The author of 2 John insists that those who do not abide in the teaching of Christ or who go beyond it have cut themselves off from Christ.

At first, this may seem rather frightening - what if our understanding of theology, doctrine, or liturgy is not 100 per cent. Does this mean we are lost? Not at all! The letter hastens to add that the core of Jesus' teaching is the commandment to love one another. The emphasis is on what we do rather than the details of what we believe. The coming of Jesus in the flesh was the supreme expression of love. This is where so many people fall: they sometimes are very religious and theologically correct but terribly unloving. Ideally, we should be both, but if we must err it should be on the side of love.

People love to plan for the future and to have control over their lives and the world around them. Jesus cited several examples from Scripture where the end came suddenly and unexpectedly, catching people in the midst of their busy everyday activities. Events in our day - the tsunami, 9/11, earthquakes, and so on - teach us that we do not have as much control as we think. That is why the first reading is so important: when we live out a continual expression of love for God and others, we are always ready to meet God. Our reason for being alive is to learn how to love as God does - if we have learned that, it does not matter what happens.