1 John 2:1-1-29
Jesus on Love and Life
1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
Love and Hatred for Fellow Believers
3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.
9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.
Reasons for Writing
12 I am writing to you, dear children,
because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
14 I write to you, dear children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
On Not Loving the World
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
Warnings Against Denying the Son
18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
24 As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life.
26 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.
God’s Children and Sin
28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
Jesus teachings are provocative and insightful...Jesus' teachings emphasize the love for God and others...He was always a forgiving One...He teaches service and compassion...He wants us to seek Truth, to seek knowledge and understanding...He wants us to be merciful...He wants us to taking up one's cross (dealing with difficulties) and follow Him...He wants us to live a life free from sin, seeking forgiveness when needed...He wants us to recognize the universal significance of His sacrifice on the cross...We are to demonstrate our knowledge of God through our obedience and love...We are to live according to Jesus' teachings and His Example...John gives us lessons that help teach us about Jesus...And we can learn from others about love and life...
The Bishop and Cardinal Fulton Sheen's ideas on life are provocative and insightful and challenge us to reflect on our views and life...They reflect the above concepts of Jesus' teachings...Sheen's statements are thought-provoking and encourage reflection on a Christian Life...We are to live like Jesus...Sheen challenges us to look beyond surface appearances and consider deeper truths...He speaks of love and selflessness...His recurring life's theme is love and selflessness...Sheen emphasizes love as a form of giving, a way to connect with others and contribute to the world...He believed in social responsibility...He addresses social issues like economic burdens of families and the importance of taking a stand against evil...This reminds us of our role within society...He spoke and wrote with knowledge and growth...He differentiates between education, experience, and anticipation, highlighting the importance of both knowledge and a desire for continual learning...He knew of pain and suffering...Sheen's view of pain as a "megaphone of God" suggests it can serve a purpose, prompting us to grow or seek help...
Jesus often spoke in metaphors...Sheen was constantly giving us challenging statements...Some statements, like "If you desire healing, let yourself fall ill," are metaphors that require further explanation and we must reflect on this belief as we should on many of his other ideas...
These are life lesson's from Cardinal Fulton Sheen..."If you desire healing, let yourself fall ill...Let yourself fall ill of every ailment from which you wish to be healed."..."Love is a mutual self-giving which ends in self-recovery."..."If the bringing of children into the world is today an economic burden, it is because the social system is inadequate; and not because God's law is wrong."..."The refusal to take sides on great moral issues is itself a decision...It is a silent acquiescence to evil."..."Evil is always seeking to seduce good by making it appear attractive and desirable."..."Love is the accurate perception of the diversity of the other."..."Work should be an expression of oneself, therefore it should be an expression of love."..."Education is what you know, experience is what you remember, and anticipation is what you expect."..."A true intellectual is not one who simply has knowledge, but rather, one who desires knowledge."..."Pain is the megaphone of God."..."Every man naturally thinks that his own burdens are the heaviest."..."The greatest commandment is that which invites us to give to others a certain life we ourselves never experienced."..."Heroes are those who have made a discovery of something that is called love."..."Hope is not an emotion. It is a Divine virtue."..."Life is short, and death is certain."...