“The Joy of Fellowship”
1 John 1:1-2:2
INI
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
1. There is a word that occurs four times in our Epistle today from 1 John 1 & 2, and that is the word fellowship. Now that seems like a pretty important word…it’s one that you and I use pretty regularly. The apostle John, the author of today’s text, wrote a lot of the New Testament. He wrote one of the Gospels, which is 22 chapters long. He wrote the book of Revelation, which is 21 chapters long. He wrote three letters that are in the New Testament—1 John, 2 John, and 3 John. So a whole bunch of the New Testament was written either by St. Paul, or by St. John. But of all the things that St. John wrote, he only used the word fellowship, or koinonia in Greek, four times. All four of those times are in today’s Epistle. So considering that John doesn’t talk about fellowship anywhere else in the New Testament, what he’s saying here must be pretty important.
2. Unlike St. John, we use the word fellowship all the time. Almost every church building has two parts to it: a sanctuary and a fellowship hall. Whenever we do things in the fellowship hall, we tend to call those things fellowship. Often those things involve food for some reason. When youth have events, there’s basically three kinds of events—service (doing something for someone), fundraising (which is self-explanatory), or fellowship (which generally means playing or goofing around). This past Monday I observed a sacred rite of passage for pastors—playing golf on the day after Easter. A fellow pastor joked once that “golf” stands for “good old Lutheran fellowship.” When I was in seminary, “fellowship” almost always referred to getting together around a pitcher of beer. You will notice that all of the things you and I generally refer to with the word fellowship take place outside of the sanctuary. This is unfortunate—because the sanctuary is the place where real fellowship happens.
3. The word fellowship as the Bible uses it means a “sharing” or having a “common and mutual interest.” It implies that in order for their to be fellowship, you can’t be alone. More than one person has to be involved. Perhaps one of the greatest troubles facing the Christian church today is that it has become totally narcissistic. It is totally self-oriented. What matters is what I think. What matters is what I want. What matters is what I do. But God has designed the Church so that it never ever leaves us alone. God has made us relational people who have relationships with others. St. John tells us so today. He says that “indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
4. No Christian is ever alone, because first and foremost, he or she is in fellowship with God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. And John compares that fellowship to being brought out of darkness into the light. Most of us don’t have to experience complete darkness—even in the middle of the night, there’s a little bit of light coming from the moon…or a little bit of light shines in the window from a street light. There might be the glow of the numbers on the face of your alarm clock. Generally, our eyes adjust to the darkness to the point where we can function …can find our way around our home. But if you are in complete utter darkness it can be very frightening. Back in 2004, our family was living in Kaukauna, Wisconsin while I did my vicarage there as part of my seminary education. And one night during the summer a tornado touched down in our neighborhood. The power went out and we closed ourselves in a small bathroom in the lower part of our split-level duplex we were living in at the time. And I pulled the mattress of our bed and brought it in the bathroom—and there we sat, huddled on the floor in a completely dark room, with danger and violence swirling around outside, not knowing where else to go or what would happen. That’s the sort of darkness that John is talking about—it’s not just being unable to see, but being in constant danger with no ability to protect yourself or find shelter.
5. But when Christ died for your sins and when he rose from the grave on Easter morning, he cast light into the darkness of your world. And he gives his Word and his Sacraments to continue to shine that light into your world. John says in his letter that there are some talking along the lines of, “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” You can’t walk through this world without the light of God’s Word, the good news of Jesus dying for your sins and rising to give you new life. But to those of us who do have that word…who do have fellowship with the Father and with Jesus Christ, life is profoundly different. You and I know that all is right between us and God. John writes, “If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” When you and I fall prey to the “darkness” of sin, then Jesus Christ is the one who gives us light by going before God and saying, “I have been righteous on their behalf. Their sin is no more.”
6. St. John also says that when you and I have fellowship with God and with Christ, then you and I also have fellowship with him and the rest of the apostles. “That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us—and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ.” Your Christian faith in not only something between you and the Triune God…your faith is something that joins you to the apostles of Jesus who have passed the faith throughout the ages. You and I are connected…have a sharing or a common interest…with those whom John says heard Jesus…saw him with their own eyes and looked upon him…touched him with their hands. And because they have heard him, seen him, and touched him—they’ve been able to share the word of life with you and me.
7. In our Holy Gospel today from John 20 we hear about St. Thomas—most famously known as “Doubting Thomas.” He said, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Thomas is another one of those goofball disciples that you and I like to give a lot of flack. But it was very important that Thomas did see Jesus…hear his voice…look upon his living body… touch the wounds of his crucifixion. Thomas’ duty as an apostle was that he would witness these things about Jesus and then spread them throughout the world to people like you and me.
8. And it’s not just the apostles—but all those who have been in the church throughout the centuries. There’s the names of the great fathers from the early church: St. Athanasius, St. Augustine, St. Polycarp, St. John Chrysostom. There’s the names of the Reformation: Martin Luther and Martin Chemnitz. There’s the names of American Lutheranism: J.W. Loehe and C.F.W. Walther. These are all people that you and I have fellowship with because you and I confess the faith that has been passed down from them. There’s a phrase in the Apostles’ Creed that maybe sometimes gets skipped by. “I believe in the communion of saints.” Did you know that the word “communion” is just a Latin word for “fellowship?” And when you and I receive the Holy Communion, we are partaking in fellowship with all the saints…with Augustine, Luther, and Walther? When you and I lose loved ones—spouses and parents, children and friends—then we are never closer to them on earth than when we receive Christ’s body and blood. That’s because communion is not a single, solitary event. It’s a fellowship—it involves all those who have confessed the word of life throughout the ages.
9. Of course that means if you and I have fellowship with God, and we have fellowship with the apostles and the saints, then you and I have fellowship with each other. Did you ever wonder why God ordained it that you and I should get together and do this together? He doesn’t tell us to take communion in our bedroom by ourselves. He doesn’t tell us just to study God’s Word by yourselves and that’s it. Instead he says that you and I should gather together. And that fellowship isn’t drinking coffee…or playing golf…or shooting the breeze. St. John says, “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
10. You and I are really, truly in fellowship with one another when our sins are being forgiven…when you and I confess our guilt and receive absolution…when you and I hear the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus…when you and I eat and drink Christ’s body and blood together. That’s fellowship…and fellowship takes place within the church. The word for church in the New Testament is ecclesia—it means “assembly” or “gathering.” Again, it implies many people being together with each other. Take a moment this morning and look around at the people you are worshiping with. Look at them…you know you do it anyway…you look at some people and think, “Hmmm…that person hasn’t been here in a while.” Or you think, “I haven’t seen that person before.” You and I are always paying attention to the people around us. Take a moment this morning—perhaps during the offering—and say prayer giving thanks for the people you worship with this morning. This is true fellowship—people who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ our Lord…and who confess the faith of the apostles…and who have a common, mutual interest to have their sins forgiven.
11. St. John says that he writes these things to the church, “that our joy may be complete.” There is indeed joy in fellowship. It is good to share and to take part in these things with one another. Do you remember telling your kids…or being told as a kid…that it feels good to share? God agrees! The joy of Easter that began last Sunday with Alleluias and beautiful lilies and time spent together receiving God’s gifts…that joy continues day after day, Sunday after Sunday, year after year—for whenever God’s people gather together, they do so in the salvation that comes from our Triune God, as confessed by the apostles, and the gifts of the risen Christ are given to us over, and over, and over. This is true fellowship! In Jesus’ name…Amen.
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
This past week, my son Paul and I spent a whirlwhind 72 hours driving down to St. Louis and back. We stayed for two nights on the seminary campus and did a whole bunch of stuff. Going back to the place where our little family lived for three years (and where Paul was born) I realized a few things:
