(Based on 2 John 1-13)
I was doing some research on the different cultures of Christianity around the world, and I found a very interesting statistic. According to a study conducted in 2011 by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, "there are reported to be 41,000 Christian denominations" around the world. I thought this was very interesting, considering that as a citizen of the "Bible Belt," it's seemed that most of my life I've heard one basic narrative of the scriptures. This narrative places a lot of emphasis on hell and heaven as being two places somewhere other than here. Considering the proven fact that no one has lived to talk about either of these two places, it's very surprising that this narrative has become the foundational narrative of the American Christian South. But, when you put that up on the corkboard with 40,999 other Christian narratives, it reminds me that what I hear being taught about Christ is but one narrative in this ever-unfolding story of how people are trying to connect with a God they cannot see or understand.
What John wants to get across to his audience in this passage is that there is one ultimate command that wraps everything up from the beginning: love each other. He says there are "smooth-talking charlatans" who are working their way into the spotlight, talking a good game but living something totally different. Does this apply to us today? I think so.
What I thought about when I was reading this was my first real A.A. sponsor. When I first heard him speak, I was skeptical to say the least. I didn't know him and I didn't trust him. However, every time I saw him he was carrying the Big Book. As the days went by, my skepticism went down because he was talking about things that came from the book he was carrying. He talked about things I had never heard of before because I had never opened the book myself. When life got hard enough for me (being a "dry drunk" as they call it in A.A.), I decided to ask this man to sponsor me. It only took one sitting to find out that this man's actions matched his words. He wasn't talking about things he didn't do himself or hadn't experienced. The work he did with me opened me up to a complete life change. He gave me a set of tools that enabled me to let God start changing me from the inside out.
I believe a lot of people who have been "turned off" to the story of Jesus and to the Church may believe there is only one narrative to Christianity. As it turns out, there are 41,000. However, the mainstream religious media makes a point not to rock the boat anymore than it has to. The singular narrative that we are exposed to here in the Bible Belt does noes not find room for the likes of folks like Joel Osteen, yet over 43,000 people attend his church on any given Sunday. Mainstream Christian radio and bookstores don't allow pastors like Rob Bell or musicians like Need to Breathe interrupt their narrative because it just doesn't fit nicely.
Media works the same way with religion as it does with politics. There are one or two main narratives that the messengers want the audience to hear, and there are usually consequences for those who choose not to choose one of them.
What John is saying to his audience, assuming that less accepted narratives are being cast aside then as they are now, is to love each other in spite of this. In spite of this. 41,000 narratives is the number of "recorded" Christian denominations, but if you were to interview every single Christian on a planet, there would be a narrative for every single Christian. No one believes exactly the same thing, no matter how dogmatic a group of people can become. If a person is honest with their belief systems, they will find uniqueness and similarities with the people around them.
The difference between the author of this passage and myself is, I don't know which narrative is 100% correct and I will never know. The author presents the narrative "that Jesus Christ was truly human, a flesh-and-blood human being." I believe that. John was around when Jesus was around, and he talked with him and spent time with him. The audience he's speaking to didn't know Jesus and had never seen him, which makes his audience then very similar to the audience now. We haven't seen Jesus or heard Jesus talk, so we're given a narrative that we have the opportunity to believe or not believe.
He says there are people in this world who are talking a good game but refuse to believe in the exact things they're talking about. This usually means their lives are not matching their words. What does John say to do? He says to not "invite them in and give them the run of the place." He doesn't say not to love them. He says it would be stupid to let someone who is obviously not living out what they are preaching to come have authority and tell other people what to do. And, love.
We are all trying to connect with this power source, this God whom we cannot see nor understand. If the narratives we hear seem to do more harm than good when it comes to a connection to this power, it's up to us to seek out a different narrative. Too common, people (including myself) have thrown the baby out with the bathwater. We've heard something that just didn't seem right, yet we allowed that one narrative to have precedence over all the others and determine our spiritual fate. In a way, we let the "charlatans" win. We gave them dominance over our religious and spiritual future.
We are invited to dive into the scriptures with open minds and open hearts. There is a God who wants to connect with us in our own unique ways. This God loves us unconditionally, just as we are, no matter who we are or what we've done. This God has rescued us from having to rely solely on our skewed senses of morality and philosophical convictions to find our purpose. We have been rescued and redeemed and have the opportunity to participate in the narrative of God's ongoing restoration of the earth and it's people.
Today's Action: Create dialogue about spirituality, or just pay attention to the different narratives that get brought up today - whether it be religion, politics, or beliefs. May we realize that what we think or believe is not the only narrative that exists.
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