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Today's scripture reading is from 1 John, chapter 2, verses 1 to 14, as printed in the liturgy.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.
But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
Whoever says, I know him, but does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.
By this we may know that we are in him.
Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment,
but an old commandment that you had from the beginning.
The old commandment is the word that you have heard.
At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you,
which is true in him and in you,
because the darkness is passing away,
and the true light is already shining.
Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.
Whoever loves his brother abides in the light,
and in him there is no cause for stumbling.
But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness,
and walks in the darkness,
and does not know where he is going,
because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
I am writing to you, little children,
because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake.
I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Well, thank you for that scripture reading, Catherine.
Good morning, Christ Church.
My name is Andrew, one of the pastors here,
and we're glad to be worshiping with you together
this last Sunday of Easter,
this Ascension Sunday.
So before we get into God's word,
will you join me in prayer?
Lord God, we come before you
looking to hear from you
a fresh word
about how to live in this broken world.
God, we come before you
lamenting the wickedness
that we continue to witness
this 27th school shooting
just this year in this country, God.
And you know that this is not
the way things were meant to be.
We know this is not the way
things were meant to be,
so we come before you
and ask that you would show up,
that you would make a difference,
make a change.
And would you start with us, God?
Would you start with us
as we listen to what you have to say,
as we consider our responsibility,
our complicity with the darkness
that we witness all around us?
Would you bring us to repentance, God?
And as we repent,
would we come to know
the beautiful grace
that you love to show us in Christ?
And would we be messengers of that grace
in this world that sorely needs it,
that sorely needs your transformation
and healing, God?
We pray for the families
who've lost so much this week
and then the weeks before as well, God.
We thank you that you're the God
of all comfort,
you're the God of hope,
and you're the God of transformation.
Lord, make us a people
who are about all that you are
because that's what the world needs.
So would you,
even as we come before you
with heavy hearts,
impress upon us
the importance of following you
and listening to you
and walking in your way
because every other way is death, Lord.
And we want to live
in your life, light, and love.
Hear our prayers
in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
Good morning, Christ Church.
Again, I'm Andrew,
and it's good to worship with you
on this last Sunday of Easter.
You know, I was really proud of myself
this past Monday.
I usually don't start my sermon
until like Wednesday or Thursday,
but I was really proud of myself
because this Monday, Monday night,
I had my introduction done,
I had my three points,
we were ready to go.
Eric had his songs lined up,
they were very celebratory,
celebratory,
and we were going to celebrate
this last Sunday of Easter,
this Ascension Sunday.
We were going to continue our series
in 1 John.
I knew exactly what I was going
to talk to us about.
And then Tuesday happened, right?
These tragic events on Tuesday.
22 people, right,
made in the image of God,
killed.
19 children,
third and fourth graders,
two elementary school teachers.
My sister's an elementary school teacher,
and of course,
the shooter himself,
deeply troubled.
And after the events of Tuesday,
you know,
I just couldn't read this text
the same way.
And I knew I couldn't preach
this text the same way.
And we scrapped the songs
that we were going to sing
because we couldn't sing the song,
we couldn't sing,
oh, for a thousand tongues
to sing my great Redeemer's praise,
not because he's not praiseworthy,
but just because
that's not the moment.
This is not the moment for that.
So I'm coming before you,
having scrapped my sermon,
started over on Wednesday,
because I just couldn't read the text
in the same way.
And you know,
this text that Catherine read for us
is a text about knowing God,
and it's about knowing
that we know God.
And we're definitely going to
touch upon that today,
and especially as we go on
in this letter,
because that's a huge theme
in the letter of 1 John.
But today,
I'm going to take it
in a slightly different direction.
And you know,
in seminary,
I'd probably get an F
for how I'm about to handle this text.
And I don't want to encourage us
to just read the Bible
however we want, right?
However it just
makes us feel good,
or makes it feel relevant to us.
I want us to read the Bible
as it calls us to read it.
But I also believe
that the Scriptures
are infinitely rich,
and full of applications
that are worthy
of pausing to explore,
even in some of the
minor details.
All right,
so with that big caveat,
I want to start
by drawing our attention
to verse 1,
where it says,
my little children.
My little children.
I could not read that this week
in the same way anymore.
My little children.
Now when we read that
in verse 1,
what do you sense?
You hear the tenderness, right?
You hear the affection,
a glimpse of the heart
behind the writing
of 1 John.
There's this sense
of a fatherly
or a motherly
responsibility
that the apostles have
extending beyond
their own biological children.
They see themselves
as parents that long
for all the people
under their care
to thrive.
And while this was probably
written in a church context
where the writer felt
parental responsibility
for this particular
community of faith
comprised of all kinds
of people,
not just children,
people of all ages
calling them children though,
I still think it's fair
to draw a particular
point of application
and it's this.
God's people
ought to be marked
by a concern
for children
who aren't our own.
God's people
ought to be marked
by a concern
for children
who are not our own.
That's important to us
here at Christ Church.
That's why we've committed
12 grand
to Harbor House this year
to serve the children
of Oakland.
We're trying to serve them
meals at their summer camp
this summer.
This is why we love
to partner with
Foster the City
and we have families
in this church
supporting foster families
in the Bay Area.
This is why
Christ Church
loves to,
we've given thousands
of dollars,
committed lots of time
to shopping
and organizing
and praying for
and listening to
other families
trying to help them
stay out of the foster system
through our
care portal ministry.
This is why many of us,
what,
we support
Compassion International.
We give
and we support children,
right?
Even one of our elders,
Karen Weslowski,
is on the board
of Compassion International.
This is about,
this is what we're about here.
We love children
but guess what,
Christ Church,
our work is not done.
Our work is not done.
On Tuesday's events
have made it clear
that there's still
far more to do
for the children
of our society.
And I think
we all intuitively
felt that this past week
when we heard
the tragic news,
right?
Oh God,
no,
not the children,
not our children.
See,
we,
the children of God,
we must care
about the children
of our society
who are not our own.
both the overlooked children
inside the womb
and the rest
of the children
outside of the womb.
These children outside
of the womb
for whom firearms,
not car accidents,
not COVID,
not illnesses,
but guns
are the leading
cause of death
in this country.
It is ridiculous.
It is unacceptable.
And we have got
to care about this.
And we have got
to care in prayer
as people on our knees
saying,
God,
we are helpless
and apart from you
we can do
no good thing.
So help us
because we
and our world
are in a hopeless
downward spiral.
We must care
in prayer.
We must also care
in action,
Christ Church.
Not just folding
our hands in prayer,
but extending
our hands
in care.
Loving our neighbors
in the name of Jesus
and in his sacrificial manner.
Giving our time,
our talent,
and our treasures.
Investing in the children
of our society.
Raising our voices
in their silence.
Stewarding our influence
for their good.
Building and modeling
strong families
and inviting those
with no families
into our own.
We must take
civic responsibility.
We must take
our civic responsibility
so seriously.
We must study
the intricacies
of public policy
and make informed votes.
Not so easily swayed
by the simplistic
tribalistic partisanship
that is tearing
our nation apart.
And we must also
not vote out of
mere self-preservation
or self-protection,
but for the greater good
of our communities.
And then on a personal level,
we also need to keep
our eyes out
for those amongst us.
Those who are
on the margins.
Those who are
at risk
and unsupported.
Possibly hurting more
than we can see
on the surface.
We must pursue people
with compassion
and curiosity
and interest.
The ministry
of just being a friend.
Because you know,
it's not just
the murdered children
that came to my mind
as I read
this opening verse
and contemplated
the tenderness
of this
my little children.
I also thought about
the shooter himself.
Salvador Ramos, right?
And I wondered
who, if anyone,
ever spoke
to him so tenderly
and with such affection.
Whoever took ownership
of him
as their beloved child.
Yes, there are
a ton of complex,
multi-layered
and interrelated
dimensions
to this tragedy,
but I couldn't help
notice the profile
of this shooter
who seemed
not to have much
of a fatherly presence
in his life.
Whose family
has a background
of trauma
and brokenness
and drug use
and felony.
And it just made me wonder,
you know,
like,
whoever spoke tenderly
to him?
Whoever called him
their own?
Whoever wrote him
love letters,
affectionate letters,
longing for him
to thrive,
running to him
in order that he
might not sin?
Verse 1,
my little children,
I am writing
these things
to you
so that you
may not sin.
See, this thing
that we do
when we open up
the scriptures,
when we open up
these letters,
this letter here
in 1 John,
this opening up
of God's word
when we preach it,
when we encourage you
to dig into
these Bible plans
that we have,
you know,
I'm not saying
that reading the Bible
is some magic button
that's gonna get rid
of sin altogether,
but could it be
that when we open up
these scriptures,
when we look at a letter
like 1 John,
could it be that
the stakes
are higher
than we realize
when we open up
God's word
and it calls us
away from sin?
Could it be
that this repeated
message we hear
over and over
and over again
from the Bible
to not sin,
this super basic
message, right?
Could it be
that that might
actually be
the voice of God
trying to get
our attention?
Yeah, okay,
pastor, I know,
I know I'm not
supposed to sin,
but do we
really know?
Do we really
realize the stakes
of sin?
No, even for myself,
I normally
am not stirred
by a verse
like this
because it just
seems so cliche,
right?
So cliche,
oh, of the Bible
telling me not to sin?
Shocking, right?
But then Tuesday
happened,
and I was like,
maybe that we
should not sin
isn't so basic,
isn't so common
sense after all.
Like thinking
about this shooter,
contemplating the
reality of my
own potential
for egregious
sin,
that is in me
as well.
It made me think,
what if this is
exactly what we
need to hear?
And often,
my little children,
I am writing
these things to you
so that you
may not sin.
Like what if
what we needed
was someone
lovingly calling
us their own
children and
tenderly persuading
us to not sin?
Maybe that's
exactly what we
need after all,
right?
Yeah, we all know
the Ten Commandments,
we all know,
everyone knows,
thou shalt not
murder.
Who needs to
be told that,
right?
Well, apparently,
we, our society,
still very much
needs that message.
See, Tuesday's
tragic events
should open up
our eyes to see
that a line like
this,
I am writing
these things to
you so that you
may not sin.
It isn't about
just modifying
some religious
behavior.
It isn't about
restrictions on
your pleasure,
fun, and freedom.
This is life and
death stuff.
Yes, some sin
is more heinous
than other sin.
And not all sin
leads to immediate
death, but all sin
does lead to
eventual death
in one way
or another.
So we need to
remember.
We need to remember
even as we think,
we already know,
okay, okay, okay,
I know I'm not
supposed to sin.
We need to sober up
and remember that
these things aren't
written to just get
us to be better
rule followers.
Goody two-shoes,
these things are
written because
the way of sin
is the way of
death.
The way of sin
is the way of
death.
And the reality
is that there is
sin in each and
every one of us.
Yeah, sure, there is
definitely a lot of
blame and fault that
we can identify and
cry out against
outside of us.
Yes, I'm going to
admit that.
We should hold
people and
institutions accountable.
And we can talk
about how better
gun control or
red flag laws or
law enforcement or
healthy thriving
families.
We can talk about
responsible parenthood
and poverty relief
and mental health
services or even
just friendship and
kindness on the
playground, right?
We can talk about
all the millions of
factors that could
have led and
contributed to a
far less tragic day
this past Tuesday
in Uvalde.
But even as we
seek to call out
injustice in this
world and even as
we seek to demand
that other people
and other
institutions change,
Michael Jackson had
it right.
We need to start
with the man in
the mirror.
Our pursuit of
justice, it needs
to always include
critical self-
examination and a
pursuit of justice
and righteousness in
our own hearts and
in our own lives
before our God.
It's true that we
don't even have
enough fingers.
We don't even have
enough fingers to
point at all that
went wrong, all the
things that went
wrong leading up to
all the shootings in
Buffalo and Laguna
Woods and Uvalde.
But at the very least,
let us not forget to
use each of our two
thumbs to consider
our responsibility,
our complicity in
all the darkness and
in all the tragedy in
this world.
Salvador Ramos' sin is
his sin for sure,
but it is our nation's
sin as well.
It is mine and it is
yours.
And no, maybe it
wasn't your mean,
bullying words that
put these specific
shooters on their
paths.
Maybe it wasn't your
prejudices that
influenced them.
Maybe it wasn't the
drugs that you enjoyed
in college that came
from the same source
as the source that got
Ramos' mother hooked.
But imagine what
kinds of toxic effects
our many instances of
unkindness and
prejudice and reckless
consumption may actually
have had that we just
have no idea about.
It's like dumping trash
and pollution into the
ocean, right?
We may never know the
full effects of our sin
and our selfishness and
our negligence on every
sea creature.
We might not see that
turtle that goes into
that plastic thing that
holds the cans, right?
We might never see the
turtle suffer from that.
We might never see the
rest of the world suffer
because we threw some
trash into the sea.
We may never know how
much our unkind words
have influenced our
children and how they've
harmed others on the
playground.
We may never know how
much we've perpetuated
toxic masculinity and
the objectification and
trafficking of human
bodies when we view
pornography.
But God's word tells us
that our sin is not
without effect.
Probably way more
devastating, probably way
more corrupting than we
could imagine.
Even if they have not
led to mass school
shootings, our sins, our
failure to live God's way
and to love our neighbors
has left our world
drastically, drastically
damaged.
And events like Tuesdays
have to sober us up to
this reality.
We cannot be cool with
sin.
We cannot be cool with
sin.
To quote the 17th century
Puritan theologian from
Oxford, John Owen, we
must be killing sin or sin
will be killing us.
Because that's what we're
witnessing happen in these
shootings.
Sin is killing us.
This exhortation to not
sin, this is not a
religious game.
This is an exhortation to
not participate in death.
This is an invitation to
life.
I mean, so serious is sin,
as it says in verse 2,
it demands propitiation.
It demands the satisfaction
of justice and the
appeasement of wrath
against all that
dishonors God and
destroys this world.
It is right to be furious
at the evil that happened
on Tuesday.
It is in alignment with
the heart of God whose
wrath burns against
injustice.
But guess what?
There is a wrath against
each of our sins too.
For all the havoc that
our sins have wreaked upon
this world that God made
and that God loves.
So as we go through this
letter, 1 John, for the
rest of the summer, please,
Christ Church, please hear
these words and take them
to heart.
My little children, I am
writing these things to you
so that you may not sin.
And if you're like me,
you're like, oh shoot,
well too late, right?
I already did.
I already do.
And I know I will again.
Well then hear the rest of
the verse in 1 and verse 1
and 2.
Because this is the gospel.
It says,
But if anyone does sin,
we have an advocate with
the Father, Jesus Christ,
the righteous.
He is the propitiation for
our sins and not for ours
only, but also for the sins
of the whole world.
And this is the good news
of redemption in Christ.
Like honestly, and I don't
mean to over-psychologize,
I admit I have no idea
what was going on in that
deranged mind of the
shooter in Texas.
But I do wonder, what if he
had known this?
After shooting his
grandmother in the face,
what if he had known that
even for him, even for a
sin so wicked as shooting
the grandmother who is
housing you in the face,
what if he had known that
there was still someone
willing to advocate for
him?
Someone willing to pay the
price of propitiation for
all the wrath he'd begun to
stir up against himself?
Might this truth about Christ
as advocate and propitiation,
might it have freed him from
feeling like he might as well
just go all the way, give
himself completely to the way
of death and visit Robb
Elementary School?
See, I'm not up here trying
to convince you of a
religion.
I'm not trying to modify
behavior up here.
I'm not here to just share a
mythological feel-good story.
This is real-life stuff.
This is divinely inspired
truth that has the power to
transform and change the
world and to save lives both
now and into eternity.
All right.
I hope I've made clear the
seriousness of sin and the
glory of God's grace in Jesus
Christ.
And I hope you can see that
if this is all true, then it
is of the utmost importance
that we know this God, that we
know this Jesus person as our
advocate and as our propitiation,
that there's nothing more
important than knowing Jesus in
this personal way, nothing more
important than being, as it says
in verse 5, in him.
There's nothing more important
than being united with Jesus.
And you know, 1 John is written
to help people discern whether
they really did know Jesus,
whether they really did belong
to him.
It was written to help people
know whether or not they really
had an advocate, whether or not
they really had propitiation for
their sins.
It was written to show them what
it looks like to know God.
See, one thing that you need to
know about this letter, 1 John, is
that it's written to a Christian
community that's seen some
attrition.
In chapter 2, verse 19, the letter
refers to some people who it says,
went out from us, but they were
not of us.
For if they had been of us, they
would have continued with us, but
they went out that it might become
plain that they all are not of us.
So what 1 John is, is a letter to
those who have remained but are sad
and hurt and confused because of all
the losses they've seen in their
community.
Especially because those who left
were saying and teaching and
believing things quite different from
what these readers were taught from
the beginning.
Those who had left believed different
things about who Jesus was.
Those who had left believed different
things about what was sin and
darkness and about what was
righteousness and light.
And so you can imagine all the seeds
of confusion and distraction and
doubt sown among this church.
So a big theme in this letter, 1 John,
the purpose of this letter, as we'll
see throughout, is what does it look
like to really know God?
How do I know that I am in a right
and proper relationship with Him?
How do I know that Jesus is actually
advocating for me and that His blood
is the propitiation for my sins too?
1 John wants to make clear how we can
know that we know God.
And here's the answer in verse 3.
And by this we know that we have come
to know Him, drum roll, if we keep
His commandments.
If we keep His commandments.
We know Him if we keep His commandments.
If we do not sin.
Verse 4.
Whoever says, I know Him, but does not
keep His commandments, is a liar.
And the truth is not in him.
But whoever keeps His word, in Him
truly the love of God is perfected.
By this we may know that we are in Him.
Whoever says he abides in Him ought to
walk in the same way in which He walked.
We know that we know God when we walk
in His way, when we obey His commandments.
Now there are two things I want to say
about that though.
First, we need to be clear what this is
not saying.
This is not saying that you need to
obey God perfectly in order to have
a real relationship with Him.
This is not saying that obedience is
the grounds for union with God.
No.
Obedience to God's commandments, keeping
His word, and walking in the same way
as Jesus are not what establish our
relationship with God.
They are evidences of our relationship
with God.
They are not the cause but the effects
that demonstrate we actually know Him.
So he's not saying obey so that you
can have a relationship with God.
He's saying obey because you already
have a relationship with God.
Look at verses 12 to 14.
He says,
I'm writing to you not to sin because
your sins have been forgiven.
Because you already know God, the
Father who is from the beginning.
Because God's word is already in you
and in Christ and by His Spirit you've
already overcome the evil and the
victory is already yours.
He's already said it is finished.
We do not earn a relationship with God
through obedience.
We live out our relationship with God
through obedience.
Alright, but now the second thing I want
to say is that while the grounds of
our union with God is faith alone.
A genuine faith is never alone.
A genuine faith is always accompanied
by the pursuit of obedience.
For how can we say we know God in a
personal and intimate way as the maker
and sustainer and redeemer of the world
and not walk in His way and have no
desire to submit to Him?
How can we say we know Jesus and abide in
Him and admire Him as the way and the
truth and life and yet not walk in His
way of life?
Now the Spirit of God who united us with
Christ in the first place and who
continues to dwell within us, He is too
powerful and He is too loving to allow
for such dissonance.
And I know that this talk about
obedience, right, it might seem like so
dutiful, right, and so unromantic, so
far from how we understand love.
But I want to challenge us to think about
it.
Because if you think about it, there is no
such thing as real love apart from
covenantal commitment and submission.
There's no such thing as real love apart
from covenantal commitment and submission.
Think about marriage.
If I say that I know and I love my wife
and that I'm invested in my union with
her, does that mean I should have no
duty or obligation to consider what she
desires and asks of me?
No, in fact, it is because I love her that
even when she asks me to clean the
toilets and change the diapers, in a
truly loving relationship, fulfilling my
duty to her and doing things I don't want
to do is beautifully transformed into
delight.
And that's the thing that grows love.
And I think Jesus Himself understood this
and He wanted this for us when He said,
If you love me, you will obey my commandments.
That's what Jesus said.
If you love me, you will obey my commandments.
So 1 John is unambiguous.
If we know and love God, we will obey God.
If we are united with Jesus, we will walk in
His way and we will keep His word.
And thus God's love, which brought us to
Himself in the first place, God's love will
continue to work itself out in us unto the
perfection of all that we were meant to be.
And this is good news.
This is good news because this is the very
process by which God is making us people of
love, people who walk in life, light, and love.
And this brings me to verses 7 through 11.
God wants us to be people of love.
1 John makes explicit what the way of Jesus
is and what the ultimate command is that
evidences our relationship with God.
Verse 7.
Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment,
but an old commandment that you had from the
beginning.
The old commandment is the word that you have
heard.
At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am
writing to you, which is true in him and in you
because the darkness is passing away and the true
light is already shining.
Whoever says he is in the light and hates his
brother is still in darkness.
Whoever loves his brother abides in the light,
and in him there is no cause for stumbling.
But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness
and walks in the darkness and does not know where he
is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
How do we know we know God?
What does it look like to walk in the light?
What is the command we must obey that demonstrates our
union with Christ?
Well, it's the old command we've known from the
beginning that we must love our neighbors as
ourselves.
An old command and a new command, finally fulfilled and
freshly mandated in Christ, who is the light of the
world, who came into our darkened dwelling to love his
neighbors, even us.
Not simply through charity or random acts of kindness or in
some kind of fleeting romantic way, but with his whole
life poured out for us unto death on a cross to be our
advocate and to be our propitiation.
See, in Jesus, this old and crusty and hard to obey command of
loving our neighbors as ourselves, it becomes fresh and it
becomes new and it becomes inspiring for us to obey.
First John will later say, we love because he first loved us.
We love because he first loved us.
So Christ Church, the question for us is, will we?
Will we love?
Will we love or will we walk in darkness, blind and having no
real idea where we are going, stumbling around to our own
destruction and the destruction of others?
Do we believe that we've been loved first by a God who so loved the
world that he gave us his only son?
Do we believe in a heavenly father who voluntarily opted to identify
with a pain and an anguish, not unlike those 22 grieving families in
Uvalde, a God who did so in order to redeem this world?
And if we believe that he loved us at this great a cost, well then how
then can we do anything but love him and our neighbors?
And what effect might that have on this broken world?
Christ Church, how will we love this week?
How will we love this week and so prove to be Christ's disciples?
How will we love this week and thus bear witness to the power of God's love for us
and for our world?
May we see his love perfected in us and in every object of the love we pour out
in his precious name.
Will you pray with me?
Amen.
Lord God, we want to be these people of love that you called us to be.
We find it hard though because mostly we just love ourselves.
So would you place before us, would you cause us to behold the love of Christ?
The one who loved us, who gave himself for us, the one who showed us the greatest act of love.
And would that change us?
Would that change and transform us in such a way that changes and transforms the world around us,
this world that is so devoid of love?
Start with us, Lord.
Start with us gazing upon the Savior.
And transform us into the people of life, light, and love that you want us to be.
For your glory and for the good of our world, we pray.
Amen.