Birthrights, Birth Responsibilities (1 John 2:22-29)

Sunday, July 27, 2014

          God is light and in Him there is no darkness.  Jesus is the light of the world, a light the darkness cannot overcome.  The Gospel of John and First John both offer a binary faith.  It is an either/or seeing.  As a man, a dad, a Christ-follower – in all of life, I can take the this-or-that as I strive to choose and speak as Jesus would have me choose and speak.  The A-or-B, this or that process is one way of seeing for a disciple of Jesus. 

          Firsy John chapter 2:22 says, “Who is the liar, but the one that denies Jesus is the Christ?  This is the anti-Christ.”  A lot of confusion arises in Biblical reading and Christian literature over that term, ‘anti-Christ.’  Christian fiction like the Left Behind series would have us anticipating one specific future person who is the anti-Christ.  Other villains of history were bad, but until he appears, the anti-Christ has not yet come, so the teaching goes.  First John actually teaches that the anti-Christ is anyone who denies that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, the Son of God, and God in human flesh.  Verse 18 says there are many anti-Christs.  It is a way of talking about anyone who denies the divinity and necessity of Jesus.  And of course 1^st and 2^nd John are the only places in the Bible the term ‘anti-Christ’ is used.

          That’s “A” – the liar, the one who denies Jesus is an anti-Christ.

          Then, “B” is seen in verse 29.  “If you know that he is righteous you may be sure that everyone who does right has been born of him.”  Two ideas are asserted.  First, Jesus is just or righteous.  Second, people who work for justice or do the right thing are born of Jesus.  The word for right, as in ‘do the right thing,’ also means ‘justice’ and could just as easily be translated that way.

          So we have “A”, the one who denies Jesus is a liar and is an anti-Christ.  And we have “B”, the one who is righteous, that is who does justice, is born of God through faith in Jesus.  It is this, or it is that.  What a clean way of visualizing Christian thought.

          Unfortunately history shows it is rarely that simple.  In fact, the history of the works associated with John in the New Testament reveal how cluttered theological dialogue can be.  The so called Johanine literature is comprised of the Gospel of John, and 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd John.  And many also include the book of Revelation.  It was also written near Ephesus, where all the other works are supposed to have been written.  And, Revelation is the only book in the collection whose author actually give his name - John.  He does not claim to be one of the 12.  He just claims to be John, a Christ-follower in exile on the Island of Patmos. 

          The Gospel, the Epistles, and the Revelation were written in different contexts, as responses to forces that threatened the Christian community.  A major theme in the Gospel is the tension between Jesus and synagogue leaders who reject the idea that He is the one sent by God.  Throughout John, we read that Jesus was opposed by “the Jews.”  This does not mean all Jews, though tragically, it has been used that way in history.  This evil misrepresentation of the Gospel has been a tool of hate filled anti-Semitism, something God vehemently opposes.  When John was written, most Christ-followers were Jewish and were persecuted by Jews who rejected him.  The Gospel was the voice of a persecuted minority.

          In the Epistles, the opponents are not synagogue Jews that oppose Jesus.  The opponents are fellow church members who believe in Christ but offer a different interpretation of him, an interpretation that minimizes his earthly life and ethical example.  And, in the situation of the book of Revelation, the opponents are Roman authorities who persecute Christ-followers because they refuse to worship Caesar. 

          When we read ‘anti-Christ’ in 1^st and 2^nd John, the only place we’ll find it, we need to realize that those who wrote the term did not anticipate a future evil person who would try to rule the world.  If the writer of the Gospel of John had used the term, he would have applied it to synagogue and temple leaders that reject Jesus as the Messiah.  In Revelation other terms are used, terms like dragon and beast.  IN that work, these terms in refer to the Roman emperor.  And the elder of 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd John used the term to refer to other Christians whose doctrine he opposed. 

          With the context in mind, do we still find the this-or-that method of thinking theologically helpful in our reading of 1^st John?

In our situation, we don’t have another religious group threatening our worship, so whatever our struggles are, they not those faced by the author of the Gospel of John.  We don’t have a powerful government crucifying our preachers or throwing us to the lions.  We aren’t facing the situation in which Revelation was written.  We do understand church splits, but HillSong is not going through that and even if we were, I hope we wouldn’t be calling each other ‘anti-Christs,’ though I have seen that sort of spite in other church splits I have experienced.  What can we make of 1^st John?

          I hope recognizing context keeps us humble in our theology and in our practice of Christian life within the community.  We need to be patient with each other because situations change, get muddled.  Because of our sins we can count messes being made.  In the future, messes will come and we will find ourselves waist-deep in them.  This is why 1^st John uses such harsh language for the opponents who are causing a church split. 

          God is even more dependable than sin.  We can count on human sin bringing chaos, but we can also count on the love of God restoring order and calling us into God’s embrace.  This is why Jesus came – to save the world from itself.  We can be sure God loves us and wants us to have joy.  This truth –that we can rely on God as we know Him in Jesus – helps the binary thought make sense. 

          It is absolutely so: the one who denies Jesus is a liar.  That one is an anti-Christ where ‘anti’ means against.  In that vein, Muslims who refer to Jesus as a prophet but not as the son of God are against him and against our message that salvation is in him.   I am not saying Muslims are worse sinners than Christians and are bent on destroying the world.  Maybe that is true of a few, but most Muslims are just people like Christians, people who need God.  But, if they deny the lordship of Jesus, then they are against the message we preach.

          Similarly those in Judaism who reject Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, are against our proclamation that salvation is in Him and Him alone.  In this respect, they are ‘anti,’ against the idea that Jesus is the Lord. 

          The “A”-or-“B” approach helps clarify this.  When a written work is called a polemic, it means that work is an argument against an opposing doctrine.  Works in the New Testament like 1^st John, 2^nd Peter, and Jude, are polemics, arguments against false statements about Jesus.  These harshly written pieces give us a sense of clarity. We can see why it is absolutely necessary to know the truth about Jesus, speak that truth, and not allow any wiggle room. 

          We cannot accept flaky ideas like the wishful notion that “many paths lead to God,” or “all religions teach the same thing,” or “religious truth is a private thing and we’ll all find out who was right when we get to heaven.”  All religions do not teach the same thing.  We reject pluralism and universalist fluff in matters of theology and expressions of faith.  We insist that Jesus is Lord – the Jesus we meet in the New Testament and in the Holy Spirit.  This is true for all people whether they acknowledge it or not.  Jesus is Lord and must be followed and worshipped. 

          The binary way of seeing gives clarity even when we know our situation is vastly different than the numerous 1^st century environments in which Christianity was born.  There was more than one context then and ours is different than all that existed then.  The world in which we live is not like the world in which the Bible was born.  Yet, we are clear about Jesus and what we need to believe about Him because the Bible, inspired by the Spirit, transcends generations and continents and cultures. 

The “this-or-that” viewpoint also tells us what is true about us.  “He has promised us eternal life” (1^st John 2:25).”  And we are to abide in him because “everyone who does what is right, [read who does justice as the prophet Micah says], is born of him” (2:29).

          The sign that we are his is our treatment of people.  We do the right thing.  Doing the right thing does not earn us salvation.  God gives it.  Our efforts at right-living are the signs that we have received the salvation God gives.  The A-or-B point of view is only somewhat helpful in fully understanding the New Testament but it is extremely important in our lives as Christ followers.

          Our birthright is eternal life.  Jesus rose and we will rise.  Death of the body is coming because the fall has corrupted God’s world, but Jesus has overcome death.  He rose and all who are in him will rise.  Death has been defeated.  We will enter resurrection in bodies that cannot die and will be with God forever.

          Our birth responsibility is to live as Jesus lived.  We are to do the right thing.  No matter how hard the choice is, no matter much easier other choices appear we are to work for justice, to do right, and to obey God in all things.  When you or I say we are in Christ, we are saying we have committed to live life on his terms.  In matters of how we treat people whether it is daily interactions or larger societal issues, we are guided by the same compassionate love that God showed in sending Jesus for us. 

          Or, as 1^st John 4:7 puts it.  “Beloved let us love one another because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God.”  We live with hope and joy because eternal life is our birthright.  We live in love showing compassion to all who hurt as we work for justice because it is the right thing to do.  This is our birth responsibility.

AMEN

We Wish to See Jesus

Sunday, July 13, 2014

            It is a few days before Jesus will go to the cross.  John 12:21, “[The Greeks] came to Philip who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’

            “Philip went and told Andrew; then Philip and Andrew went and told Jesus.

            And Jesus told them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 

            Jesus continues speaking about glory.  As he does, note that he never answers or addresses the two disciples when they tell him these Greeks want to meet him.  Probably Jesus sensed that their curiosity was more about seeing something new, something others had not seen.  Jesus would die for the world; but he does not perform for Herod or Pilate or Greeks looking for something different; or for people in the 21^st century looking for a wise teacher, or a quick and easy pass to Heaven, or a basis for their politics.

Before he even completed his ministry, people around him came with roles they thought Jesus should fill.  It has happened through history up to this day.  Ideas about who Jesus should be, who we want him to be – these ideas fill the popular consciousness making us think we know who Jesus is; or worse, we think we can define who Jesus is.

Sir, we wish to see Jesus.  What does it mean? 

Indeed, do we who have gathered today, we who live in 21^st century technology, we who enjoy countless options in every sphere of life – do we wish to see Jesus?  Yes?  OK, then, when we say, “we wish to see Jesus,” do we know what we are saying? 

This quest to see Jesus, to live our lives in Christ; it is this quest that carries us into our reading of 1^st John.  Nearly every scholar who studies the New Testament and specializes in the Gospel of John agrees that the Gospel and the three letters, 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd John all come from the same community and that community is rooted in the leadership of the Apostle John.  Recently I had speculated that the one called the “Beloved Disciple,” might be Lazarus, not John of the 12, the Apostle John.  I acknowledged then my thoughts were speculation.  I did not know how strongly the consensus is that the disciple, the Apostle John, is the one at the heart of the community out of which we have these four New Testament writings.  From the most conservative to the most liberal, scholars connect this community to the Christianity that grew up around John.  I have not abandoned Lazarus.  The Gospel tells us he was “the one Jesus loved” (11:3).  I am sure he was part of this church, the church of the Apostle John. 

It was a church with many people who had many ideas.  Raymond Brown, a scholar who has written extensively on the Gospel and the letters, demonstrates in great detail how the Gospel of John and 1^st John were written in different contexts.  The Gospel and the Epistle were each written to deal with challenges that threatened early Christianity and the challenges were different in each case.  The  letter we call First John is a response to problems within the church; this response presents a theology that helps readers today understand life in Christ.

A key question for the community of the Beloved Disciple and for Christians today is what is the identity of Jesus?  What does it mean to see and know and walk with Jesus? 

It is a quest and we bring something very important to it – our lifetime of experiences.  In 1^st John, real-life memories and real life interactions are always front and center.  Your experiences, the life that is uniquely yours, and my experiences, the story that is only mine, these things are critical parts of the walk to Jesus especially on the path we will walk with 1^st John as our leader.  So, as we step into this quest to live life in Jesus, we must prepare.  We must pack.  And what we need in our bag is our own story.  The good, the bad, the boring, the scary – we need it all. 

First John comes from people who knew and walked with Jesus.  The met him in the flesh.  Listen to the opening verses. 

1 We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— ² this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us— ³ we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

           

            “From the beginning …”; 1^st John is not a second generation witness even if it ultimately is read by second and third generation believers, and by us.  In fact, the essay is precisely a link between original Christ followers and subsequent generations.  1^st John has none of the markers of an epistle or a letter; no greeting, none of the traditional farewells.  All the characteristics in Paul’s writings and in 2^nd and 3^rd John that tell us these are epistles are absent in 1^st John.  It is a persuasive essay making a case for Jesus over against false claims made about him by others. 

            It is from the beginning and it is a testimony.  “We declare what we have seen with our eyes … and touched with our hands.”  The news reports a five-car accident on I40.  You half-way watch the report without thinking about it, but someone in the room with you says, “Hey, I was there.  I remember right after it happened.”  You’ll listen to every detail of what your friend says and you’ll ask as many probing questions as you can think of.  He was there.  We are numb to news reports to the point that it almost seems like fiction.  What happens on the TV screen is in another world.  But to here an eyewitness report from someone we trust is another matter.  1^st John is an eyewitness report for us and the testimony is that Jesus could be seen and touched.  God in the flesh really did come – the God of eternity taking on human skin, stepping into the trappings of time and physical limitation that is our daily reality. 

            The witness reports that life was revealed.  Jesus was revealed to be God.  When we see Jesus, we see God and what our relationship with God can be.  So, when we say “We wish to see Jesus,” whether we know it or now, we are seeking God.   First John gives us original, first hand testimony that Jesus is God and in Jesus we meet God. 

            This was important because of the depth of relationships within Christianity.  “We declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you may also have fellowship with us” (1:3).  I have fellowship with people who do not know Jesus.  I am friends with nonbelievers.  I think, for a lot of reasons, Christ followers should be in meaningful relationships with people who do not follow Jesus.

            However, the fellowship we have with other people who know Jesus as we know Jesus is different.  I offer two stories.  First, someone I know who has signed up to be a foster parent is uncertain about the process.  She fears falling in love with the kids who will be entrusted to her only to have her heart break when those kids are re-united with their birth families.  Foster care is a temporary set-up intended to provide a safe family environment for children until those children can be in a permanent situation.  My friend expressed her fears to a social worker who was involved in approving her to be a foster parent.  My friend did not know the social worker was also a Christ follower.  When both women realized they were sisters in Christ, the entire conversation changed.  They prayed together and joined hearts in their love for children and their love for Jesus.  Precisely because both women were in Christ, their fellowship was changed.

            Shortly into my first pastorate, 1997, I went with some friends to a Fleetwood Mac concert.  Fleetwood Mac is not a Christian band at all.  They do not mention Jesus in their concerts.  I had just completed five years of youth ministry; five years of concerts by Christian performers like Stephen Curtis Chapman, Amy Grant, and Jars of Clay.  All those Christian concerts have a worship element.  I don’t know the performers but I feel like our hearts are connected in Christ. Halfway through, I had to walk out on Fleetwood Mac.  I had paid a lot for the tickets.  The performance was excellent.  But, something was missing.  While I could enjoy the music, and I still do occasionally listen to Fleetwood Mac, I could not stay.  In that concert, Jesus was not at the center of things.  No matter how well Fleetwood Mac played, nothing without Jesus at the center compares to those moments in life when we know how deeply our hearts are connected to Him.  With Fleetwood Mac, I did not have that fellowship that comes when I know the singer on the stage is In Christ just as I am. 

            In giving his witness, the elder tells us his readers, “We declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you may also have fellowship with us.”  Fellowship means more than sharing time, laughs, and food.  It means in our joy, our hearts are joined.  That is why the elder says “We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete” (1:4).  Joy in Christ is complete when it is shared by telling the gospel to unbelievers and sharing life with others who love and worship Jesus. 

            We began with a story from John’s Gospel of Greeks who wanted to know what the buzz was all about.  “We wish to see Jesus,” they said.  We have taken up their quest but with a different motivation.  We’re not looking for a show or something we can write on out Facebook wall or an adrenalin rush.  We want something more – more real and more wonderful.  We want to meet God.  That’s why we come to Jesus. 

            Our guide, the Elder who serves as the narrator in 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd John, has told us that all he will share is firsthand, original testimony of one who knew Jesus in person.  His motivation is that when he shares his story of Jesus with us, his joy is made complete.  So we come and we listen, we go where the Elder leads.  For the journey, we’ve packed our own stories – everything we’ve been through.  We bring ourselves and every experience that has made us who we are.

            It is not an easy walk.  The elder makes that clear in chapter 1, verses 8-10.

⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

            There is no way to see Jesus without walking right through the truth of our sins.  Yes, there is joy in the fellowship with Jesus and with others who like us seek, love, and worship him.  However, that joy cannot be polluted by our greed, our lies, our mistakes, our failures.  All the sins we commit and have committed against us must be named.  If we claim to have no sin, we are liars. 

            However, if we are honest in coming to Jesus, he forgives and cleanses us.  He, says, the elder is the “atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world” (2:2).  If the basic truth about Jesus is he is God in the flesh and in him we meet God, and if the basic question is what does it mean for us to see and know and walk with Jesus, then one conclusions stands out.  Because of him, we are forgiven and the sins we cannot shake are gone.  We stand before God free of sin, free to love and be loved. 

            Do we know what that is like, to experience pure love?  Do we want to know?  As we continue in worship, we are each invited to open our hearts to God.  First, we bring all the messes of life that have not yet been cleaned up. Right now, we bring it to the cross and lay our junk before Jesus.  Second, we turn our hearts to God and ask, “Can we see Jesus?”

            God does not turn away the humble seeker.  As John shows in the gospel and in 1^st John, God invites, God welcomes, God forgives and renews, and God loves.  You are beloved and God who is the light and the life invites you to come and receive life in Jesus’ name.

AMEN