2 John is mercifully short. I will cover this, and then I plan on moving on to Paul's letter to the Philippians. That should also be a chore, but it should be of particular interest to you, Shelby. The Elevate Conference will center around discussions and mission statements taken from Philippians, and since I will not be able to be there for the whole conference on account of Rebekah's art reception at 4:37 pm, I will be there in spirit and share my thoughts at the very least through literature. For all intents and purposes I will be there, because I brought these future discussions into my personal present by writing about them.
Perhaps there's an analogy in there somewhere.
Meanwhile, my thoughts on 2 John are as brief, just as the letter is brief. First, I noticed that John opens his letter with "grace, mercy, and peace." It's a powerful greeting because it confirms something that we already have. It says that everything is right. He's happy for what they have, and he blesses them with goodwill and certainty that what peace they do have is true and eternal.
Every time I have troublesome questions, I come back to statements like that and assure myself that everything logically must be consistent with these value - especially since these are so prominent that the words "grace, mercy, and peace" solely make up his greetings. And greetings in letters are like eyes, giving us a glimpse into the soul of the person speaking. In which case, if a greeting represents the fundamental nature of a relationship, of a communion, then the essence of this relationship he has with the church, as well as with God, can truly be summed up with the words "grace, mercy, and peace."
Like his previous letter, John clarifies that Jesus is indeed the Son of God. He commends people for living lovingly, and more importantly for living in love. Furthermore, he says that anyone who does not preach that Jesus came as a human being is a deceiver. You can subtract many things from the Gospel, but this in particular upsets John. He finds other alterations to the Gospel abhorrent, but in particular he condemns additions to the Gospel.
Who wants to bet that these additions specifically affect the the simple relationship between the words "grace, mercy, and peace?"
Right after that, though, John does say something rather peculiar.
10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. 11 Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.
The translation I've been highlighting in specifically says to not even say "Peace be with you." This reminds me of the peculiar verses of 5:16-17 back in 1 John, in which he says to pray for people who have committed venial sins, but he doesn't actively encourage people to pray for people who have committed mortal sins. That doesn't seem loving at first, so we have to look at that.
First, in cases like these, it's a good idea to check the original Greek for several reasons. On the surface, it contradicts things Jesus said about turning the other cheek, handing your cloak over to someone wishing to rob you, and the parable of the Good Samaritan, so a contradiction of this nature has to be investigated on semantic levels in order to ensure that we are truly getting the spirit of what is being said. Also, his description of this seems vague. He's describing an overt action, but not the attitude in which is should be done.
Back in 1 John 5:16, I came across some interesting research. For the most part, the Greek word John used for "pray" was αἰτεῖν (aitein), but when he said "I do not say that you should pray about one's mortal sin," he switches to another word, ἐρωτᾷν (erotan). After some careful research, I looked up the individual definitions for these words and then found them in context.
Just as Greek has several words for love, it has a few words to describe prayer. Aἰτεῖν means "to beg; to ask." Ἐρωτᾷν means "to question God."
It's more than just the technical definitions that matter, though. When writing of Jesus, John prefered to use ἐρωτᾷν. When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gesthemene, John used the word ἐρωτᾷν.
Then Pulpit Commentary had this to say:
The change from αἰτεῖν to ἐρωτᾷν is noteworthy. The former is used in verses 14, 15, and the beginning of verse 16; the latter at the end of verse 16. The latter is the less humble word of the two, being often used of equals or superiors requesting compliance with their wishes. Perhaps St. John uses it here to indicate that a prayer of this kind is not a humble one.
In the same commentary, it also puts critical emphasis on the importance in understanding that "the prayer of one human being can never cancel another's free-will."
Keep in mind, John writes these letters in a fairly heated climate. Passions run high on both sides. Have you ever wondered why there is animosity between certain Christian denominations and yet almost no ongoing debate between Christians and Buddhists? That's because matters such as Jesus' identity and finished work hit close to home. If I takled to a Buddhist, almost immediately we recognize that we're different and that there's no reason to expect that we should come at life's questions from the same angle. Whereas with Christians and Gnostics, they both recognized that something special happened in Jesus, and they both used the term "Christ." They would run into each other, think that they would have a lot in common, believe that they shared a faith and that it was the most important thing in their lives. Yet, all of a sudden, things come tumbling down as the differences pop up. One will take the intimate faith of the other in vain, in language that the one can't quite shrug off. Resentment builds, and infighting happens. A believing Christian would feel far more distressed when he saw someone come so close to understanding the faith, yet take it and distort it.
So what John said in 1 John 5:16 and assume that he's speaking in the same spirit here. It sounds very much like he's discussing something similar, how to approach complicated, often tragic relationships with Matthew 7:22-23 Christians. He isn't saying to give up on them, but he's still reminding Christians to abide by certain principles:
- Don't develop a savior complex. Accept that you can't control what these other people put their faith in.
- Don't let the sun rise on your anger.
- Don't pretend that there's no major issue when there really is one.
- Don't be passive aggressive with your prayers for reconciliation and obligatory blessing.
- Don't be vain. You chose your faith correctly thanks to the Holy Spirit, but that does not make you better than them.
- Don't assume that as a Christian you have special spiritual authority others.
As much as I think this interpretation is sufficient, I do feel that I need to illustrate these verses in action by telling stories. Commentary on the Biblical text can be a beautiful thing, but I'm not a biblicist, because I believe in the significance of what John says when he ends the letter abruptly after this point, saying that he would much rather speak in person than record them all down in a letter. The Word of God is a living Word, so I think it's more important that I be able to truly say how I feel about this matter not by explaining the text, but by exploring these themes in my own unique language from the way this truth was revealed in my own life.
So I end this entry here, because I would much rather cut it off and let my little anecdotal stories be their own thing and stand on their own. It would be a little more authentic of me, because it's through this mode of communication that I truly feel at home and like I'm more truly alive.
Sincerely,
John Hooyer
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