1 John 2: 15-17 - The Hymn of the Day, What is the world to Me (LSB #730). When
John refers to the world he does not mean the world of people (see John 3:16)
or the created world (see John 17:24) but the world, or realm of sin which is
controlled by Satan and organized against God and righteousness. It is this
world which we leave. It is Christ which faith clings to.
A very wealthy man thought he had
made a shrewd arrangement to “take it with him” by making a huge contribution
to “the Building Fund.” He arrived at heaven’s gate lugging a large trunk. The
gatekeeper said, “Sorry, you can’t take that in here,” but the man insisted he
had permission. The gatekeeper said, “We’ll see. Show me what’s in the trunk.”
He opened the trunk, and it was full of gold bars, a huge fortune. The
gate-keeper said, “You brought paving?”
This modern parable illustrates
something about the values of heaven and those of earth.
❚ What do you think is the main
point of the story?
❚ Is anything like that story
remotely possible?
This hymn emphasizes and
underlines a teaching that few people ever really learn.
❚ What evidence is there that St.
Matthew learned it (Matt. 9:9–13)?
❚ How did following Jesus change
him?
Exploring the Scriptures
In Luke 16:1–13, Jesus told the
parable of the dishonest manager to teach the importance of eternal values. In discussing
the matter, He told His disciples and us, “No servant can serve two masters,
for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to
the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (v. 13).
❚ What does the word “money” include?
❚ What are some of the “masters”
we are susceptible to? In 1 John 2:15–17, the apostle urges us not to love the
world or the things of the world that appeal to our senses. In Phil. 3:7–9,
Paul strongly and passionately says that he counts everything as rubbish compared
to knowing Jesus Christ by faith.
❚ Do these two passages give a
different message?
❚ Why is loving the “things of
this world” not compatible with loving eternal things?
❚ What is the “tipping point”
between love for God and love of money?
Exploring the Hymn
Background
The origin of this fine eighteenth-century
hymn is a little bit cloudy. Most students of the matter agree that the author
was Georg Michael Pfefferkorn (1645–1732), a teacher and pastor in Germany.
However, the hymn first appeared anonymously and lately it has been attributed
to Balthasar Kindermann (d. 1706). It was translated into English by August
Crull, who was born in Germany in 1845. He emigrated to the United States at an
early age, and graduated from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, in 1862. He served
as pastor and teacher in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and died
in 1923.
Text
Pastor Crull used his gift as a
poet in translating the key phrase of the hymn as “What is the world to me!”
Its literal meaning in German is “What do I ask of the world?”
❚ Does the translation change the
meaning of the phrase?
❚ What is the answer to the
question, either way?
Stanza 1 of the hymn makes a bold statement of the changed value system of the
Christian life, contrasting the world and its “vaunted pleasure” against the
peace and rest of having Jesus as treasure and soul’s delight.
❚ What are some of the “vaunted
pleasures” of this world?
Stanza 2 considers the praise and honor of the “mighty” of this world, but
finds them “frail and flighty” compared to the surpassing worth of knowing
Jesus.
❚ How are the “mighty” of this
world “frail and flighty?”
In Stanza 3 the wealth of this world in money is contrasted to the wealth of
knowing Jesus.
The fourth stanza brings the main
message of the hymn together in a striking way with a list of important things
that Jesus means to the believer — wealth, treasure, life, health, friendship,
love, pleasure, joy and eternal bliss.
❚ Can you think of a few more
things to add to the list?
Making the Connection
Hard times often make people
reevaluate their list of what is important in life.
❚ Have you had that kind of
experience lately? Or ever? Jesus said, “For it is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God”
(Luke 18:25).
❚ Is it easier for a poor person
to believe?
❚ How poor do you have to be? “What
Is the World to Me” is a hymn not only for the eighteenth century, but for the
twenty-first century as well. It seems designed to make us think about what is
important eternally and who we have in first place in our lives.
In the lifetimes of most of us,
we have seen unprecedented prosperity. Our nation as a whole is part of the
wealthiest people the world has ever seen. Yet we have recently been hearing of
the overwhelming greed of some of our fellow citizens — not only greed for
money and possessions, but for power, for pleasure and whatever else the world may
give.
❚ What are some of the signs of this
trend? Christians are not immune to these social trends, but by our Savior’s
grace we are called to ask the question, “What is the world to me?”
❚ How does this trend toward the
values of this world show itself in the church?
❚ What can Christians do to work
against this trend?
In Closing
Another parable that teaches a
point similar to the story about the rich man who thought he had a way to “take
it with him” is Jesus’ parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:16–21).
A man is so wealthy he has no
place to store all his goods. He decides to tear down his barns and build
bigger ones, thinking that then he will be at ease. “But God said to him, ‘Fool!
This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared,
whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not
rich toward God” (Luke 12:20–21).
❚ Sing or read aloud together LSB
730.
Prayer
[1]
The Resurrection of our Lord Schnorr von Carolsfeld,
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