Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.
It is an absolute truism today that so much of our society, church and world has devolved into tribalism, sectarianism, nationalism and nativism. While we have all had to contend with the challenges of the Covid-19 virus and its virulent variants, a far more sinister virus of the human heart threatening the solidarity of the human family is the ‘me first’ attitude that, sadly, characterizes a growing segment of our own country.
That vibrant national spirit that enabled the United States to join hands with its fellow citizens and allies to confront and defeat the pure evil of Nazism with its demonic theories of racial purity leading to the genocidal Holocaust, has devolved into an anemic ‘America First’ mentality that narcissistically is seducing more and more of our fellow citizens.
Sadly, many Evangelical Christians, who once were committed to taking the words of the Lord so literally, have been seduced by the spirit of the present age and have betrayed those very same words by supporting both in word and deed the partisanship that so characterizes political discourse today. Rather than challenging folks with words that our fellow citizens need to hear, they mouth the tired bromides that folks want to hear.
Into this toxic environment comes the words of the First Letter of St. John, whose message is more needed and relevant than ever:
Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.
For nearly 2000 years, the ultimate litmus test for authentic living of the Christian faith has been those words that are a balm for the righteous and a searing judgment for the hypocrite.