Lighting Up the Old

Scripture: 1 John 2:7-8 – “Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word that you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new commandment that is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.” (NRSVUE)

I was discussing preaching with my wife last night, and she mentioned which of the four passages a minister should focus on in a sermon. She said that the gospel should almost always be the focus, and Old Testament lesson should usually be ignored. Then, I was watching a biblical studies video in which someone on TikTok was wondering why anyone should study the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible if Jesus came and replaced it all. So, if we believe in Jesus, why do we read the Old Testament in church? Why is it even a part of our bibles?

The answer is longer and more complicated than is appropriate for a weekly devotion but suffice to say that the various church councils which established which books were to be “in” the Bible thought the Old Testament still had something important to say. I think part of it is because these texts were foundational to Jesus’ message. Another is that many of them believed they were predictions of the coming of Jesus. But I think they also were included because they still contained a universal truth about God and God’s hopes for us.

The author of the First Letter of John refers to this tension between the old commandments of the Jewish Law and the new commandments of Jesus. Essentially, any “new” commandments were just restatements of old ones. When God commanded people to love others, they were supposed to love others. But through Christ, what that actually meant became clearer. Through his life and teachings, things just made more sense, and it was harder to fall into confusion and hypocrisy.

For the Letter, the greatest problem was people who used the Hebrew Bible to justify how they were righteous and “in the light” while hating their neighbors. Even today, people will lean on the Bible to justify villainizing others or excusing ignoring or hating them. But in the light of Jesus, those justifications vanish. It just takes a bit more time and prayer to get there.

How do you use your Bible? Do you ignore the parts that seem boring, confusing, troubling, or irrelevant? Or do you engage with them? Because while we believe that Jesus teaches love and that God is love, if we leave our faith at that, it can wither in the face of troubling times and personal suffering.

Today, grab your bible and flip through it. Get to a random page, close your eyes, and put your finger down. Think to yourself, “what does this verse mean? How is it confusing? Why is it important?” Pray about how Jesus might have used it or how it might be speaking to your needs today. Not every verse is going to speak to you. 1 Chronicles 1:52-53 (look it up) is unlikely to change your life. But there is still guidance to be found. Take a moment to wonder, pray, and then act upon whatever might point you toward light and love.

Prayer: God, I trust you to guide me on my path to love you and my neighbor as I do myself. Amen.