Monday, August 29, 2022

 

Monday, August 29, 2022


Psalm 145

2 Chronicles 34:29-35:8a

1 John 1


Observance: Beheading of John the Baptist


If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.


The lectionary has brought us to the first letter from John. Something we notice when reading through the works of John (or, the “Johannine literature”, that is, the Gospel, the three letters, and Revelation) is that he likes to use things from the material world to help get his point across. Here we have the first obvious example: light and dark are synonymous with truth and deception.


Another thing to remember is that this John is the same disciple who was with Jesus at the foot of the cross, the “beloved disciple” who was reclining on Jesus at the Last Supper. When he says in the first sentence of this letter that he looked at and touched with his hands the “eternal life that was with the Father”, he really meant it. This John got about as close as any human can get to following God in this life.


And so, John begins by telling us about fellowship and sin. The ultimate goal: fellowship. Fellowships enemy: sin. Why do we want fellowship? Because this is what makes our joy complete. We know from our own human relationships that lying is difficult (some would say impossible). Lies build upon lies, false reality is forgotten, the liar is caught out, the fellowship breaks apart. How much worse, then, does this affect our own relationship with our God, who sees everything, and knows when we lie to Him. John's solution to us is to own up to our mistakes. Go to God, acknowledge we have done wrong, and God will not only forgive us but also cleanse us from all our unrighteousness. God loves to forgive and raise up; this was the entire point of the mission of Jesus: to bring us back.


Lance the boil. Rip off the bandaid. Come on sleepy head, get out of bed, have a shower and put on some clean clothes. Step out of the darkness and into the light. The Word is happy to live in the person who does this, and the person's joy will be made complete.



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