Loving God

“Beloved, we love God because he first loved us.  If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:19-5:4).   Have any truer words been spoken?   This is the litmus test for love of God.  

Most of us would fail this test because the word “brother” doesn’t just mean a sibling.   It means those all around us (including our sisters of course).  Then again, it may be easier to love God more than a brother especially when dealing with those around us who drive us crazy.   “God please give me the patience to at least tolerate my brother who sets my nerves on edge!  Love him?!  Love that self-centered egotist?   Lord, I’m no saint, and that’s what it will require.”  Then again, the reading speaks of “hate” that’s orders of magnitude beyond simply “dislike.”

Whatever!  I suggest we not speak of hate and work harder at heeding the best prescription for loving God – the one provided in the Gospel reading for today, the one found in the scroll Jesus unrolled and then read: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” 

Let’s bring glad tidings to the poor through generosity and kind and caring words.  Let’s proclaim liberty to captives by freeing those tightly bound by our lack of forgiveness and hard-heartedness, i.e., forgive.  Let’s recover the sight of the blind by helping them not be blind to injustice and social ills.  Let’s let the oppressed go free by helping them (and us) recognize the harm of prejudice and racism.

If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but harms his brother, he needs our love and support to bring the Spirit of the Lord upon them for a year(s) acceptable to the Lord.

Deacon David Pierce