Love Perfected in Us (Christmas Sunday)

Going beyond the meaning of Christmas, this passage leads us to reflect deeply on the essence of love. It looks at what love is when it is proven by real action and not by words alone, and sheds light on the substance of the love God showed by sending his one and only Son.

The sermon points out that what sets God's love apart from the human sacrifices the world honors is that Jesus did not avoid suffering but willingly obeyed. It also emphasizes that God's love was confirmed when Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, and explains that this love is not a mere feeling but something revealed in reality.

Finally, it makes clear that if someone who professes to love God does not love his brother, it is a lie, and says that only when we love one another do we remain in God and can his love be perfected in us. The sermon asks us to think deeply about how believers can grow further, taking the birth of Jesus as an opportunity, and reveal Christ's love through their own lives.