The joy of being face to face
by Pastor Joshua Pfeiffer
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I hope to come to you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete (2 John 12b).
Read 2 John 1–13
I’m often intrigued by the little personal notes in the New Testament letters that indicate the intimate relationships that existed in the early church. We find many of these in the Apostle Paul’s letters as he sends personal greetings to various people (for example, Romans 16). Here in our text, we have one from the Apostle John. Even though these apostolic letters have been a treasure for the Christian community ever since, for John, writing was second best. What he most desired was to see these dear brothers and sisters face to face. This, he says, would complete the joy they have as fellow believers.
At one level, this is simply how God has created us to be, isn’t it? I’ve recently been living overseas, and I thank God for the technology that allows us to not only hear our loved ones but also see them. Yet, we all know it’s not quite the same. FaceTime isn’t the same as being truly face to face. There is no substitute for being with each other in the flesh. The Apostle John knows this is just how life is as a human being, but I’m convinced there is for him also a deeper reason for this within the Christian community.
In Jesus, God has come to talk to us face to face, and our fellowship with each other follows from this. It’s no accident that in the longer reading for today, the Apostle John is mainly concerned with those who deny that Jesus has come in the flesh. For John, this is serious. It is, in fact, to be ‘the deceiver and the antichrist’ (verse 7). After speaking about how important it is that Jesus came in the flesh, it is only natural that Christians, too, desire to be in the flesh with each other – to talk face to face, so our joy may be complete.
In a world of loneliness and isolation, we need each other more than ever. Just as God has spoken to us in his Son and so has spoken to us in the flesh so that we have the privilege and gift of talking face to face.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son to take on our flesh and speak your word of grace and truth to us. Increase among us the fellowship of the Holy Spirit so that our joy may be complete. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.
Joshua is married to Kimberley, and they have four children together. He is a pastor of the Lutheran Church of Australia and previously served at St Paul’s Nundah in Queensland and Bethlehem Adelaide in South Australia. He is currently pursuing doctoral studies at Concordia Seminary St Louis, USA, and enjoying the adventure.
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