Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton,

Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.

During the post-Christmas season the lectionary offers the First Letter of Saint John for our reflection. This letter appears to be an introduction to and clarification of the Gospel of Saint John, and written by the same author. He wants to make explicit what might not have been perfectly clear to readers of the Gospel; and especially his doctrine of the love we must have for one another.

There is a great stress in the Gospel of John on the personal relationship each Christian should have with Jesus. It’s not enough just to belong to the Church. For instance, where the disciples distribute the bread to the hungry crowd in the synoptic gospels, Jesus personally gives it to each man in the Gospel of John. The fourth gospel also suggests the vine as metaphor for church. Although a vine can be a tangled mass of branches and leaves, it’s not hard to see which branches have broken from the vine. They’re dead, crumbling and should be torn out. Only the branch that is connected directly to the vine can flourish. Only the Christian who knows Jesus personally can flourish. Finally the Fourth Gospel depicts a crisis when each Christian disciple must decide to follow or not to follow the Lord.

So there is enormous stress on the individual Christian’s relationship with Jesus. Perhaps too much. And so the writer reminds us in his Letter that we must love one another.

Americans are particularly enchanted with individuality. As Marlene Dietrich said, I want to be alone; or the cowboy:

Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above

Don't fence me in

Let me ride through the wide open country that I love

Don't fence me in

Let me be by myself in the evenin' breeze

And listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees

Send me off forever but I ask you please

Don't fence me in.

Solitude is a blessed place to meet God and the one who does not enjoy her own company is lonely indeed, but we need one another. It is easy to be generous, patient and courteous when there is no one around; but not so easy in the company of others. We must “work out” our salvation with others. That’s where it becomes real.