Word to the Wise
Monday, May 8, 2023 - 5th Week of Easter - Mon
[Acts 14:5-18 and John 14:21-26]"Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him." Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him, "Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him." [John]
Love and action are two sides of the same coin in Jesus' words from the Last Supper discourse. Love is not an abstraction or simply a feeling of benevolence toward someone else. One of the best examples from this gospel could be found in the dialogue with NIcodemus: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life." [John 3:16] Another example can be taken from the Last Supper discourse: "This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." [John 15:13]. This teaching was carried forth into the preaching in the later Johannine communities as we can read in 1 John 4:20: If anyone says, "I love God," but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother."
In the current political and social discord of our nation, one can only wonder what is going through the heads and hearts of those who spread racial and religious hatred, or who destroy life rather than preserve it? Many of these folks profess to be "God-fearing Christians!!!!" This is infecting not just those who are in extremist groups, but elected officials creating public policies!! Jesus' challenge remains the same after 2,000 years. We have the teaching from him. What kind of job are we doing with the preaching he has asked us to do? Are we putting skin on it? AMEN