Is that Really the Salvation We Want?

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
October 26, 2025
Proper 25, C
Sirach 35:12-17
Psalm 84:1-6
Luke 18:9-14

“Jesus told a parable about those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt.” I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that having contempt for other people still goes on. In fact, looking at other people and thinking, “They’re a piece of crap,” happens a lot. 

Just last Sunday, we had a near fight because one guy did something that irritated another guy, who then said something about it, which irritated the first guy. At that point, it was just back and forth. “He did something wrong.” “No, he did something wrong.” “He’s a terrible person.” “No, he’s a terrible person.” Spouting insults at each other, one ready to punch the other guy right there. 

Both were unable and unwilling to see their part of the problem. Both were unable and unwilling to say to themselves, “Maybe I did something that bothered this other guy,” and then say to each other, “I’m sorry about that.” Both saw themselves as the righteous one in the conflict, and both regarded the other with contempt.

Now, you could say that the argument between these two gentlemen last week had nothing to do with religion or seeing themselves as righteous in God’s eyes. You could say this was totally different than the Pharisee in Jesus’ story, bragging to God about how good he was, fasting, giving away his money. You could say two guys arguing with each other is different than some religious leader giving thanks to God about how good of a person he is. You could say that, but you’d be wrong. 

If asked, “Are you righteous before God?”, I’m sure both of these gentlemen would have answered, “No, I’m not righteous before God. I’m a sinner. No one is righteous before God.” The contempt they held for each other, however, shows that they at least felt more righteous than that guy, and they might have said so even before God. 

To be fair, I’m pretty sure most of us have numerous people we would want to stand before God and say, “But at least I’m not as bad as they are, right?” When asked, with regards to religion, “Are you better than other people?”, I’m guessing most of us know the “right” answer, “No. We all sin. I’m no better than anyone else,” and at the same time, I’m guessing most of us feel better and more righteous than other people when those other people bother us and do things we think are stupid. 

Are you better than that other person? “Hell yeah, I am! I mean, not in God’s eyes.”

Truth of our belief is now shown in giving the right answer. The truth of our belief is shown in how we feel about others and how we treat others. 

The Pharisee in Jesus’ story wasn’t treating others well. He was probably a really good guy, but in his view of being better than others, he was trapped in the sin of pride. We are often trapped in the sin of pride. Even when we’re right about the other’s faults, we can quickly fall into pride. From there, we very quickly fall into fighting with one another, getting pissed off all the time at every little thing people do around us. 

Is being right and constantly angry at every little thing people do around us really the life we want? “Thank God I’m not like that guy who said something stupid or did something bothersome.” “Thank God I’m not like that whole group of people who are terrible sinners. I’m a sinner too, of course, but I’m not like one of those people. The church taught me that those people are sinners, so thank God I’m not like them.” 

Is that really the salvation we want? Is a salvation of anger, pride, and irritability really the salvation we want?

Perhaps if we truly trusted how beloved we are, then we wouldn’t have a need to be better than anyone else?

See, beneath that sin of pride is the terrible fear that deep down, I’m not actually good enough, and I’m not actually beloved.

Look at the Pharisee in Jesus’ story. His fasting and giving a tenth of his income away were great things, but why was he doing them? Was he fasting and giving away part of his income to follow the correct rules and therefore have God be pleased with him? Was he in a competition with others for God’s love, in which only the best people really got loved by God? 

It looks like he was, except that’s not how love works. God doesn’t need to love you less to love me more. 

What if instead of wanting to do enough for God to love him, the Pharisee trusted that God loved him and then fasted and gave money away to be of help to others and to control his desires, so he didn’t do as much harm to others? Then, he might not have been looking down on the tax collector. He might have even heard the tax collector’s prayer and offered to show him the way of love.

“I heard your prayer earlier,” the Pharisee might say to the tax collector. “I’m sorry to intrude, but I heard your prayer, and I wondered if I might offer my belief that God loves you absolutely. God sees you, with all your faults, with all your sins, and God says, “My beloved.” 

What change might have happened then? Perhaps they’d have talked more. Perhaps the Pharisee could have suggested that the tax collector seemed fearful and seemed not to love himself that much. Perhaps if the tax collector learned to love himself more and to trust how incredibly beloved of God he was, then he begun living the kind of life he wanted as well. Maybe he wouldn’t have cheated people out of their money, but been content with what he had and worked to be of good service to others. 

Last week, there was another couple of guys who almost got into a fight. It was during breakfast, and the reason they didn’t get into a fight is because the one who was being insulted simply got up from the table and walked away. There was a guy at the table insulting him and threatening him, and instead of being tough and getting angry, he simply stood up and walked away. 

Walking away was treating the aggressor as a beloved one, choosing to leave, rather than harm him. Now, I doubt that was his thought. I don’t think that what went through his head was, “Hmm, you’re insulting and threatening me, but you are so beloved, I won’t harm you.” No, his thought was probably more like, “This guy is a jerk, but I really don’t want to fight. Also, I don’t much care if he insults me.” 

Trusting in God’s love, he didn’t need to fight over being insulted. Trusting in how very loved he is, the guy was able to walk away rather than fight back. He may have looked weak, but it didn’t matter because he knew how beloved he is. 

Fear and lack of believing that we are loved leads to pride, so that when we are insulted or bothered, we fight right back. We need to look strong. We need to look tough. We need to be right. Trusting how beloved we are, we don’t need to be right, or tough, or strong. God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), and God loves us not because we are strong or right. God loves us simply because we are. 

My prayer for this morning is that we will all trust just how darn loved we all are. You are so loved. God became human, right? God loves humans so much that God thought it would be a good idea to become one of us. God became human as Jesus, and when Jesus died, he was resurrected; he was raised from the dead. In Jesus’ resurrection, God showed us that death is not the end of life, so we need not fear. God has declared us so beloved that God wants to keep us around even after we die. We get to live together, dwelling in God’s love. 

Why would we then declare ourselves anything other than beloved? Why would we declare other people anything other than beloved? When others bother us, remember that they are beloved, and remember that we are beloved. We are so ridiculously loved by God. 

“If I apologize well enough, then you won’t punish me, right, God?”

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets
September 10, 2023
Proper 18, Year A
Psalm 119:33-40
Romans 13:8-14
Matthew 18:15-20

“If I apologize well enough, then you won’t punish me, right, God?”

Jesus taught us to forgive, over, and over, and over. As far and long as there is vengeance, that is how often we are taught to forgive. Boundless forgiveness.

Then we have Jesus today saying that if someone sins against you, talk with them about it, and if they won’t listen to you, bring a couple others to talk about it with you, and then if they won’t listen to you, take it to the church leaders, and if they still won’t listen, have them be excommunicated, like a gentile or tax collector, no longer a part of the community.

That sounds pretty harsh; we need to realize, however, that gentiles and tax collectors were the very people Jesus and his disciples reached out to in order to bring them into the community. If someone is no longer a part of the community, we’re to seek their restoration so they can be part of the community again. There is forgiveness even in removing someone from the community, boundless forgiveness.

Forgiveness is the way of Jesus because healing is the way of Jesus. Everything Jesus does and teaches is for our healing, even letting people be no longer a part of the community. “Let them be” like a gentile or tax collector, Jesus said. “Let them be” because that is the path they have chosen.

If someone sins against a person and refuses to acknowledge it, refuses to make amends and be reconciled, then they are kicking themselves out of the community. When everyone is fractured and against one another, there is no community, so by refusing to admit their fault, make amends, and reconcile, a person is either declaring the other to be outside or themselves to be. You can’t have community without reconciliation.

So, Jesus said, “let them be.” If someone wants to be not a part of the community, then let them, and remember, even that is for our healing.

So, what healing do we need when we refuse to admit our faults, make amends, and be reconciled to others. We need healing from anger, pride, resentment, and fear…these are what fill us when we refuse to admit our faults. Then, we end up blaming everyone and everything else around us. Our anger, pride, resentment, and fear end up growing and harming everyone around us as well as ourselves.

If we’re going to keep our hurts from leaching out and harming others, we need to take responsibility for our actions. Rather than spending our time looking at others’ faults, we need to be willing to look at our own faults. We need to admit to ourselves, to God, and to others the harm we have caused. There can be no healing unless we do.

That’s a tough pill to swallow, and I believe it is made even more difficult because of the fear at the root at the root of much of the Christian faith. We talk of Jesus’ boundless forgiveness, but we also hear a lot about threats of Hell, threats of eternal torture by the God who is love. Fear of eternal torture has been a part of our theology for centuries, and while we need to take God’s judgment seriously, a faith based on fear of eternal torture is not the faith of Jesus and is not a faith that leads to healing.

A faith based on fear of eternal torture and personal salvation from that torture leaves us with little room for grace toward others, grace toward ourselves, seeking forgiveness, and loving one another. Community is lost in each person’s quest to avoid eternal torture.

Personal avoidance of punishment is not the salvation Jesus has in mind for our healing. Rather, Jesus offers us union with God and one another, a community of love. The Church’s mission is “to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.”

The salvation of Jesus would have us focus not on avoidance of punishment, but on love of God and of one another. The community of love and grace, how well we treat others, seeking and offering grace, forgiveness, and reconciliation, that is the salvation of Jesus lived out in our lives. Heaven or Hell? We’ve got plenty of that here already. There’s plenty of Hell every day in our lives and the lives of those around us. That’s the primary Hell Jesus is saving us from, healing our lives and having that healing follow us even after the grave.

So then, with that healing in mind, with our focus on grace and forgiveness, on love and community, admitting our faults to God and to one another isn’t so terrible a burden. Admitting fault and seeking forgiveness becomes not about avoiding punishment, but about living in love with one another. Admitting our faults and seeking forgiveness is not a deal we make with God. “If I apologize well enough, then you won’t punish me, right, God?”

No. Admitting our faults and seeking forgiveness is part of restoring ourselves to unity with God and one another. The next part of being restored to unity is making amends to others for the wrongs we have done and changing how we live. Jesus shows us grace, forgiveness, and restoration that we might live that same grace, forgiveness, and restoration.

When we cease caring about restoration to God and one another, we begin living outside of Jesus, and Jesus lets us do that. If we want not to be part of a community of love and restoration, Jesus lets us not be. Remember, the church is not a group of individuals avoiding punishment. The church is a community of grace and love.

If we don’t want to live in a community of grace and love, we don’t have to. If we do want to live in a community of grace and love, then we do have to let go of our anger; we do have to let go of our pride; we do have to let go of our resentment, and fear. That’s the reconciling community and life Jesus offers us. A life without fear, a life of joy, a life of reconciling love for one another.

Jesus offers us release from the burden of carrying all the harm we have cause others. Admitting our faults, admitting the harm we have done is a relief and a release, a laying down of a heavy burden. Might there be consequences when we admit what we’ve done? Sure. There is also grace, forgiveness, and love. There is healing. It takes time. It can be grueling, and it is worth it. The healing of grace, forgiveness, and love, the healing of a community of love, that’s salvation.

Remember Who You Are, and then Show Them Who You Are

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets Episcopal Church
June 11, 2023
Proper 5, Year A
Hosea 5:15-6:6
Psalm 50:7-15
Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

Remember Who You Are, and then Show Them Who You Are

Jesus was eating with the wrong sorts of people. They were liars and cheats, sinners who defrauded others. Let’s face it, no one like the tax man, but these particular folks, collecting taxes for Rome in Israel were particularly nasty. They were known for collecting more than they were supposed to and pocketing the extra. So, when I call them liars and cheats, sinners who defrauded others, I really mean it. These were the kinds of folks you wouldn’t spit on if they were on fire, and Jesus chose to sit down and have dinner with them.

“Matthew, you lying cheat, call up some of your friends, and let’s have a dinner party.” That was Jesus’ approach to them.

Now, the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the time, they seemed to think that Jesus’ dinner with Matthew and his buddies was an endorsement of their lying, cheating ways, but I really don’t think that was the case. Jesus tended to tell people thinks like, “Go and sin no more.” “Love one another as I have loved you.” Jesus’ dinner message to Matthew and his friends would probably have been something more like, “How about you don’t lie, cheat, and steal from people anymore?” Jesus’ message would have been like, “Loving other people is how you’re going to find security in this world, not through taking more money for yourself.”

Now the Pharisees, they might have had similar messages for Matthew and his cheating friends, but the Pharisees seem to have just wanted to shun Matthew and his friends. Keep ‘em away. Call ‘em out for being sinners. Shame them, and write them off.

That wasn’t Jesus’ way.

“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick,” Jesus said. In response to the charge of “sinners,” Jesus declared that the wrong sorts of folks needed love and healing, not shunning and contempt. “I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” Jesus said, quoting Hosea 6:6. God doesn’t need healing through religious sacrifice. People need healing through mercy.

Right after dinner, Jesus healed two people. One was a woman who had a would which hadn’t healed for 12 years. The other was a little girl who had died. The woman, Jesus healed of her wound, and the little girl, Jesus brought back to life. In addition to healing those two people, Jesus’ actions show what he was doing with Matthew and his friends. Jesus was healing them.

Jesus saw Matthew and his friends, truly saw them. Yes, they were cheating and stealing from people, but what was going on in them that they thought that was a good idea?

Well, for one thing, they were living under Roman occupation. Rome didn’t care if any of them lived or died, and they were brutal in their rule of Israel. That’s enough stress to get people to behave badly right there. Then you’ve got all the Roman finery, the money and extravagance the higher ups show off. Matthew and his friends might have started to think that if only they had enough to look as fine and fancy as the Romans, then they’d be accepted and feel less threatened by their Roman overlords.

So, lots of stress, fear, and a desire not to be looked down upon by society. With that mix, they stole from people when collecting taxes in order to feel calm, less afraid, and like they just might be accepted. I don’t know about you, but that sounds kinda familiar. Doing something we know is wrong in order to feel calm, less afraid, and like we just might be accepted.

The religious leaders shunned them, likely making matters worse. Jesus, instead chose to have dinner with Matthew and his friends. “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” The religious leaders asked Jesus’ disciples. Because they didn’t need shunning and shame, making matters worse. They needed love and acceptance, and then to be offered a better way, a way which doesn’t harm others and which actually gives the life Matthew and his friends were looking for.

What was Jesus’ teaching to Matthew and his friends? Looking at his other teachings, Jesus probably taught them something like this. You don’t need to steal from others in order to be ok. You don’t need Rome to accept you. God already loves you. Fancier clothes and fitting in to some great society isn’t going to make you whole or happy. The friends you have here are more than enough. Love one another. Support and care for one another. Take the jobs that you have, and realize those jobs are blessings from God. Use those blessings to bless others, not to curse them.

Remember who you are. Having dinner with Matthew and his friends, that was Jesus’ message to them. “Remember who you are.” You have been living as a bunch of lying cheats, but that’s not who you are. You are beloved children of God. Remember. Remember who you are, and then show them who you are.

We all get caught up in harmful behaviors. We hurt others, and we hurt ourselves. Sometimes we hurt ourselves and others through ways we try to be loving. A man I knew was sick and struggling to get better. He was trying to get off drugs because they were making him worse. Whenever he was around his friends, they showed him love by giving him drugs, which they would do together. They were being loving, and they were being loving in a way that hurt their friend.

I think Jesus’ message to them would have been, “Remember who you are.” You don’t need the drugs to be ok. You have each other. You are beloved children of God. Remember. Remember who you are, and then show others who you are. Accept the healing that comes from God, the healing that comes from love and relationship. Accept God’s life within you, and be healed. Be healed from stress. Be healed from fear. Be healed from the American Dream which says once we have enough stuff and riches, we’ll be well.

Be healed to know that just ain’t true. No amount of riches or stuff will ever make us well. Drugs and numbing won’t make us well. Love of one another will make us well. Accepting God’s love for us will make us well. Remember who you are, Jesus says. You are beloved children of God. Remember. Remember who you are, and then show them who you are.