Living in the Light of God as a Koinonia

    by Erica Joy Samosino

Scripture Text: 1 John 1:1-2:2

Good morning, everyone! I’m glad to be with you this morning, preaching to a community of theologians. Although I never expected to be preaching online but still I’m immensely grateful for this virtual worship, where we can still feel the spirit of koinonia, despite the distance…
Let us pray, Dear God, fill our hearts and minds with Your Spirit as we ponder upon Your Word. Make us willing to listen so we may fully understand Your message. Be with us O Lord, Amen!
Our text for this morning is taken from one of the Johannine Epistles, which is closely related to the Gospel of John in terms of language and thought. So, these letters were probably written by a pupil of the fourth Evangelist, the author of John’s Gospel, perhaps by a respected “elder” within a circle of faith communities. We can notice that the prologue of 1 John (1:1-4) echoes the prologue of John’s Gospel in several themes, one of which is its insistence on the incarnation—that the Word became flesh and lived among us (John 1:14). The “in the beginning” phrase in the Gospel of John 1:1-3 was obviously modeled after Genesis 1:1. Then the Gospel of John places “the Word” at the beginning with the Father.  And 1 John 1:1 also, strikes the same note. Another theme of John’s Gospel that is similar to 1 John is the concept of light. The general message of the 1^st chapter of 1 John is, God being the light and those who know God are called to manifest such light in daily living. Brothers and sisters in Christ, journey with me as I reflect on what it means to be “Living in the Light of God as a Koinonia”.
Given that the themes of 1 John are also prominent in John’s Gospel, the writing is most likely addressed to a community for whom the Gospel of John is particularly important. At the time of the writing (near the end of the first century) it is a community in crisis. Early Christians were confronted with two pressing issues: lethargy and heresy. Lethargy – a lack of energy and enthusiasm – came about because Christians lost sight of their distinctiveness as disciples of Jesus Christ. They blended in with the world around them. And heresy – false teaching – came about as a result of competing ideologies and those who were eager to put their particular spin on the gospel message. The author writes to members of the community to prevent them from being led astray by the false teachings. This is the reason why the writer of this letter begins with a testimony that Jesus is concretely experienced by the so-called eyewitnesses on earth. From the outset, the author wants to make it clear: He and his followers are writing from first-hand experience: “We declare to you that which we have seen and heard.” They were witnesses of Jesus Christ. When we say witness, this means you were present, you were right there. And being a witness implies testimony of what you have heard and seen. Now, this is what the writer is doing. But this time, he is not just a witness, but he now becomes bearer of Christ’s message. One who carries and holds Christ’s message of truth - which is salvation for all.
In verse 4 it says, “And we are writing this that our joy may be complete”. This isn’t what we thought the writer would say.  We expected him to say, “that YOUR joy may be fulfilled,” but instead he says, “that OUR joy may be fulfilled.” The apostles could not be joyful of the news that churches are in conflict and of disciples falling away.  Such news could only make them sad at least. The author is writing in the hope that these disciples might continue in faithful service and to keep them from stumbling. If his letter is successful, the apostles will indeed be filled with joy.
Someone has first told you about Jesus, right? Who have you told lately? Have you become bearer of Christ’s message? Have you told your friends or someone, about what Christ has done to your life? Have you ever shared the amazing things that Jesus did to you? Sharing your experiences with Jesus might encourage other people who have been weakened in their faith. Your stories might remind them of God’s love for us. All of us are witnesses of this love, we must not remain a witness, but bearers of Christ’s message.
In verses 5-10, it talks about the concept of dualism which is also highlighted in the Gospel of John. Wherein there is a contrasting idea: light-darkness; truth-lie; God-evil; love-hate and life-death. But the pronoun “this” in verse 5, refers to the ensuing phrase “that God is light”. It is the message that is received from the early believers and is now being handed over to another generation of Christians: “that God is light and in God there is no darkness at all”. Light is introduced here as God’s character which has been revealed through Jesus, who is also introduced as the Light. “God is light” expresses what God means for humankind. Light here, is a general attribute of salvation. God as light illumines the world, gives humankind luminosity in daily and spiritual living. The Johannine community may be experiencing adversities from the outside world, hated but assured of victory by Christ’s own overcoming of the world.
As Christians, as servants of God, we already received this light. The eternal flame of God’s word is within us and we need to allow this light to shine upon us. So that people around us will be enlightened and in that sense, we can live in the light of God as a koinonia. But then living in the light of God implies truth. Here, we can assume that the false teachers claim to have fellowship with God, but the writer of this letter believes that they are walking in darkness––that their lives are evil––that they don’t tell the truth––and that they are living under the threat of condemnation.  In that case, they are lying when they say that they have fellowship with God. They aren’t telling the truth.
As church workers, it is our responsibility to manifest God’s light that entails truth. It is something that God has tasked us to do. Living in the light of God is living in solidarity with our fellows, it is living in solidarity with each other in joys and sorrows. Becoming a light to the people around us is helping them in whatever means possible. Sometimes it means helping our classmates understand and catch up on our lessons. It could also be through listening to them so we can understand what they’re going through. Sometimes, we are blinded by our own adversities and tend to forget to attend to our responsibilities. Listen to your classmates, to your family group, to our professor, are we giving them light? Or have we contributed to their dark days by invalidating the struggles they are into? My dear friends, we have received and have been living in God’s light, let this light be visible in us, in this case we are telling the truth that we have known and have fellowship with God.
The writer, in the introductory part of Chapter 2 is reminding the people of who Jesus is. It is a Christological claim that Jesus is an advocate, righteous, and the atoning sacrifice. This is actually the reason why we have been living in the light of God. We have received this light because of the atoning sacrifice. The words advocate, righteous, expiation for sins or atoning sacrifice are put together. They are used to describe the divine characteristic of Jesus. This imagery is extended by the claim that in Jesus “we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense” (NIV). The Greek term paraklhtov" or parakletos in literal transliteration means “called to [a friend's] side”. In ancient jurisprudence the “advocate” was counsel for the defense before the court. And in our time now, we call this lawyer. In the Fourth Gospel that mediation is provided by the Holy Spirit, expressly described as “another Advocate” (John 14:16-17 NRSV), who is sent by God or by Christ (John 16:7) to remind the church of Jesus' instruction (John 14:26), to bear witness to Jesus (John 15:26), and to execute judgment of the world (John 16:7-11). Within the New Testament only the Johannine tradition depicts Jesus (and the Spirit) as “advocate”.
Characterizing Jesus as an expiation, a sacrifice of atonement or reconciliation between human beings and God conveys how sinners are cleansed by their sins. God’s nature toward human beings is one of merciful love. It is not God's anger with us that must be turned away, but our rebellion against God. Expiation is an expression of God's love, which removes sin from the sinner. Note also that the writer emphasizes that Jesus' sacrifice is “not for our sins only but also for the sins of the whole world” (2:2 NRSV; see also 4:14). For all of his preoccupation with the church, the writer’s vision of Christ's saving sacrifice is universal and inclusive.
My dear friends, just as Jesus Christ, our love which comes with forgiveness must be broad, encompassing those who we perceive are not deserving of our forgiveness. Christ died for us that we might live together in the unity of the Holy Spirit, sharing the Good News of God’s love, mercy and forgiveness, both by what we say and by what we do. Jesus told us in Jn 13:34 to “Love one another, just as I have loved you”. For me, it is more than a commandment. It’s an opportunity. It is an opportunity for us to serve those we do not like. It is an opportunity for us to forgive those long term adversaries. It is an opportunity for us to understand and accept them. Most of all, it is an opportunity for us to show how God loves us.
After Easter, then what? “Jesus Christ is Risen Today” … what then? Where do we go from here? Is the rest of the year just one big anti-climax? Let us share the light of God that we have so that nobody will walk in darkness. Be a bearer of Christ’s message, share your stories about God to lift the weak up and those who need God’s word and in this sense we can manifest the truth that we have fellowship with the Almighty. Above all, the reason for this light is Jesus who is our advocate and the atoning sacrifice. This is what it means to be “Living in the Light of God as a Koinonia”. In the name of Creator, the Redeemer and Sustainer, Amen! 

(This sermon was delivered during the Virtual Wednesday Chapel Service held last April 14, 2021 via ZOOM and Facebook Live.)