April 29, 2012
Epistle
Reading: 1 John 3:16-24
16We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us
— and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. 17How 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? 18Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but
in truth and action. 19And by this we will know that we are from the
truth and will reassure our hearts before him 20whenever our hearts
condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21Beloved,
if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; 22and
we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do
what pleases him.
23And 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. 24All 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.
Sermon:
Abiding Action
Pop quiz time!
If there were one verse in the Bible that is the most widely known what
would it be?
For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever
believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16 is everywhere. Tim Tebow wore it on his
eye black in the 2009
NCAA championship game. The California-based food chain In-n-Out
Burger gives you a Diet Coke with a side of Scripture by printing John 3:16 on
the cup. Clothing chain Forever 21 gives
you the same with your trendy treads by printing it in a tiny font on all of
their shopping bags.
But leave it to us Texans to take it to whole new
level! Christian-owned Kwik Kar Lube &
Service in Plano, Texas lets customers who recite John 3:16 get a $19.99 oil
change. Unfortunately, when one
non-believing customer refused, his bill more than doubled to $46. I believe he left without an oil change or a
heart change to Jesus.
Now,
I’m a fan of John 3:16 and think it sums up the heart of the gospel pretty
well, but having read our 1 John reading for this morning, I’m tempted to put a
“1” in front of all those “John 3:16” appearances in popular culture. You see, if John 3:16 tells us what the
gospel is, 1 John 3:16 tells us why it matters: how it changes the way we live,
now in this life.
We know love by this, that Jesus laid down his life for us — and we ought
to lay down our lives for one another.
It’s certainly good to know that God loved the world so
much that Jesus would come and die and rise again that we would have eternal
life. But if that knowledge becomes only
something we wave like a golden ticket into heaven – or a good deal on an oil
change – we miss the abiding, heart-changing truth there.
If we are worth Jesus laying down his life for us, so is
every single person on the planet. And
if God thinks they’re worth dying and rising for, so should we.
1 John makes it clear: 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?
In the Greek it is stated even stronger, asking how
God’s love can possibly abide in someone who sees their brother or sister in
need and shuts their heart to
them. Not helping when we can goes
against the heart of the gospel. But
closing our hearts to need and injustice to the extent that we don’t even see
it or feel it: this makes a mockery of the gospel.
Like a patient Grandpa wanting to be sure we really get
the point, 1 John urges us, Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and
action.
It is not enough to share God’s love printed on a cup or
bag or through an oil change. Words and
speech: our world has plenty of this.
Too much, actually (says the preacher as I preach!). Truth and action is what we really need.
All the words we say in this place: “thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, the peace of Christ be with you,
this is the Word of the Lord, thanks be to God, I believe”…these words have no
power if we don’t translate them into loving action.
If we tell someone we love them while treating them as
less than human, our words fall flat.
How much more meaningful would In-and-Out Burger’s witness be if instead
of printing John 3:16 on a cup, they donated food to those in need? Words don’t fill hungry stomachs and
desperate souls: food does. Love
does. What if instead of trying to save
souls through a Bible verse on shopping bags, Forever 21 showed compassion in
giving clothing to those affected by homelessness, caring for their bodies as
well as their souls?
Abiding in God is not enough. We have to abide in one another. Like Jesus’ explaining the greatest
commandments of loving God and neighbor, they go hand in hand. If God intended our faith to be in a vacuum,
why would Jesus have even bothered coming to this troubled earth?
Abiding action requires much more of us than just
reciting a Bible verse (even if it’s a great one). It requires much more than just wearing our
Christianity like a label on our clothing or ballot. It requires that we actively love as
completely as our Risen Lord does: laying down our wealth, our privilege, our
pride, our very lives for others.
Sounds a bit dramatic, doesn’t it? Sure, I can let someone into my lane in
traffic, I can say “good morning” to a stranger and I can even be intentionally
pleasant to someone who drives me crazy, but laying down my life? I’m not sure I would do that for my dearest
friends, much less the patronizing person who says scripture reveals that I
should, as a woman, be silent in church.
You can all picture that person for you: the voice of criticism and
frustration.
If we’re called to hold John 3:16 and 1 John 3:16
together, as I believe we are, this means being willing to lay down our lives
for that person. Gosh, Jesus, why
couldn’t you have just set the example of buying someone a cup of coffee
instead of such a grand gesture? That
Son of God…what an overachiever!
If we are to abide with God, we are commanded to abide
with our brothers and sisters whom we might consider the misfits of our human
family. We’re not only to tolerate
them, we’re to lay down our lives for them.
Because as Grandpa 1st John reminds us, “we know love by
this: that Jesus laid down his life for us”…all of us.
That is our example and our path: the constant reorientation
of our lives in every moment away from our own selves to others. And like flowers instinctually turning toward
the sun, we will see that it is in turning to those around us – even the
frustrating ones – that our hearts are turned to God once more.
This does not mean that we as individuals do not
matter. It means that we can only fully
realize who we are as individuals, who we are before our Creator, when we abide
with our community.
This level of relationship is not an easy task. For every product in our culture emblazoned
with John 3:16, there are a hundred others telling us that we should look out
for number 1 because no one else will look out for us, that our words and speech matter more than the truth and action of other
people’s lives and experiences. And
there’s absolutely nothing in our politics and newspapers or on our televisions
telling us to lay down our lives for one another. Even the most altruistic causes don’t go that
far.
That is a Jesus original. And amidst all the hateful words and
meaningless babble of our time, that call to action rises above it all, urging
us to love as we have been loved.
We are able to love this sacrificially because love is
no stranger to us: we have seen it in the One who gave fully of himself for
all. We have seen it in the One who
rose again and continues to breathe new life into this divided, distracted
world. In the One who abides with us no
matter what life brings. We have seen it
in the One who gifts our church family with talent (like we saw last Sunday),
and with humor and sincere care for eacn another.
John 3:16 is made complete by 1 John 3:16. Our abiding faith in God is made complete
only when we abide in one another through loving, selfless action.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish but have eternal life…and we know love by
this, that Jesus laid down his life for us — and we ought to lay down our lives
for one another.
Alleluia! Amen.