2 John, 4-9 concludes with:
“Many deceivers have gone out into the world,
those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh;
such is the deceitful one and the antichrist.
Look to yourselves that you do not lose what we worked for
but may receive a full recompense.
Anyone who is so “progressive”
as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God;
whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son.”
Wow! This is the first time I can recall a Daily Reading that contains such a slam on “progressives” (italics added in text). “Progressive” is what liberals, socialists, and communists like to call themselves when they no longer want to be identified with the havoc they have wrecked upon us while calling themselves “liberals”, “socialists”, and “communists”.
In today’s reading, it is as if the Apostle John, Himself, is calling clearly through the ages to warn progressives where they are heading. Not many will listen.
The reading is about as clear as it can be. Anyone so “progressive” as to stray from Christ and His teachings is separated from God, presumably forever. Each of us knows people who pride themselves on being so progressive that they have “moved beyond” Christian teachings. John, the most beloved of the disciples, makes it clear that they are lost.
We are left with a question: how much time should we spend praying for them? Probably, as much time as we’d want someone praying for us if we were flying in an airplane straight into a mountain we could not see.
