Lovers and Haters

 

Lovers and Haters

1 John 2.1-11

Its always been kind of weird when reading scripture that a continued thought from another section winds up being what leads the way into another chapter. John is still speaking about the subject of sin as he was at the end of chapter 1, but that thought got cut into as the people doing the translating and chapter & verse making decided to break right here and start chapter 2. I think as we read we see that while John is still talking about one thing, his words lead into the context of the next sections and breakdowns. 

How Much Can I Sin?

A big point of discussion that would wind up in the midst of Christian circles would be the matter of how much a person could sin and still be a Christian. The answer would vary depending on who the particular teacher and writer would be. The world in which the Apostles are penning these letters is one where so many thoughts are beginning to fly around from different sources and people that it could become confusing as to who to listen to and follow. Do you realize that there were other gospels written than the four we esteem as being sacred in our Holy Bible? Oh yes. The validity of authorship of many of the letters would be in question as we go forward. There would be councils that would meet every so often to discuss matters of Christian doctrine and the authority of matters such as who to listen to and take seriously. Through the centuries ahead, one of the big questions being addressed in those councils would be how many times a person could sin and still be a Christian. The questions comes from honest and affable beginnings. Jesus would speak with his own disciples about the very matter. Our Savior is asked point blank from his disciple, Peter as to exactly how many times he should forgive someone who has wronged him. The whole discourse is found in Matthew 18. 

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The seventy-times-seven talk is meant to drive home the need to forgive as many times as needed. The Israelites had been driven into bondage in Babylon for 70 years due to the insolence and hard hearted natures.The distinction between discipline and forgiveness can get blurred when we think that we are in some superior position. Too often, those who have been raised in church don't see themselves as sinners. Coming up within the confines of these walls can give us an arrogant, self-righteous mindset that leaves us out of touch with what the nature of sin is actually all about. It is a similar way of thought to what we made mention last week of the world in which John is writing. Those false teachers suggesting that they had a higher form of knowledge and suggesting that they had no sin. The Apostle is clear that we do have sin to deal with and we need to take care of the problem. Another question that would be debated would be just how much a person could sin and still be a Christian. In our Course of Study class on Contemporary Theology, we covered the matter looking into some of the other writings outside of the canonical scriptures. One such writer would say that a Christian "could sin one, maybe two times, but no more." The Gospel of Thomas (Yes, apparently the doubting disciple wrote something) says some words to the effect that a Christian could sin up to seven times. This is a major reason why some many of these extra writings were not accepted into the canon of the Holy Bible. Are the teachings in line with what we know and understand about the authority of Jesus on such subjects? In this case, no. John would reflect in his epistle this nature of forgiveness being extended in the person Jesus Christ without limits. The whole point here is that we read and learn from the words of Scripture so that we can becomes as Jesus was - a son who obeyed his father and walked in the light. But, as John would state, if anyone does sin, we have this Advocate with the Father who speaks on our behalf. He is there to support us and help us. Plan A is to walk in the light and stay in the light. Plan B is not a way of life. It intact to get us back on track with Plan A.

The Bigger Picture

Maybe the reason the scripture is broken down the way that it is would be to lead us into this next section where John would speak about loving those in the family of God. Notice here, he is not speaking about loving our enemies. While important, lets stay with the context. Love and hate right in the family context of the Christian faith can be a trying subject all to itself. I spoke of my niece's grandparents on her mother's side a couple weeks ago. Her grandmother was raised Catholic. Her grandpa, Lutheran. How many of us can tell some story about the difficulties of love crossing denominational lines right in your own family? We have done it right here in our own marriage. My wife being raised UM while I have been through a few different denominations. (Most notably, the Christian Church [Disciples of Christ] and the Church of the Nazarene) When you have been raised in the traditions and stylings of one group and then cross into another, it can be weird and strange at first trying to embrace and configure our hearts to wrap itself around a new church. 

When Jesus speaks with his disciples as recorded in John 13, he first washed their feet and then gives them an explanation about what loving others means. "This is how they will know that you are my disciples" If we are not careful we can fall into that fundamental mindset here. Don't capitalize THIS in your minds and think that the foot washing is the thing that needs the focus. It is in loving people in this way that matters. Selflessly. Without prejudice or presumption. Just love people. I love to quote the Rev Stan Ling as his teaching from my last Course of Study class applies to so many areas. Theology and the Practice of Ministry was the last class I took be fore graduating. Rev Ling would help us all to understand what the word ministry actually means. I had heard it explained many times that ministry means meeting people's needs. Rev Ling would shorten it just ones word to say that ministry is about "meeting people". Just meet them right where they are. Talk with them. Get to know them. Love them right where they are in life. In the church that can be a rough path to walk especially when we are crossing through different groups and denominations. I can recall during my classes at Mt Vernon Nazarene College hearing about a gentleman who was a missionary to the Caribbean Islands. He had gone in to plant a church and was successfully working in his field of ministry when a person from the Roman Catholic church stopped by to see him one day. This person was a representative of the Church who made census-like studies of area groups. As they sat down to talk, he asked the missionary & pastor, "So, what sect are you?" The missionary immediately had a puzzled look on his face. "What do you mean sect?"He tried to explain that this was a Church of the Nazarene planting in the mission field of the Caribbean. He tried to share the history and background of the Nazarene movement and where it had begun. At which point this representative stopped him to say, "I am from the Roman Catholic Church. We are THE church. Everyone else is a "sect". So can you please explain for me what sect you are?" It was never clear if the missionary was able to give the answer the representative wanted. No matter what background we hail from, the Church is made up of people from all over who have found Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior. 

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This is the struggle John finds himself in early on and it still exists today. Who do I follow? Who's teaching is true? When the Apostle Paul is writing to the Corinthian church, one of the matters he addresses right away is that people are starting to distinguish themselves by who it is they think has that right teaching. Paul would quote them as saying, "I am of Apollos. I am of Paul. I am of Jesus." We have seen and heard down through the years the many times people identify themselves as being Methodist or Baptist or Lutheran and very little about what their relationship with Jesus is all about. Maybe you have heard the story. Dave has died and is waiting in the queue to get into heaven. As he draws ever closer to St Peter he can hear him asking people the same question. "Denomination?" he asks a little old lady as she reaches the front of the queue. "Methodist", she replies. St Peter checks his notes and directs her to the eighth door on the left."Please be quiet as you pass the first door on the right", he says as he sends her on her way. The same happens again. "Denomination?" he asks a man as he reaches the front of the queue. "Lutheran", he replies. St Peter checks his notes and directs the man to the sixth door on the right. "Please be quiet as you pass the first door on the right", he says as he sends him on his way. Finally, it's Dave's turn to enter Heaven. "Denomination?" St Peter asks Dave. "United Reformed", replies Dave. St Peter checks his notes and directs Dave to the fourteenth door on the left. "Please be quiet as you pass the first door on the right", he says as he sends Dave on his way. Dave can't help himself and asks why he has to be quiet as he passes the first door on the right. "Oh, that's the Evangelicals," St Peter responds. "They think they're the only ones here." During my time at Mt Vernon Nazarene, we heard plenty about the Three C's. The Catholics, The Charismatics, and The Calvinists. In fact, it began to come off as if we had all the correct theology to follow about God while everyone else had a lesser understanding. Nothing could have been further from the truth. There are people from all walk of life and many different backgrounds that make up The Church. There are well meaning Catholics who can see through all the rhetoric about praying to Mary and angels to see who Jesus is and the importance of his salvation. Likewise, in Protestant circles, there are those get caught up in their denominational background and forget that Jesus is the reason we are here in the first place. 

Who Is MY Brother or Sister?

The piece of the pie here that might escape us is the WHY this message of loving your brother or sister in the faith is so important. While some things we see and read haven't seemed to change much over the centuries, there is much that has. Here in the good ol USA, when was the last time you had to worry about someone turning you in for your faith to some governing authority? In the time of this first century AD, that might be a very real and scary way of life. Roman rule over the country of Israel has brought with it a way of following into their Greek culture and allowing Caesar to be the Almighty power in one's life or meeting with dire consequences. Why did Jesus die? Well, there is some blame that can be evenly dispersed over both the Hebrew and Roman camps with that. The Romans, however, could be said to have owned the cross and the nails that day. Maybe you have heard the lines from the movie The Dark Knight.

Harvey Dent: When their enemies were at the gates, the Romans would suspend democracy and appoint one man to protect the city. It wasn't considered an honor, it was considered a public service. Rachel Dawes: Harvey, the last man who they appointed to protect the Republic was named Caesar and he never gave up his power.

 Well, there is some accuracy to those words. There were many Caesars following the first and each one got increasing more powerful than the last. Domitian, who was on the throne during the time of John, thought the Apostle to be so much trouble that he would put him away on the Isle of Patmos to rot until he passed. A person did not challenge the person of authority in this Roman rule or they might themselves in the state state as a certain Jesus. But, who did a person have to consider their most urgent point of opposition during times like that? It might just be your neighbor. It might just be a person with the same faith as you. It might be the person who door get the knock and asked "Are there any Christians in your home?" People in Nazi Germany would have known the struggle all too well. When that Nazi soldier came to door looking for Jews, what do you tell them? How do you respond? Do you allow the large group hiding in your basement to stay there or do you turn them in? When we see points of persecution happening on the TV screen in front of us we know that there are places in this world where history hasn't changed much at all. When Islamic terrorist groups are standing there with a gun to the head of a blindfolded people simply because their faith differs from that of the extremists, we can clearly see the woirld that John and the other Apostles were living in. 

It is in this context that John is trying to get his audience to see that loving your brother and sister is the way in which Jesus is showing us. This Savior who hung on a cross looking down over those he came to save, uttering words like, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." This is the way. Do we really understand how to love other people? Do we really get what to happen in order to share Jesus Christ with other people? Walk in the light today and find out.