Trinity 1 – Graduation Sunday at St. Paul June 6, 2021
1 John 4:16-21
Loving God and Loving Your Neighbor
v.21 And this commandment we have from Him [God]; whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Dear friends in Christ, this time of year brings with it much joy and excitement for many families as they anticipate and celebrate the graduation of their loved ones: from high school, college, or other institutions. Not only is this a time to rejoice in these young peoples' accomplishments, but it also is a time to look forward to how God will use them in their new vocations (either in continuing education or in the workforce) to love and serve their neighbor.
Seventy-seven years ago today, many young men (some of whom were younger than most High School graduates today) embarked upon a bitter struggle to rid the world of a great evil in the invasion of Normandy on D-Day. Many lost their lives in that valiant struggle. They lost their lives in loving service to their country—and many others whom they would never know. They did so out of love for their neighbor.
Loving one's neighbor is a high and noble calling for all people—but especially for the Christian. For our Lord Jesus commands us to love our neighbor—and teaches us that by loving our neighbor—we are also loving Him. As Jesus declared in St. Matthew's Gospel (22:37-38), "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But this begs the question: "How? How does one love one's neighbor?"
The world has some peculiar ideas on how this should be done. You've no doubt seen the signs on car bumpers or in front lawns and windows of homes—"Love is love," in bright rainbow colors—evoking the sentiment of "Pride" for the LGBTQ+ community. We are to "love" our neighbor, they exclaim, by not only permitting or tolerating various sexual relationships, but by fully accepting and celebrating them. All people today in our society, whether recent graduates or not, find themselves in the uncomfortable position of bowing to the progressive agenda of the LGBTQ+ community, or enduring the consequences of being labeled a bigot—a hater—a "phobe" of some kind (trans-, homo-, queer-, or otherwise)—and thus facing severe backlash from the current cancel culture. This could mean being kicked out of school, losing one's job, or being shunned both on social media, and in real life as well.
We are to jettison our beliefs from Holy Scripture that the sexual union is reserved for that special relationship between a man and a woman—husband and wife in traditional marriage—to the exclusion of all other relationships—whether homo or heterosexual or anything else. Cease those outmoded ways of thinking—or suffer the consequences. Soon, this may become ensconced in law in the United States with the passing of the Equality Act, which would impose severe penalties not only on churches, but ALL organizations that do not follow the "Pride" flag agenda.
Part of "loving" our neighbor, we are exhorted, includes not "judging" anyone for anything, as they claim Jesus taught. Of course, this is NOT what Jesus taught at all. But rather, Jesus teaches us in Holy Scripture not to judge peoples' actions based upon our own thinking of what is right and what is wrong, but rather to judge solely on the basis of God's Holy Word—not a popular thought in today's cultural context.
However, the apostle John in his first epistle teaches us that a Christian's experience of love is to be formed first and foremost by the love of God for him in Jesus Christ. "So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." We know the love God has for us because the full expression of His love has been given to us in the person and work of Jesus Christ. God's own Son who went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sin—our lack of love for our neighbor—our failure to keep and abide by God's Holy Commandments in His Word. Jesus denied Himself—sacrificed Himself—out of love for us.
As Christians, we are transformed by the love of God for us in Christ Jesus. For many of us, this happened when we were baptized as infants. The Holy Spirit entered into our hearts through water and the Word, casting out the devil, and transforming us into His holy temple—a place where the Word of God dwells richly. This first creates in our hearts love toward God, but this love is then clearly expressed in our love for our neighbor. As John writes in our text, "If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen."
So, beloved, our faith in Christ in our hearts cannot be seen by our neighbor—our brother—but it can be shown in our acts of love toward our brother. Of course, as we have already mentioned, what the world considers love is actually not love—but selfish and self-centered—seeking personal fulfillment and joy in pleasure, and a license to sin. But true love is from God. The worldly "love" of sinful pleasures is misplaced affection, which corrupts that which God created to be good. So, we actually love and serve our neighbor rightly by teaching him God's Word of truth, and encouraging him to live in accordance with that truth.
As John writes in v.15, just prior to our text, "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God." So, we want to love our neighbor by confessing Christ Jesus to him, that he may come to know and believe in Jesus, and so abide in God and God abide in him. This is the great joy of the Gospel proclamation—to share God's love for all people in Jesus Christ. He is God's own Son who gave up His life into death on the cross for the sins of the whole world—for your sins and mine—and for our neighbor's too.
Abiding in this love of God for us in Jesus frees us from all fear. Firstly, we do not fear God's judgement against us on account of our sin, for we know that by faith in Christ Jesus we have been cleansed of all sins of thought, word, and deed. Jesus' blood and righteousness covers over it all. As John commends us, "By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgement, because as He is so also are we in this world." God's love is perfected in us by casting all our sins, griefs, and sorrows onto Christ who bore them to the cross in our place. We have been redeemed by His precious blood, and so we have nothing to fear on the Day of Judgement—the Day when Christ returns in glory to judge the living and the dead—for we have been saved by grace through faith in Him alone.
Just so, then, secondly, what have we to fear of the world? Sure, pagans are going to act like pagans—they are going to hate us—even as they hate and despise the true Jesus of the Bible. But what have we to fear of what they can do to us? Our eternal salvation is secure by the blood of Christ who died for us. So, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." We do not fear the wrath of the world—for the God we believe in has overcome the world. Therefore, we are free to love and serve our neighbor in accordance with the Word of God. This means calling all people to repent of their sin—us too!—and to believe the Gospel—to look to Christ Jesus for forgiveness, mercy, and strength.
And so, "We love because He first loved us…And this commandment we have from Him; whoever loves God must also love his brother." As Christians who have been touched by the transforming power of God's love through His Word and Sacraments, we joyfully serve our neighbor in truth and in righteousness—as Christ Jesus has taught us. Never forsaking the Word of God, but rather proclaiming this Word to the world—holding Christ and His cross ever before their eyes—and before our own. Knowing and trusting that Christ has conquered sin, death, and hell for us—and for our brother. Indeed, now we find that we cannot help but to love our neighbor—even as God has first loved us in Jesus. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.
1 John 4:16-21
Loving God and Loving Your Neighbor
v.21 And this commandment we have from Him [God]; whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Dear friends in Christ, this time of year brings with it much joy and excitement for many families as they anticipate and celebrate the graduation of their loved ones: from high school, college, or other institutions. Not only is this a time to rejoice in these young peoples' accomplishments, but it also is a time to look forward to how God will use them in their new vocations (either in continuing education or in the workforce) to love and serve their neighbor.
Seventy-seven years ago today, many young men (some of whom were younger than most High School graduates today) embarked upon a bitter struggle to rid the world of a great evil in the invasion of Normandy on D-Day. Many lost their lives in that valiant struggle. They lost their lives in loving service to their country—and many others whom they would never know. They did so out of love for their neighbor.
Loving one's neighbor is a high and noble calling for all people—but especially for the Christian. For our Lord Jesus commands us to love our neighbor—and teaches us that by loving our neighbor—we are also loving Him. As Jesus declared in St. Matthew's Gospel (22:37-38), "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But this begs the question: "How? How does one love one's neighbor?"
The world has some peculiar ideas on how this should be done. You've no doubt seen the signs on car bumpers or in front lawns and windows of homes—"Love is love," in bright rainbow colors—evoking the sentiment of "Pride" for the LGBTQ+ community. We are to "love" our neighbor, they exclaim, by not only permitting or tolerating various sexual relationships, but by fully accepting and celebrating them. All people today in our society, whether recent graduates or not, find themselves in the uncomfortable position of bowing to the progressive agenda of the LGBTQ+ community, or enduring the consequences of being labeled a bigot—a hater—a "phobe" of some kind (trans-, homo-, queer-, or otherwise)—and thus facing severe backlash from the current cancel culture. This could mean being kicked out of school, losing one's job, or being shunned both on social media, and in real life as well.
We are to jettison our beliefs from Holy Scripture that the sexual union is reserved for that special relationship between a man and a woman—husband and wife in traditional marriage—to the exclusion of all other relationships—whether homo or heterosexual or anything else. Cease those outmoded ways of thinking—or suffer the consequences. Soon, this may become ensconced in law in the United States with the passing of the Equality Act, which would impose severe penalties not only on churches, but ALL organizations that do not follow the "Pride" flag agenda.
Part of "loving" our neighbor, we are exhorted, includes not "judging" anyone for anything, as they claim Jesus taught. Of course, this is NOT what Jesus taught at all. But rather, Jesus teaches us in Holy Scripture not to judge peoples' actions based upon our own thinking of what is right and what is wrong, but rather to judge solely on the basis of God's Holy Word—not a popular thought in today's cultural context.
However, the apostle John in his first epistle teaches us that a Christian's experience of love is to be formed first and foremost by the love of God for him in Jesus Christ. "So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." We know the love God has for us because the full expression of His love has been given to us in the person and work of Jesus Christ. God's own Son who went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sin—our lack of love for our neighbor—our failure to keep and abide by God's Holy Commandments in His Word. Jesus denied Himself—sacrificed Himself—out of love for us.
As Christians, we are transformed by the love of God for us in Christ Jesus. For many of us, this happened when we were baptized as infants. The Holy Spirit entered into our hearts through water and the Word, casting out the devil, and transforming us into His holy temple—a place where the Word of God dwells richly. This first creates in our hearts love toward God, but this love is then clearly expressed in our love for our neighbor. As John writes in our text, "If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen."
So, beloved, our faith in Christ in our hearts cannot be seen by our neighbor—our brother—but it can be shown in our acts of love toward our brother. Of course, as we have already mentioned, what the world considers love is actually not love—but selfish and self-centered—seeking personal fulfillment and joy in pleasure, and a license to sin. But true love is from God. The worldly "love" of sinful pleasures is misplaced affection, which corrupts that which God created to be good. So, we actually love and serve our neighbor rightly by teaching him God's Word of truth, and encouraging him to live in accordance with that truth.
As John writes in v.15, just prior to our text, "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God." So, we want to love our neighbor by confessing Christ Jesus to him, that he may come to know and believe in Jesus, and so abide in God and God abide in him. This is the great joy of the Gospel proclamation—to share God's love for all people in Jesus Christ. He is God's own Son who gave up His life into death on the cross for the sins of the whole world—for your sins and mine—and for our neighbor's too.
Abiding in this love of God for us in Jesus frees us from all fear. Firstly, we do not fear God's judgement against us on account of our sin, for we know that by faith in Christ Jesus we have been cleansed of all sins of thought, word, and deed. Jesus' blood and righteousness covers over it all. As John commends us, "By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgement, because as He is so also are we in this world." God's love is perfected in us by casting all our sins, griefs, and sorrows onto Christ who bore them to the cross in our place. We have been redeemed by His precious blood, and so we have nothing to fear on the Day of Judgement—the Day when Christ returns in glory to judge the living and the dead—for we have been saved by grace through faith in Him alone.
Just so, then, secondly, what have we to fear of the world? Sure, pagans are going to act like pagans—they are going to hate us—even as they hate and despise the true Jesus of the Bible. But what have we to fear of what they can do to us? Our eternal salvation is secure by the blood of Christ who died for us. So, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." We do not fear the wrath of the world—for the God we believe in has overcome the world. Therefore, we are free to love and serve our neighbor in accordance with the Word of God. This means calling all people to repent of their sin—us too!—and to believe the Gospel—to look to Christ Jesus for forgiveness, mercy, and strength.
And so, "We love because He first loved us…And this commandment we have from Him; whoever loves God must also love his brother." As Christians who have been touched by the transforming power of God's love through His Word and Sacraments, we joyfully serve our neighbor in truth and in righteousness—as Christ Jesus has taught us. Never forsaking the Word of God, but rather proclaiming this Word to the world—holding Christ and His cross ever before their eyes—and before our own. Knowing and trusting that Christ has conquered sin, death, and hell for us—and for our brother. Indeed, now we find that we cannot help but to love our neighbor—even as God has first loved us in Jesus. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.