Tuesday 12 February 2013

Background

There are some people who, if you know them well enough, you canguess that they are going to say before they open their mouths.John, the writer of this letter, could be one of them as he keepsreturning to certain themes and ideas, love and light being two ofthem.

John's style of writing is very different to others. Whereas theapostle Paul takes an argument or idea and develops itsystematically, step-by-step, John goes round in circles repeatingthe same thing. Except that that is not exactly true, as each timehe returns to it, it is crystallised a little more. Perhaps weshouldn't be surprised that we have heard it before, but thisshould not mean that we switch off - rather that we ask what nuanceis John trying to convey this time.

The word "commandments" can send us straight back to the TenCommandments of the Old Testament (Exodus20) - a list of shalls and shall nots. And the lawyers andscribes spent lifetimes analysing and relating them to daily lifeso that they became books of rules and regulations.

But quite probably John is thinking back to his own Gospel tothe new commandment of Jesus, that "you love another as I haveloved you" (John 15:12). Here is a principle to live by,rather than a rule. And John gives some flesh to it by usinganother of his favourite images - light: "whoever loves a brotheror sister lives in the light ... but whoever hates another believerlives in the darkness, walks in the darkness ..." (vv. 10-11).

It is love that John will return to again and again throughoutthe letter. For him it bears repeating - just as Jesus' life arepeating and constant outpouring of love.

To Ponder

• Often we can switch off when we think we have already heardsomething before. What new insight into an old truth have youhad?

• Try to crystallise into one sentence the commandment that youlive by.

• How do you live "in the light" by that commandment?