The Message, April 28, 2024: "Perfect Love," 1 John 4:7-21
Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
April 28, 2024
“Perfect Love”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
1 John 4:7-21
I
would like to begin by sharing the Legend of the Greatest Sermon Ever Preached.
The church was packed that day.
Every pew was full, and people were standing in the aisles. That Sunday they
welcomed one of the most gifted preachers to offer the sermon. As the service
went on, the congregation began to buzz with excitement. It was almost time for
the sermon!
After the second hymn was concluded,
the congregation was hushed with anticipation. Slowly the great orator ascended
the steps of the chancel. He grabbed onto both sides of the pulpit with his
hands and looked out at the people seated and standing before him. Everyone
held their breath …
The preacher took another look at
the congregation, he cleared his throat … “ahem” … and said, “LOVE. Amen.”
“Love. Amen.” Then he returned to
his seat.
I do not know if the legend is true,
but I am pretty sure that there are plenty of people in this room that would
agree that that was the perfect sermon! (I am also certain that there are more
than a handful of preachers that would not mind penning a two-word sermon.)
Love. Amen.
[Turn and go sit down. Bask
in the laughter and applause.]
If only it were that simple. Right?
Love. We hear about it all the time. It is the favorite subject for many
preachers, myself included. It is a four-letter word that is easy enough to
say, but often very hard to do.
I selected this passage for this
week because last week we explored the passage about the Good Shepherd. We
heard about the Good Shepherd that cares for the sheep, and loves the sheep
enough that he is willing to lay down their lives for the sheep. So, it made
sense to follow up a sermon about love with another sermon about love.
But … as I prepared for the message
and our Bible study conversation, I spent some time looking at the context for
which this “letter” was written. Yes … I learned something new.
I thought that the author of John
was referring to all of that nice “love your neighbor” stuff that makes up so
many of our sermons. And this passage is related to that. But the author was
actually addressing a situation within the congregation. He was not telling the
church to love their neighbors. Instead, he was telling them to love one
another. It turns out that a great rift had developed in the church and a
certain number had mutinied … they left the church!
Now, let me assure you. Nothing like
that is happening here. As far as I know, we are not on the brink of a mutiny.
Of course, there is a joke among
pastors that whenever you have twenty church members in a room, you also have
twenty different opinions on how something should be done.
But again, we are in no danger of
that happening here. So then, what are we to do with this passage? How do we
apply a text that was written to heal fractures within a community in our lives
and world today?
As I said a few moments ago, “love”
is an easy word to say, but can be a difficult word to do.
“Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is from God.” You heard the word “love” about twenty-five times
during that passage. We can say it over and over again, but that does not make
it any easier to do.
God IS love. Love is from God. This
is the greatest fundamental statement about God. God is the basis. God is the
source. God is the foundation of all that is, and it is all because God is
love.
God is the source of Creation. Why
did God create us? Love.
God is the source of grace. Why does
God forgive us? Love.
God is the source of providence. Why
does God take care of us? Love.
God is also the source of free will.
Love is not true or genuine if it is not freely given. “Love” that is commanded
or coerced is not love.
So, we are free to love, and we are
free to NOT love. But our call is to choose to love because love is from God,
and we are also from God. It is a circular relationship. It is in knowing God
that we learn how to love, and it is by loving that we come to know God.
However, hearing that, understanding
the concept of that does not make it any easier to love those who hurt us.
Knowing that love is from God does not make it any easier to love those who
commit acts of violence, or warfare, or hate. Loving can be very difficult to
do.
Love is from God … God IS love … but
we are not God. It is hard for our minds to comprehend the magnitude, the expansiveness
of God’s love. In the same way, it is hard for us to grasp the expansiveness of
grace and mercy of God’s love. It is hard for us to even imagine what God’s
love looks like.
I know. I am not giving you any answers
here. In fact, I am challenging you to contemplate the questions. Verse 12 ups
the ante:
“No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another,
God lives in us, and God’s love is made complete in us.”
God’s
love is made complete in us. It is fulfilled in us. That is not to say in any
way that God’s love is somehow imperfect, insufficient, or incomplete. God’s
love is fulfilled when it is made visible and concrete in us. In Jesus Christ,
God’s Perfect Love, God’s Love Incarnate came to earth in flesh and bone. He is
the link between God’s love and the way that we are called to manifest that
love. We too are called to God’s love incarnate. We too are called to be God’s
love in flesh and blood and bone.
God’s
Perfect Love reaches its intended goal when it creates a community of love.
God’s love reaches its intended goal when it becomes God’s love among us.
Will
we falter? Absolutely.
Will
we stumble and fall short? More likely than not.
But
that is the beauty and the peace of God’s grace. God is in us. God’s love is in
us. Let us hold that in our hearts and minds. God IS in us.
Love.
Amen.
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