the story. Jesus didn’t just say, “This stuff’s bad; don’t do it.” Jesus gave us a way of life so that we would not just fixate on harmful behaviors and end up doing them anyway. The way of life that Jesus gave us is the way of love.

Now, following the way of love is part of why there so many are religious practices. Religious practices, at their best, are meant to help train us, to keep us walking with God in the way of love, walking with one another so the thought of harming one another would go totally against who we are. Unfortunately, we often forget that, and religious practices end up being ways we try to please God.

As far back as human history goes, people have had belief in one type of god or another, and along with all of our various beliefs about God or gods, people have continually sought ways to please God. People have tried to get God on their side against others. People have tried to gain God’s favor so that crops will grow or natural disasters won’t happen. In all sorts of societies, people have done all sorts of things to appease their gods.

Folks have sacrificed animals and various food on altars. Folks have burned things, said particular prayers at particular times, cut themselves, had ritual dances, even left out milk and cookies.

What we find over and over in scripture is that God was never all that interested in any of that stuff.

In Jesus’ day, the some of the religious leaders were pretty adamant about doing everything they could to try to please God. We heard today about the Pharisees who even went beyond the actual laws that they were supposed to follow and said that Jesus and his disciples were displeasing God because they were eating without washing their hands. There were a lot of laws about washing, about being ritually clean before God, but washing your hands before you ate wasn’t one of those laws. By tradition, they had added hand washing to the ritual purity laws.

On the one hand, it was really helpful in keeping disease down. As far as societal health went, handwashing was fantastic. It just wasn’t going to make you more or less righteous before God.

All of those rituals and religious laws weren’t bad, but folks could miss the point, thinking the rituals were there to please God, rather than to be helpful for the people. The practice of keeping the laws, of following the ritual, with a mind toward connecting with God and trusting in God, can be helpful. You’re training yourself to trust in God in all things. The rituals and laws are like daily practice of trusting in God, unless they become things you must do lest God be angry with you.

Look at modern Christianity, guilting people for not showing up for church on Sunday. No wonder people don’t want to come…as though coming to church pleases God in and of itself. Worshipping together is meant to be helpful for us, joining together with one another, taking some time to pause in the business and struggle of life, to rest together, connecting with God. That’s a good way to practice religion…and it’s not going to make God happy with us.

What is the religion that pleases God? Taking care of one another.

The more we take care of one another, the more we see the absolute beauty and divine worth of every human being. When we see one another’s divine worth and care for one another, then we end up not falling into those destructive ways Jesus talked about: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, and folly. Rather than not thinking about kittens and puppies, we focus on loving one another.

Those vices that Jesus mentioned are all about selfish pleasure seeking with no regard to the hurt we do to others. Gaining immense wealth with no regard to how it hurts others. Taking and taking and taking, with no regard for anyone else. Taking people’s things and livelihoods. Taking the truth from people. Taking life from people.

All of these desires we have within us, and acting on these desires is what defiles us, Jesus says. Acting on our selfish desires with no regard for others is what makes us ‘stained’ by the world, as James says.

Look at religious hypocrites, which we all are at times, but think about the big examples. Huge mega-pastor televangel-whatevers who have an enormous following. They’re great at showing how religious they are and demanding that same religious purity from others, and then they get brought down by some big financial or sex scandal. We tend to call such people hypocrites, but the real problem is not the hypocrisy, but that they were chasing after the wrong things in the first place. It’s not as though their super religiousness was stained by their misdeeds. The point is that all of their religiosity that looked so impressive never much mattered in the first place.

They were hearers of the word and not doers, at least in part because of a focus on doing all of their religiousy stuff right, trying to please God (or at least show off about pleasing God), rather than simply trying to love and serve other people.

True religion, according to James, is to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. Being here, following other religious practices is training to trust in God, to love ourselves, to love others. When we do that, those selfish desires which live within us tend to fade away. We love and care for others, and that makes our religion true. Loving and caring for others is the religion that pleases God.

We don’t need to make grand gestures to appease God. We don’t need to be super religious. Just go with the simple notion that we all matter, that we all are of divine importance, and treat one another accordingly.