Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to you but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 And yet I do write a new commandment to you, which holds true in him and among you, for the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is nothing in him to cause a fall. 11 Whoever hates his brother is in darkness; he walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 12 I am writing to you, children, because your sins have been forgiven for his name’s sake. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have conquered the evil one. 14 I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong and the word of God remains in you, and you have conquered the evil one. 15 Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever.
This passage underscores the preeminence of love in the Christian life which has the power to transform the lives of believers. John warns against the enticements of the world, encouraging believers to remain faithful to God's will.
John tells his audience that the new commandment he is giving them is not something new but rather an ancient precept that existed from the beginning. The New Commandment is the commandment to love one another (Jn. 13:34) which takes on new significance in Christ who exemplifies love perfectly and bestows it upon believers through the Holy Spirit. Such love has transformative power, symbolized by the fading of darkness and the emergence of the genuine light, and is embodied in Christ Himself. One cannot claim to be light and harbor hatred for one’s brother. A person in whom the light of Christ abides loves his brother but those who hate their brothers are spiritually blind and in darkness because they do not have the light of Christ in them (Jn. 8:12).
John reminds the communities that the sins of believers have been remitted for the sake of Christ’s name through his atoning sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. John directs his message to various groups within the community, highlighting their depth of intimacy with God which is commensurate with their respective stages of spiritual maturity. He warns them against allowing the love of God to be replaced by love for worldly attachments. He identifies three categories of worldly temptations: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life because the desire for those things does not originate from God. Worldly enticements are fleeting but doing God’s will leads to eternal life.
Almighty God, grant us the grace to abide in your love and to love each other as Christ commanded. Help us to walk in the light of Christ, avoiding the darkness of worldly desires, and strengthen us so that we may remain steadfast in doing your will. This we pray through the same Christ our Lord. Amen!
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Sources
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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