Text: 1 John 3:1-13; Matt. 25:1–13
Theme: “2 – We belong”
                     Series: Until we see Him
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(Sermon transcript with a couple of additions and editions)

Intr – Dear friends in Christ,

In one of Ernest Hemingway’s books, he tells the anecdote of a Spanish father who had been estranged from his son and had been looking for him everywhere. Finally, in Madrid, after searching high and low, he placed an announcement in the local newspaper saying something along these lines: “Paco, please come back. Meet me at Hotel Montana on Tuesday at noon. All is forgiven. Love, Papa.”

On Tuesday at noon, 800 Pacos showed up at the hotel.

You know, it is a common name. So, it is supposed to be a joke.

But I brought this anecdote here because I see a deeper meaning in it. Think about this again. A father placed an announcement in a newspaper saying, “Come back home. All is forgiven. I love you.” And 800 guys showed up.

Think about it from the other side. Eight hundred guys in need of hearing from their father. They were estranged. Perhaps there had been a rift. Whatever was going on, they showed up hoping that this would be their father saying, “All is forgiven. I love you.”

This little story brings us to something very important for our lives, which is our theme for today: belonging. Belonging to each other. We have family. We have friends. We have people we want to connect with. But most especially, belonging to the Father who knows who we are. We sang today that he is a good Father, and we know who we are because he calls us to himself.

John’s epistle for today helps us understand this meaning of belonging more deeply. We know John as the evangelist, from the Gospel of John. But near the end of the New Testament, we also have three letters. Especially in this first one, he speaks strongly about forgiveness, about acting out of your faith, and about belonging. We heard it in the reading today: you are not just called children of God. You are.

So when you want to read about belonging, forgiveness, and faith in action, go to First John. It is a beautiful epistle, a beautiful letter that speaks to people back then and to you and me as well. John tackles two important problems of his time, which I think have not grown old. They are still around: lack of faith and lack of action.

Forgiveness is the entryway to belonging

First, John tackles lack of faith. He confronts the idea that Jesus might have been a good guy, but he was not God.

Have you heard that before? A good guy. A good teacher. He taught us how to love. But God? That is where people draw the line.

John tackles that head-on: Jesus is God. Why is that important? Because if Jesus is not God, he went to a cross, but he just died like a criminal or a revolutionary. If Jesus is not God, his death on the cross does not win forgiveness for us. And then what do we make of his resurrection? The story that someone came and stole the body becomes the explanation instead. John is telling his listeners: this is the one who died on the cross for you and won forgiveness for you.

Why is it so important to stress that? Because forgiveness is the entryway to belonging. How can we belong to God without being forgiven? God is a God whose wrath is poured out against sin. We heard that in the reading from Amos today—an almost gloomy reading, with very strong words against his people because of the injustices they were committing.

God does not simply overlook sin. But his Word also points us to the solution to that problem: forgiveness. Through faith, we receive the forgiveness Jesus won for us. We are brought out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of God, into the family of faith. Now we belong.

But that can only be true if Jesus is God. If he is just a teacher, a good guy, that doesn’t cut it. So John is telling us: remember that the Son of God who died on the cross is God. He won forgiveness for you.

John also gives us that passage we sometimes use in our services: if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. That is John, in the first chapter of this same epistle. Forgiveness is the entryway to belonging. Now we are called children of God—and not just called. We are not just wearing a shirt that says, “I am a child of God.”

We are children of God. We belong to him.

Faith shown in love

Second, John tackles lack of action.

He says strong things, like this: if you say you love God but do not love your neighbor, you do not really love God. If you belong to him, this faith is shown in works of love.

Some people might come to the conclusion, “Faith is what matters. So do I even need to do anything? I already believe in God. Whatever I do in this life doesn’t matter. Maybe I shouldn’t even do too much good, because that could somehow taint my salvation by faith.” But John is telling them that faith is not an excuse to be lazy in showing love.

There is a story about the apostle John. It may not be true, but at least it makes a good point. He would come before the congregation and say, “Love each other. Amen.” The next time: “Love each other as God loved you. Amen.” Eventually, someone asks him, “Aren’t you going to change your sermon?” He would had replied: “Well, I’ll change it when you start practicing it.”

That is a hard word of law. We are not perfect in loving. But there is a point there. If you belong to Jesus, if you are in his family, good works flow from your faith. Those works of love do not earn belonging. They show belonging. Not, “Because of what I have done, now you accept me.” But, “Because of what you have done, you accept me, and I belong to you. Now I live my life for you. I love my neighbor, and I show this love to others who may still be longing for belonging.”

This world is full of longing for belonging. As Christians, we have this great news: even if you do not belong in certain parts of society where you wanted to belong, even if belonging within your own family has become strained, remember that you have a Father who calls you his child. He has made you his child. He gives you forgiveness. He gives you a home. Now you can talk to him directly. You can walk with him. And you can show his love in works of love.

You are at home here

Think about the difference it makes to know you belong.

Imagine visiting someone’s house for the first time. You are thinking, “Can I sit here? Should I ask for a glass of water? Can I put my glass here? I don’t even know where the bathroom is. Can I use the restroom?” There is this feeling: “I don’t belong here.” Nothing is quite natural. And sometimes you are already wondering, “When is it time for me to go home?” Now think about a child coming home in the afternoon, putting a backpack on the floor, and asking, “What’s for dinner?” The child sits down at the table and hopefully does not immediately disappear into a screen—but sometimes they do. The point is that the child knows they belong. They just walk right in. “This is my house. My parents. My life. This is where I belong. I am at home here.”

This is what God gives us. John is saying: you are not just called a child of God. You are a child of God.

Now imagine that this child breaks something valuable at home. Think about two different thoughts that could go through the child’s mind. One is, “I did something wrong. I need to tell Dad.” The other is, “I did something wrong. Now I cannot go home.” Those are very different ways of living in the same house. In both cases, something wrong happened. It needs to be addressed. But in one, the child runs toward the father. In the other, the child hides from him.

Why does it matter to know I belong? Because when I sin, I need to know where to go. Not away from God, trying to hide until I can make myself acceptable. But to him, confessing my sin and receiving his forgiveness. You belong. You can come to your Father.

Until we see him

What difference does that belonging make?

I have already mentioned the difference in daily life. But it also makes a difference in how we look toward the end. Our series is called “Until We See Him.” There is a last day for this world, and there is a new beginning: a new heaven and a new earth.

That brings us to today’s Gospel and the way we live with our lamps and our oil. If Jesus is not God, if he is not coming back, if everything simply ends, then what is the point? Why would I mind being one of those five foolish young women? Why go to so much trouble to live my faith if there is nothing to look forward to?

But the bridegroom is coming. We will see Jesus as he is. And that makes a difference. We want to be among the five wise virgins whose oil was there. That oil points us to faith. We want to feed our faith. We want to be walking with Jesus. Not doing his will because that buys us a place in heaven, but walking with Jesus because that place is already prepared for us.

Jesus said, “I go and prepare a place for you.” Through his cross, he has opened the way. He is waiting for us. That makes the difference. We belong to him now. So we watch and pray. We live our faith and share his love. And when he comes, he will invite us into what the Bible calls the marriage feast of the Lamb—that beautiful, great feast he has prepared for us.

Picture a child waiting to be picked up after an activity. Other children are leaving. The room is getting quieter. The child keeps looking toward the door. Now imagine asking, “Are you waiting to find out whether someone wants you?” “No. I’m waiting for my dad. He said he is coming.” The child cannot see the father yet. But the relationship does not begin when the father walks through the door. The child belongs to him already.

That is an important difference in our waiting for Jesus. We are not waiting to discover whether he might want us in his family. We are waiting to see the One to whom we already belong. We do not yet see everything. But we are already his.

Conclusion –  John is telling us: you are a child of God. You are forgiven. You belong to a Savior who is God, and now you walk with him. That makes a difference for you.

If you are estranged, if you are at a point in your life where you are having doubts or going through a hard time, it is the Father writing you a note and telling you: “All is forgiven. Meet me in the Bible. I love you.” You are Paco. You are Lucas. You are John. You are Mary. You are the one to whom the Father sends this message. He gives you that message and helps you live by it, because you belong to him. You can come to him. You can tell him things. You can open your heart. You can pray. And you can live that faith. This is the love of the Father for you and for me. You belong. I belong.

Because all is forgiven. Amen.