God Will Judge Them. Choose Life. Choose Mercy. Choose Love.

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
February 6, 2025
6 Epiphany, C
Jeremiah 17:5-10
Psalm 1
Luke 6:17-26

I don’t tend to preach too much about God’s judgment of the wicked and the way of the wicked. Preaching about God’s judgment is really popular in Christianity. Bombastic preachers seem to love preaching about sin and wickedness, God’s judgment, and, I don’t know, trying to scare people straight? With such preaching, there are often very simple and clear rules given about who will be judged, the things for which we’ll be judged, and the formula for escaping judgment. Just believe in Jesus. Well, believing in Jesus is more than just one’s belief in who Jesus is. Truly believing means that belief changes our actions and our lives being transformed by God’s grace, mercy, and love.

So, a simple, “scare you straight” sermon about God’s judgment is not really my style or focus because, for one thing, it is so overdone, for another, it is often very harmful, and for another folks tend to be pretty darn beaten down by life already, we sure don’t need to be beaten down and bruised by a preacher’s words on Sunday as well.

So, you’ve heard me preaching a lot more about God’s love, God’s grace, the forgiveness and healing that God offers to all of us. You hear me preaching about God becoming human as Jesus, to unite humanity, all of us, with God in every way. God has united even with our sin and wickedness by taking all of that upon him on the cross. So I don’t preach too much about God’s judgment of sin because God has primarily judged us as beloved, as forgiven, and as worthy of God’s healing and mercy.

Then we get readings like the three we heard today which give God’s blessings and God’s woes for humanity, and it is rather hard for me not to preach about God’s judgment.

“I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses,” we are told in Deuteronomy. “Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him;” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20) Our choices, the way we treat others, the way we treat our children echoes on beyond just us.

So, God gave us choice to choose life.

As we’re told in Ecclesiasticus, God “created humankind in the beginning, and he left them in the power of their own free choice. If you choose, you can keep the commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice. He has placed before you fire and water; stretch out your hand for whichever you choose. Before each person are life and death, and whichever one chooses will be given. (Ecclesiasticus 15:14-17)

“The way of the wicked is doomed,” we heard today in Psalm 1:6. The way of the wicked is doomed, so God offers us choice not to follow in the paths of wickedness. When we do follow the paths of wickedness, there is judgment. There is judgment for our anger and our hatred. There is judgment for our fighting and hurting each other. There is judgment for taking advantage of others, stealing from others, making sure I get mine even if someone else suffers for it. There is judgment for choosing paths of wickedness rather than choosing paths mercy and love.

“Choose life,” God says.

Well, that seems pretty simple and straightforward, doesn’t it. If you don’t choose life, you’ll be judged by God.

Well, maybe not so simple, because as much as we are given choice, God knows that our choosers are broken. Consider how brain chemistry works to affect our decision-making. Some of our brain chemistry really screws us up, with mental illness of various kinds, and one’s ability to choose life is limited. Consider trauma that happens to some of us early on in life, sometimes through over-stressed and underprepared parents, and one’s ability to choose life is limited. Then, add poverty and struggle, the enormous stress of nowhere to live, being scorned by others, constantly hungry, tired, and threatened, and one’s ability to choose life is limited.

So, we have God’s mercy. We have God becoming human to join with us in all of our pain, all of our hurt, even, on the cross, joining with all of the ways we have chosen death over life. God says I see you, and I see your struggle, and I judge you as beloved, forgiven, and worthy of healing and mercy.

Well, that seems pretty simple and straightforward, doesn’t it. Jesus died for our sins, so we’re all off the hook. Well, again, if we’re taking seriously God’s judgment and God’s mercy, then it’s not so simple. Lots of preachers will tell you that it is that simple, just believe in Jesus and you get God’s mercy instead of God’s judgment, but such simple math doesn’t really add up if we take scripture seriously and listen to Jesus’ teachings.

Jesus talked about divine judgment in the blessings and woes we heard him give today. Woe to you who are full and over full while others go hungry. Those who are hungry aren’t righteous for being hungry, but God sees the injustice and figures if humanity won’t care for those who are hungry, then God will. Woe to you who remained over-full while others went hungry. You will not be rewarded by God, rather, you will be shown the same indifference and contempt you showed others in life.

Jesus told a parable about a rich man who had far more than he needed. Food just went to waste as he feasted daily, and just outside of his home, there was a poor man named Lazarus, who begged for food, was diseased, had nothing. When they both died, Lazarus was cared for by God, the judgment being, since no one cared for you in life, I will care for you now. The rich man, however, was in Hell. He was shown the same indifference and contempt that he showed others.

Now, to be clear, being poor and beaten down by life is not a guarantee or God’s favor and mercy. One can be poor and beaten down by life and also be really terrible to others.

What I hope we see is that we are meant to take seriously God’s judgment and God’s mercy.

God has given us choice to choose life. God has taught us that when we choose death over life, those choices harm us for generations to come. So, when we choose death over life, when we choose wickedness over love, God judges us for that.

God also knows just how hard it can be for us to choose life. God knows that our choosers are broken, and so, God offers us mercy.

How exactly does God’s judgment and mercy work together? Well, they work together, and we can’t define exactly how. Trust and take seriously God’s judgment against all of the ways we hurt one another. Trust and take seriously God’s judgment against people and nations who ensure the wealthy stay wealthy while the poor stay poor. Trust in Jesus’ words against such people and nations. Woe to you who are rich and full and over-full while others go hungry. Rich people and nations choosing more for themselves while giving less to those in need is having contempt for God’s mercy while inviting God’s judgment.

Don’t be fooled by those who give simple answers to reassure you of God’s mercy towards you and God’s judgment toward others. Jesus was very clear that such judgments are not ours to give.

Rather, Jesus has taught us to trust in God. Trust in God’s judgment and God’s mercy. Trust, and do not be contemptuous of God’s mercy saying, “Well, I believe in Jesus, so whatever I do, I’m forgiven, and it doesn’t matter.” We’re forgiven, and that is meant to change our lives, to transform us to start choosing life, rather than death. So trust and take seriously God’s mercy and God’s judgment. Choose life. Choose mercy. Choose love. As for those who continue to choose their own wealth while ignoring and withdrawing help for those in need, God will judge them. Trust in God’s judgment. Choose life. Choose mercy. Choose love.

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.