1 John 3.16–24
Receive Love Live Repeat. Can you say that for me? Receive Love Live Repeat. And again …
Ok John, St John, wrote three letters, We’re going to have a look at them this morning. John is not Paul.
St Paul wrote his letters in a fiercely passionate, tightly argued didactic style that builds up to making a doctrinal point.
St John says – I’ve got nothing new to teach you, I just want you to know that you are loved by God and I want you to then live that love.
So its important then that we Receive Love Live Repeat. And the important word there is repeat.
John’s letters seem to say the same thing again and again – like Waves – waves of love and light and life that just come lapping over you. John wants you to know the reality of what he saw – He walked and ate and saw and heard Jesus – the Light of the World – so John urges us to walk in the Light, in Jesus.
John wants you to know this light this love in your lives. He’s so keen on it that he uses the word Know 32 times in just 5 chapters. And John wants you to know the love of Jesus so much he uses that word love 27 times in just 5 chapters.
How do I know that I am loved by God? John points us to the Cross. That’s nice and clear and historical and actual – Jesus died on the Cross.
What’s impressive is that someone who saw that horrific execution – John – he must have had a life changing experience – shall we call it the Resurrection? Its at least that.
And add to that the pouring out of the Holy Spirit –
So that John is able to look at the Cross and see the death of his hero, his messiah, his hopes – and John now sees that as Love. For God so loved the world.
John has come to see the death of Jesus as an act of love.
This death of Jesus on the Cross – John explains how that cleanses me from my sin, that purifies my soul, this atoning sacrifice that makes me at one with God, this death that destroys the work of the devil – that’s all language from this first letter of John – this is what this act of love of Jesus on the cross is doing for us and to us.
This is love at work. Applied love. Love with skin on. I like that phrase Love with Skin On.
It’s a reminder to us that we all like kind encouraging words, we like a phone call, an email that says Keep going, well done, God bless you.
But John is urging us to up our game to find ways in which we can show this love that we have received in the way that we live our lives.
So when we see a fellow brother or sister in Christ in need then do something about it –
But lets be honest here, we often don’t see it.
We don’t see it for a couple of reasons – one is that we’re quite good at hiding our needs, we come into church with our Happy Faces and we say We’re fine. And that’s good because at least you’ve made it to Church.
But when you’re ready, its okay to say Actually I’m just about holding on. So we don’t see it in each other because we’re quite good at hiding our own needs from each other.
And the other reason is that we can sometimes feel this need to be a strong independent Christian, so I don’t need your help. But that’s rubbish.
And when we do open up, we can often be part of the process of answering each other’s prayers.
John is urging us to know how much we are loved by God, to receive that Love, and then to live that love. Applied love. This is love with skin on.
A little while back one of the older ladies at St Leonards came to thank me for my sermon but I didn’t realise and she came a little too close and I gave her a hug. She looked a bit surprised and then tearful and then said thank you and I think that actually my hug did her more good than my sermon.
So we show our faith in small random acts of kindness. In giving something to the homeless person, in volunteering with different rotas and serving each other, in financial giving to the Church, in hugs – when asked for – not everyone likes a hug – and some people do from the right person on the right day.
Receive Love Live Repeat – here’s the importance of receiving the love of God, and living that love and then repeating the receiving.
You’ll know when you’ve got it wrong because you may start to become a little short and bitter with people and its because you are still being kind and loving – its just that now you’re doing it out of your own strength and its exhausting, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, exhausting – and we need to stop and take time to be with God, receive again that love.
So Come and worship, come and receive the body and blood of Christ, come and meditate on God’s Sacred Scripture – come and feed on Him in your heart by faith with thanksgiving.
Receive, Re-fill, your hearts with God’s love.
But. And here’s a big but. We can be our own worst enemies. We can find ways of making it difficult for God to show us His love. The easiest way to do this is to belittle ourselves, to say we’re not worthy, to put ourselves down. We’re all good at this.
So what St John wants us to do is to learn to have peaceful hearts in the presence of God. Peaceful hearts in the presence of God.
When Simon Peter first came across Jesus – Jesus asks him to do some extra fishing, he’s caught nothing all night, Simon does it anyway and there’s a miraculous catch of fish – Simon’s reaction is: Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.
That’s Simon’s response to a miracle. We can relate to that.
But note how St John talks about the people he’s writing to – and they’re not so different to you and me – he calls them Dear Children, Dear Friends, even Beloved – that’s strong language.
But St Paul does the same – he calls the people he wrote to Saints, Holy ones and that’s ridiculous, but its true.
Our hearts might point out our inadequacies, our hypocrisies, our weaknesses and failings. Our hearts might whisper to us: What are you doing here?
Again and again in the first letter of John, he takes us back to the Cross. He reminds us that God’s love is greater even than our own hearts. God loves us even more than we love ourselves.
Remember the thief on the cross, turning to Jesus, saying Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus replies Truly today you will be with me in paradise.
How does the thief get into heaven. He gets there because the man on the other cross said so.
Why are you here? Because the man on the cross said I could come. How do we know we are loved, because of the Cross of Christ
John in this letter is going to great lengths to help us see and know and receive the great love that God has for us, that love we see in Jesus, in his life and death on the cross, that we receive in His Holy Spirit poured out on us in forgiveness, in worship, in sacrament, in prayer.
Receive Love Live Repeat.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus said Do not let your hearts be troubled, believe in God, and trust me.
So when our hearts wont let us rest in God’s presence, then we need to give to God all that is troubling us, all the barriers that we put up, and allow His grace, His forgiveness, His love, to hug us.
Receive Love Live Repeat. Amen.