Go and Love!

February 5th, 2023 – Go and Love! (1 John 2:7-17)

Good morning, beautiful church family! Today we’re continuing our series on the letters of John today as we look at the middle verses in the second chapter of 1 John. Let’s read that passage first.

1 John 2:7-17 (NRSV) – “Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word that you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new commandment that is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says, ‘I am in the light,’ while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves a brother or sister abides in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates a brother or sister is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness. I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven on account of his name. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young people, because you have conquered the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you are strong and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world, for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God abide forever.”

There are three natural sections in this passage, and we’ll look at each in turn. These three sections could be summarized as What-to-do, Who-can-do-it, and What-not-to-do.

What-to-do

What-to-do? In the first section, we see some examples of paradox, where we see pairs of contradictory yet interrelated words. Paradox was used in the ancient world in order to get the attention of the hearers or readers, to jolt us into thinking hard and well about what is being said. There are two kinds of paradoxes given to us in the first five verses. Let’s look at each pair in turn. The first paradox is given in verses seven and eight.

1 John 2:7-8b (NRSV) – “Beloved, I am writing you no NEW commandment but an OLD commandment that you have had from the beginning; the OLD commandment is the word that you have heard. Yet I am writing you a NEW commandment that is true in him and in you, . . .”

New and old. Here John is telling us about a commandment that is not new but old, and old, and new. What does this mean?

In Deuteronomy 6:5, Moses tells us something almost immediately after reading the Ten Commandments – “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

The Lord gave Moses many other laws, including Leviticus 19:18b – “. . . you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

When Jesus was asked which was the most important commandment, He referenced both of these verses when He responded in Mark 12:29-31 – “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

And at the Last Supper, Jesus said to His disciples in John 13:34 – “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”

Love God, love others. These are not just suggestions, but old commandments, new commandments, the most important commandments.

The next paradox starts in the middle of verse eight and goes to verse eleven.

1 John 2:8b-11 (NRSV) – “. . . because the DARKNESS is passing away and the true LIGHT is already shining. Whoever says, ‘I am in the LIGHT,’ while hating a brother or sister, is still in the DARKNESS. Whoever loves a brother or sister abides in the LIGHT, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates a brother or sister is in the DARKNESS, walks in the DARKNESS, and does not know the way to go, because the DARKNESS has brought on blindness.”

Darkness and light. It’s important to note that this talk of darkness and light is not talking about salvation only. John is writing to people who already believe in Jesus here. John here associates darkness with what is passing away, hatred of others, stumbling, causing stumbling, being offended, not knowing the way, a spiritual blindness that literally means smoke being blown that clouds our vision and obscures our view. Metaphorically, this has to do with the blunting of mental discernment, the darkening of the mind.

Let’s talk about that for a minute. Paul & I have a habit of going to the gym almost every day for an hour of aerobic exercise on the treadmills. This strengthens our hearts, our legs, releases lots of happy endorphins in our brains, lowers our stress, and so forth. But I’ve been noticing that certain muscles in my body need more work. My desire to have stronger muscles isn’t alone going to produce any change. The only way to strengthen my arms and abs would be to work them hard, too. I’m trying to add those into my routine now. Similarly, the only way to sharpen our minds and thinking and vision is to work them hard. There’s a scene in the 2008 sci-fi animation WALL-E in which the humans are portrayed as all being extremely lazy, sedentary, and passive, floating around on giant inner tubes and sipping on their super-sized Slurpee’s, with robots catering to their every whim. As humorous as that exaggerated portrayal may be, it’s a warning for us all. Those people in their inner tubes and sipping Slurpee’s are very far from being ready for action. Similarly, if we settle for just going with the flow, our bodies and minds and spirits are going to be far less effective, useful, or prepared than God designed them to be. He’s given us the raw materials, everything we need for life and godliness. It’s up to us to exercise them, to work them out, to strengthen and sharpen, to prepare and practice, to grow and go.

Back to the darkness and light verses. By implication, we are challenged and invited to run towards and live in the light, which is associated with enduring, loving others, forgiving others, releasing offenses against others, removing obstacles from others’ paths, discovering the way to go, seeing.

I had thought I’d finished preparing this sermon and yesterday read this paragraph in one of the audiobooks I was recording – this is from the writings of St. Siouan in his Wisdom from Mount Athos – “. . . if we accustom ourselves to praying fervently for our enemies and loving them, peace will always dwell in our souls, whereas if we feel hatred for our brethren, or find fault with them, our minds will be clouded and we shall lose our peace and the confidence to pray to God.” Here we see that praying for and loving those whom we consider our enemies helps us to live in the light, to remain in God’s peace, even to pray confidently.

What-to-do? Love God, love others. What is darkness, anyway? Technically, it is defined as the absence or deficiency of light. When light is present, by definition, darkness is diminished or eradicated. Who is the light? Christ is the light of the world. Jesus also said that we are the light of the world. It’s not enough to just declare it, as in, “I am in the light!” We need to put our love for the light into practice. When we love God, when we love others, the light of Christ (which is already shining) penetrates the darkness where the light has not yet reached. God’s Kingdom is already-but-not-yet-fully-here. As we love God, as we love others, in the mystery of God’s presence in us, through the power of the Holy Spirit, light pushes back darkness. The light of God in Christ, who lives in us, transforms all who embrace it. Come, Lord Jesus! Come, Holy Spirit! We welcome you!

There is a sobering warning tucked into these verses. John warns us to not hate, which encompasses both choosing to hate and failing to love. Lord, have mercy, Christ, have mercy, Lord, have mercy. Help us to love as you love! It is very important to understand here that to love others is not a theoretical idea or a warm fuzzy feeling. This commandment to love is not only meant to enlighten and develop our minds but also to enliven and direct our hands and feet. It is vital that our actual, practical lives are engaged each and every day in caring for others. Each day we can ask ourselves, “How will I care for someone else today?” I’ve come up with six reflection questions based on Jesus’s words in Matthew 25 that may help us to know how to go and love:

• Today, how can I contribute provisions to those experiencing food insecurity in my community or around the world?
• How can I in a very practical way come alongside of others today who are thirsty or earnestly desirous of that which will refresh, support, or strengthen them?
• Which stranger or guest can I invite, welcome, or accommodate today?
• What appropriate attire can I provide for someone in need of warmth, someone preparing for an interview, or someone required to wear a uniform?
• What sick person can I care for today by providing medicine, vitamins, transportation, encouragement, prayer, or simply being present?
• Today, who can I visit in a place of confinement, such as a prison, hospital, aged care, mental institution, or detention center?

Let’s pay attention to whatever the Holy Spirit puts on our hearts, and then let’s do it! To quote Mother Teresa again, as I often do, “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” What-to-do? Go and love!

Who-can-do-it

That brings us to our second section in today’s passage. Who-can-do-it? If you look at how verses twelve to fourteen are structured, the way they’re printed in our Bibles, you’ll notice that they look like a poem or a song. There is structure and repetition. There are three “I am writing to you because” lines followed by “I write because” lines, with each of the triplets in the first set corresponding to a triplet in the second set. Biblical commentators note that John most likely varied his writing in this way in order to hold the reader’s interest.

Before we read those verses again, let’s pay attention to who John is indicating in each of these triplets. In case anyone mistakenly assumes that these groups exclude women, we need to realize that in the original language, Greek, John employs the language categories of his day, which used masculine forms for mixed groups, as contemporary theologian Craig Keener points out.

The first group, often translated in the figurative sense of “little children,” literally means those who are deeply loved or endeared. The second group, often translated “fathers,” refers to those who are in intimate connection or relationship, who serve as nourishers, protectors, upholders, often advanced in years, teachers, those who originate or transmit something. The third group, often translated “young people,” refers to those who are young in age or who attend to and serve others. So, when we read these verses, we can bear in mind that John was writing to a group of people of all ages and stages with a variety of genders, gifts, graces, and genders. God wants us to know that we are deeply loved, endeared, and called to love.

Who-can-do-it? All of us. We are deeply loved, endeared. We are intimately connected in relationships. We are nourishers, providers, upholders. We are advanced in years or young. We originate and transmit, we attend to and serve others. Go and love! We can all do this.

What-not-to-do

That brings us to the final section of today’s passage. What-not-to-do?

1 John 2:15-17 – “Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world, for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God abide forever.”

We are told to love God and love people. That is the will of God. We are also told to not love the world or the things in the world. The term “the world” could refer to everything but God, but here it means the world system in competition with God. Jesus spoke specifically about this in three different ways:

• “Whoever is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30, Luke 11:23)
• “Whoever is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:40)
• “Whoever is not against you is for you” (Luke 9:50)

Every day of our lives, we are faced with choices – will we follow God, or will we follow someone or something else? Will we align our values with God, or will we bend our values towards other things? Will we choose Christ no matter what it costs us, or will we compromise?

There are three specific warnings here – the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the pride in riches. These warnings are given so that we will pay attention to what we desire, what we focus our thoughts on, what we talk about, what we pursue, what kind of appetites we have, what we crave. Think about this – what specific desires, appetites, and cravings are we nurturing?

What-not-to-do? We are told to go and love. What we ought not to do is to withhold love. Love has come so that we, too, may love. Jesus came so that we could live and thrive in the intimate relationship with the Trinity for which we were created, desiring God above all other desires. In contrast, when we cultivate desires, appetites, and cravings centered on the world, what grows in and flows from us will be what Paul describes in Galatians 5 (The Message) as “repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community.” In this list, we all recognize ourselves and things we’ve done internally or externally, because we are all human and we are all imperfect. But the good news is that our stories are not finished yet. God’s grace is here to transform us from the inside out.

God wants to grace us with goodness, truth, and beauty, things that grow in and flow from us as we cultivate desires, appetites, and cravings centered on God. Here’s how The Message translation renders these God-centered desires, again in Galatians 5, often referred to as the “fruit of the Spirit”: “But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.”

To summarize, our Creator is calling to us to go and love, to love God and love people. Everything God created is good, including you and me and every person on the planet, and we’re all invited into this amazing life of love. As we cultivate our desires for God, He gives us the power to love as Jesus loved and to live the abundant life He desires for us to live, with affection, exuberance, and serenity, stick-to-it-ness, compassion, holiness, loyalty, freedom, and wisdom.

Please stand.

Today, in this worship service here at Liberty Vineyard Church, we are going to set aside a time of commissioning to go and love. Even if you’ve been commissioned or sent out before, if you would like to respond to God’s call today to go and love, to love God and love people, to do the great commandments of Christ, the most important things with your life, if you want to be sent out today as a minister of the good news of Jesus Christ, I invite you to come forward right now. Pastor John, Pastor Nancy, and I want to anoint you with oil by tracing the sign of the cross on your forehead, we want to lay hands on you, and we want to pray for you and bless you. This is how the early Church commissioned believers to “Go and love!” Today we are commissioning all who want to love God and love people to respond to the Holy Spirit today by taking this small step of faith. We sense the Holy Spirit leading us at Liberty Vineyard Church to do this today. We are commissioning all who desire this to “Go and love!” And we invite you to come now if you would like to be anointed, blessed, and prayed for. This is not a high-pressure sales pitch, this is not meant to shame anyone, this is simply an opportunity and an invitation if you would like to be commissioned afresh today. You are free to come forward, and you are free to be where you are.

After everyone who chooses to come forward has come, I will close our service with a short blessing. As you remain standing, I ask you to wait quietly on the Lord. The Lord is present with us and wants to show us the depths of His love today. Be still and know that He is God, God is with us, God is with you.

Numbers 6:24-26 – “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”