1 John 3:16-24

Easter 4 - Year B

1 John 3:16-24

Today at General Conference there was to be a time of “Holy Conferencing”. Because of debates over Rules this began late. There were technical snafus that also got in the way of a number of groups. Gil Rendle had some helpful words about changes in church and culture in the last years that could and should lead us to look again at what it means to be in mission in a world that is asking similar questions but coming up with a whole variety of responses (this is different from just a short time ago when we had the same answer to the same question). Unfortunately there were time issues that were a convenient excuse to not process our various conversations.

This passage would have been helpful to have reviewed before intentionally deeper conversation than usual. What does it mean to lay down one’s life for another? If Jesus could do it, why can’t his followers? It is difficult to intigrate truth and action and to know this frailty is important to dealing with our differences. How do we get beyond our feelings that have tied us to G*D in such dogmatic ways? We keep confusing loving another with desiring for them to reflect our self.

Without a serious attempt to abide in another and to have that reciprocated, there is no conferencing—supposedly “holy” or not.