Trinity Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Sermons 

Title: "In Truth and Action"

Text:  1 John 3:16-24

the First Letter of John is filled with the love of God.

The writer asserts it;

he describes it;

he rhapsodizes about it …

and he insists that we, as God’s children,

must also be loving.

Just stay tuned for next week’s reading,

which includes the word "love" more frequently

than anywhere else in the New Testament!

But what does that tell us?

Was John some kind of pre-1960s hippie,

prefiguring the Beatles and "All You Need Is Love?"

Was John lucky enough to have found a community of believers

where everyone was kind, and loving,

and gracious, and receptive to God’s message?

Well, let’s think about that for a moment.

Think about the kinds of things you include

when you are writing a letter to someone.

(Or sending an e-mail;

I know many of us don’t write real letters any longer!)

What do you write about?

Do you tell the recipient something that they already knew?

"Dear Wayne,

As you already know,

last week I went to do ‘x,’

and this week I have to do ‘y.’

Everyone in my family is fine,

but of course I told you that last Wednesday.

Oh, and the Dallas Mavericks made it to the second round of the playoffs …

but of course, that was several days ago;

I’m sure you’ve seen it in the paper by now. "

Talk about a waste of paper and postage!

Or at least, of time and electrons,

if you’re sending the e-mail!

Would any of us take the time

to send a letter to anyone –

friend, family, etc. –

telling them something they already know?

The only reason to do that might be

in some kind of business setting,

where you are putting everything in writing

so you will have a record,

and to cover your tailfeathers if anything goes wrong.

But my point is this:

If, even today, in the world of instant communication

or at least, electric typewriters and copy machines …

if even today we don’t tell people

things they already know,

then why would someone have done so two thousand years ago,

when it had to be written and copied by hand?!

Letters were for imparting news

that your reader hadn’t yet heard.

Or, in the case of the epistles of Paul, and John, and others …

of teaching them things they hadn’t yet heard.

Or reminding them of things they should know,

but are acting like they have forgotten.

Paul had to do that with the Corinthians a lot.

So if John is sounding this one-note message

to the recipients of this first letter of his –

and by the way, we don’t know who they were –

if he’s talking nonstop about love,

what does that suggest?

That they were a warm, caring, loving community?

Probably not, actually.

Rather, it suggests that they were at least

acting like just the opposite.

They may have known how to talk the talk,

but they were way off base when it came to walking the walk.

Look back now to the passage we heard this morning.

Verse 17: "How does God’s love abide in anyone

who has the world’s goods

and sees a brother or sister in need

and yet refuses help?"

Why would he mention that at all,

unless he had heard reports

that supposedly Christian people

were doing just such a thing?

The key comes in verse 18:

"Little children, let us love,

not in word or speech,

but in truth and action."

It’s just like the advice given to beginning writers:

Show, don’t tell.

Don’t say, for example,

"It was a really scary old house."

Describe the peeling paint, the falling shutters,

the dark cobwebby corners, and the creaking sounds.

Likewise, John says,

"Don’t just say the words, ‘God is love,’

or, ‘The love of God be with you.’"

Show it!

Hug a leper.

Give your cloak to the beggar at the gate.

Share your meal with the widow and her two small children.

Obey the commandments of God.

Okay, I’m embellishing.

Some of those things he didn’t say specifically.

But in his day and time,

those are examples he could have given.

And he did say,

"obey [God’s] commandments and do what pleases [God.]."

But what are those commandments?

Is he talking about the Big 10,

as we find them in Exodus chapter 20,

and trying to sneak their way into classrooms and courtrooms

around the country?

Is he talking about the 613 separate commandments

that you can find at various places in the Hebrew scripture,

that Orthodox Jews try to keep faithfully?

No, neither of the above.

"This is his commandment," says verse 23,

"that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ

and love one another, just as he has commanded us."

And what does it mean to love one another?

That takes us back to verse 18,

where John told us to pay attention to "truth and action."

And, if the "truth" be told,

if we do act lovingly toward one another,

and to brothers and sisters in need,

then we’ve covered everything that matters

in all those other specific commandments.

So let’s examine action for a few minutes.

To oversimplify matters so that we can handle them in our allotted time (!!) …

let’s talk about two different arenas for "love in action."

One would be,

places that we deliberately seek out,

where we wouldn’t otherwise be or go,

where we can show God’s love in our actions.

The other would be,

places where we already are and have to be,

where we can make choices about the actions we take

that do or do not demonstrate love.

Let’s talk about the first one first,

because it’s what we often think about first

when we think about putting our faith and love into action.

It’s also the one we worry about the most,

because it involves us in "above and beyond" actions,

when sometimes it seems that we already have too much on our plates.

And yet, for nearly everyone in this room,

it’s something you – we – are already doing to some extent.

Volunteering your time at the hospital, or at the Village.

Making and/or serving a meal for Hillcrest House.

Writing a check for One Great Hour of Sharing.

Organizing, or participating in, or attending,

a concert to raise money for disaster relief.

But putting love into action

sometimes involves difficult decisions, doesn’t it?

When you see the presumably-homeless person

with his sign on the street corner …

how do you put love in action toward him?

Do you give him money?

Offer to drive him to a shelter?

Stop at the nearby McDonald’s and bring back a burger?

Go home that evening and write a check to the Stewpot?

Attend a city council meeting and advocate for the new homeless service center?

You could do any or all of those things.

The key for John is,

what does love require of you in a particular instance?

Not what is expedient, or cost-efficient, or time-efficient,

or politically correct, or even necessarily safe.

What does love require?

Love requires action …

but it requires action that is a match for our talents,

our abilities, and our resources.

That’s always a tricky balance to keep, isn’t it?

In a sense, love demands that we find shelter

for every person who has none;

and that we provide food

for everyone who doesn’t have enough to eat.

Given that we are few, and the needs are many,

where is the match between our capabilities

and a world in need?

So, the question is not just

what does love demand that we do?

but also, what does love demand that we do?

Where can our action make a difference?

That’s true whether we’re talking about "us" as a congregation,

or "us" as in each individual one of us.

What action does God need from me? from you?

How will we demonstrate God’s love?

The other place where we put our faith and love into action

is easier and more difficult at the same time.

Easier, because we don’t have to go looking for it.

More difficult, because the familiar things in life

are sometimes harder to act loving toward!

How do you show love in action

to a spouse or child who has left dirty clothes on the floor

for the fourth time this week?

How can you put love into action

toward a neighbor whose loud music

wakens you late at night?

How does love show itself in action

toward a co-worker who steals your ideas

and presents them as her own?

In any of those cases …

how do you determine when the loving thing is to confront,

and when the loving thing is to let it go?

Because both of those are possibilities.

Being loving does not mean being a doormat.

It does mean seeking the good of others

as being at least equal to our own.

Sometimes above our own, sometimes not;

but always, at least equal.

It means seeing them through God’s eyes

and not through our own.

It means seeking what is best for them,

not only what suits us.

In a sense, it’s easier to do that

with a brother or sister in need,

whom we might help once or twice,

and then never see again.

Some days, it’s harder to love each other

than it is to love a stranger!

And yet, God loves both those who love God

and those who do not.

That is, God loves both neighbor and stranger.

Jesus laid down his life not only for those who believed in him,

but also for those who did not.

How will the world know that we love God?

How do we know that we love God?

We either will – or won’t –

see it in truth and action.

Amen.

© 2006 Julie Adkins (e-mail: DrJAdkins@trinitypresdallas.org)