In the summer of 1975 the musical act Captain and Tennille released their cover of a Neil Sedaka song, “Love Will Keep Us Together.” The song was the number one hit of the year. The author of 1 John might not have appreciated the comparison, but I thought of the song as I reflected on our readings for today. “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them” (1 John 4:16b), we read. In other words, it is in love that we are united in God. If we are to exist as a community it must be with love for our brothers and sisters. Love alone – God’s love – can and will keep us together. The emphasis of the passage is on the source of love. In its truest form love is a gift from God. The author of this passage does little to define love except to contrast it with hate. But it is clear that where hate dismembers, love builds up, and this “building up” is what God wills.
Perhaps it is left to Paul to more fully define love as he does in 1 Corinthians 13. There the demands of love are made clear: patience, kindness, endurance, forbearance, etc. This is the love demonstrated in the life and death of Jesus Christ. This is what God desires from God’s people. To do otherwise is to separate ourselves from those around us and, more importantly, from what God is about in the world because “God is love….” Captain and Tennille may not have been thinking about 1 John 4:16 when they recorded their hit, but I suspect that whenever I hear that song in the future I will regard it differently, as a reminder of what God wishes from me and from you.
Prayer: Help us to love one another, O God, just as you love us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment