1 John 3:16-24
16 We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought
to lay down our lives for one another. 17 How does God's love abide in anyone
who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses
help? 18 Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and
action. 19 And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will
reassure our hearts before him 20 whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is
greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our hearts do
not condemn us, we have boldness before God; 22 and we receive from him
whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him. 23
And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son
Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 All who obey
his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that
he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.
And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his
Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
·
When we come this far into our celebration of
Easter, the stories of the resurrection of Jesus take on a feeling of
repetition. There might be a feeling that we want to hear something new, that
the continued celebration of Easter is possibly too prolonged. In the world
around us, Easter is over and the stores have moved on to the next holiday,
which in our present case is Mother’s Day (which some people say is just an
excuse to sell greeting cards.)
·
In any event, our celebration of Easter is
actually longer than our observance of Lent – 50 days for Easter rather than 40
for Lent. The season of Lent does not stand alone, but serves as a preparation
for the Easter season. Even the date of the beginning of Lent is based on the
dating of Easter Sunday; you figure out the date of Easter Sunday and then back
up 40 days.
·
It is the message of Easter, of resurrection and
salvation that give life and direction to the other seasons of the Church year.
Without the Easter message and promise, we have a situation of a moral
philosophy coupled to a sort of hero-worship/prophet movement.
·
This message of Easter and of resurrection
effects us as disciples of Jesus, the Crucified and Resurrected One. It’s not
simply a “feel good” sense of self, but a call to live differently. As Lent
calls us to “repent” and to “reform our lives”, Easter calls us to live in a
way that shows us that the Resurrection makes a difference for us.
·
It is John’s letter that tells us in simple terms
(amazingly simple considering that it’s one of John’s letters) how we are to
live. John tells us of Jesus’ commandment: And this
is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ
and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
·
That seems rather clear and echoes the Great Commandment that the first
three Gospels have Jesus giving: Just then a lawyer stood up to
test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He
said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered,
‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as
yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and
you will live.’ (Lk 10:25-29)
·
I think we all know that this is easy to hear
and rather hard to do. Yet that is what we as disciples are called to and how
we are to live our lives.
·
It’s interesting how the writer of this Letter
of John combines believing in Jesus and loving one another. Our history,
especially our Lutheran history, puts faith and outward works at odds with each
other. A lot of ink has been spilled over this controversy and a lot of debate
has gone on and still goes on over the “faith and works” argument.
·
This is not always clear. Sometimes we need
help to see that the two poles are not always at odds. The Reformed theologian,
, G.C. Berkouwer, wrote of how
John’s letter brings faith and love together: “Faith is not a competitor of love and good works but rather a
sponsor, and gives foundation to them because it acknowledges the grace of God.”
·
We need not go too far from our own tradition’s
way of thinking to see what is going on here. Martin Luther is quoted as saying
“we are saved by faith alone, but the
faith that saves is never alone.” He also added this idea: “If we only teach works, we shall lose
the faith. If we only teach faith, people will come to think that works are
superfluous.”
·
These are powerful ideas. Faith leads to the
doing of what is needed, often in a bold and courageous way. Faith sees not
only the need, but the presence of Jesus Christ in the one in need. Faith knows
that whatever we do will a thing done in the grace of God.
·
The letters of John were written to a
congregation in trouble. It appears that it was split between those who held
that salvation comes from secret knowledge and those who held fast to faith in
Jesus Christ with all that that could mean. The writer goes on to say We
know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down
our lives for one another. How does God's love abide in anyone who has the
world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little
children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
·
No secret knowledge here. Just the love of God
expressed in the faith that is motivated to love those around the believers.
·
When I was in seminary, old Brother Antony told a
story about John the Apostle preaching. (I don’t know if this story was true or
not. Brother Antony was from Ireland and may not only have kissed the Blarney
Stone, but taken a big bite out of it.) John got up in the assembly to preach
and he said just this: “Love one another.” Then he sat down. That sermon
says nothing about doctrine or philosophy or theology in the church. It just
points out how to live out the faith, day to day. And in truth, that is what
makes us Christians and draws others to Christ.
And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his
Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
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