Yvonne and I are extremely fortunate in that we both came from homes where we had two parents who let us know that we belonged, we were loved, and we were valued. As children this was not something we appreciated as we should have done, until we were out of the family home and making a home of our own.
Both of our parents grew up in the lean times near the beginning of the last century, just after the First World War and on into the Depression. As young people their lives were torn apart by the Second World War. Yvonne’s late father was interned in a prison camp, an experience that left its scars.
My own late father was shipped from miserable destination to squalid encampment in the North African arena. Along the way he contracted malaria. He managed to collect a kitbag of memorabilia, only to have it stolen when he returned to port in England. Even his few good memories were taken away.
Our brothers and sisters, and eventually ourselves, were born in the 1950’s, a time in Great Britain when you still shopped with ration coupons and the best food you could eat was that which you could grow for yourself.
As children we did not realize the giving up and the sacrifices that our parents went through so that we could have the things they never dreamed of. There were times when our childish selfishness, must have driven them to the point of despair, but they carried on loving us just the same.
We are continuing to look this morning at the first letter of John. For the first two chapters he has spoken of the need to ‘Walk in the Light’ and live up to the name of being ‘God’s Children.’ He has spoken of the reality of sin and evil in our own lives and in the world, and the corresponding reality of God’s salvation that can be known by placing our faith in Jesus.
In the middle of the third chapter, he moves on to speak about love. John speaks of God as a parent, of the love of Jesus Christ and the nurturing of the Holy Spirit. Many of us have a point of reference, in the love we have experienced at the hand of our own families. However, John’s point of reference was not his own mom or dad, but the love he had experienced at the hand of Jesus and among the community of the disciples.
Some scholars believe John’s letter to be the authentic writings of John, described as ‘the disciple Jesus loved.’ (John 13:23, 19:26 & 21:7). According to tradition, John ‘the elder’ was the only disciple whose life did not end in early martyrdom, but he lived to a ripe old age and exercised leadership in the earliest church.
1 John speaks of the love of Jesus as though it were firsthand experience. Jesus had washed his feet. He had heard Jesus teaching, “I am the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep.” He had stood at the cross with the mother of Jesus and heard Him pray, “Father Forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.” John was the one who, in His dying moments, Jesus asked to take care of His mother and John took Mary, the mother of Jesus, to his home and cared for her. (John 19:26-27)
John knew what sort of love surrounded the life of Jesus. From out of that rich experience the author of John tells us, 1 John 3:16, “This is what love is, that Jesus laid down His life for us.”
When I hear those words, I think of my own parents, who during the war years, were literally prepared to lay down their lives, who went without so much that we may have an abundance, whose love was not often expressed through a gush of words but was rather a reality we experienced through daily actions.
But hold on - ‘laying down His life’, that is only half the verse. We who have been loved have an obligation laid upon us. We who have been touched and nurtured and raised by those who loved us, we whom Jesus Christ calls God’s children and who claim allegiance to the church of God have a responsibility.
The verse continues “….and we ought to lay down our lives for each other.” In particular those with material and spiritual needs. As verse 17 lays out before us: “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?”
C.S. Lewis comments, “It is easier to be enthusiastic about Humanity with a capital ‘H’ than it is to love individual men and women, especially those who are uninteresting, exasperating, depraved or otherwise unattractive. Loving everybody in general may be an excuse for loving nobody in particular.”
“Love everybody, Love Life, Love the world.” It sounds good. Admirable even. 1 John insists that love is not expressed through verbalizing high-sounding ideals, but through actions that benefit people other than our selves. Again, this is a lesson that many of us first learned in our home environments. Part of our capacity to love others comes from having first been loved ourselves.
Sadly, not everybody is as fortunate as many of us have been. Some grow up in homes where love is at a premium. Some have parents unable to care for them. Some suffer abuse and neglect. Some have parents unwilling to commit themselves to anything but self-interest. But we should never rule out the possibility of love.
Which brings me to Brigadoon.Where? Brigadoon. Brigadoon is a musical that for many years ran on Broadway. The story is about 2 men from New York, Tommy Allbright and Jeff Douglas, who are on a hunting trip in Scotland when they stumble across a village called Brigadoon in a valley that is not even marked on the map.
It turns out that Brigadoon is a magical village that only appears out of the mist every 100 years, and whose existence will be destroyed should any of the villagers ever leave it. There is much romance and talk of folk being married to other folk whilst all the time they are wishing they could be married to somebody else. Into this smushy mix comes Tommy Albright who is supposed to be marrying his fiancé Jean in New York, but falls in love with a Brigadoon lassie by the name of Fiona.
In the First Act of the musical, Tommy asks the wise local schoolteacher, Mr Lundie, if an outsider could be permitted to stay in Brigadoon. Mr. Lundie replies, "A stranger can stay if he loves someone here – loves them enough to want to give up everythin' an' stay with that one person. Which is how it should be. 'Cause after all, laddie, if ye love someone deeply… anythin' is possible."
But they do not get married, the New Yorkers leave Brigadoon and that is the end of that. Or is it? Of course not! By the end of Act 2 Tommy and Jeff have returned to Scotland. But the village has gone. And will not be back for a hundred years.
Tommy laments, "Why do people have to lose things to find out what they really mean?" Just as he and Jeff turn to leave, Mr. Lundie appears from the mist and explains: "Oh it's you Tommy, lad. You woke me up. You must really love Fiona,"… to which Tommy, still dazed, stammers "But… how....?" Mr. Lundie replies "You shouldna be too surprised, laddie. I told ye… when ye love someone deeply enough, anythin' is possible. Even miracles."
And there you go... I just went and ruined the ending for you! It has to be out there on some streaming platform or on a DVD if you want to watch it!
My point in taking us to Brigadoon, is that the whole musical is based upon a highly biblical proposition. That with love all things are possible. As Mr Lundie explains: “I told ye when ye love someone deeply enough, anythin' is possible. Even miracles."
1 John 3, verse 18 “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” In the real-world miracles do not just happen. They are the result of loving actions. The miracle of the resurrection could not happen without the commitment of the Cross.
The miracle of hungry people in our community being fed only happens when we seek to meet their needs. The miracle of justice being restored, only happens when injustice is challenged. The miracle of people being delivered from things which hold them back, only happens when people provide help and opportunities for them to renew their lives.
Miracles are the result of loving actions.
God does not abandon people. God calls people to reach out to abandoned people, following their Saviors example, so that the lost sheep once again find a home.
It is interesting to see how 1 John 3:16 complements John 3:16.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. '
1 John 3:16 “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."
We have received a great legacy of love from those who went before us. From our parents. From our mentors in the faith. From the examples of Church history and the saints of our traditions.
There remains only one way our families and communities can experience the love of God. That it begins in us and spreads to others. We are all invited to allow our lives to be changed by the love of God that we may draw others into the experience of the joy and love of God's Kingdom.
Through God's amazing Grace, may we seek to be those who are making a loving difference wherever this week may lead us. Amen.
The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.
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