Epiphany 1 – Narrative Lectionary 4
January 7, 2018
Grace, Mankato, MN
John 1.35-51
It’s been about 40 years now since a former co-worker, LuAnn, invited me to the young adults group at her church. She knew I had been outside the church for some time and maybe she knew I was searching for something, even if I didn’t know it myself. LuAnn didn’t pressure me, make any outlandish promises or make any demands upon me. She simply issued an invitation. I was welcomed as I was warmly into the group and my questions were treated respectfully. After a number of months and on my own, without any pressure, after years away from the church I rededicated my life to Christ. I figured that all of the questions I had about God and Jesus and me were better answered inside the church than outside.
LuAnn and her group simply did what those first followers of Jesus did 2,000 years ago: “Come and see.” John the Baptizer is again pointing to Jesus, so much so that two of his own disciples come to follow Jesus. Jesus sees them and asks, “What are you looking for?” and they ask him a rather bizarre question: “Where are you staying?” To which Jesus says, “Come and see.” But it’s not bizarre at all. You see, in John’s gospel, the word for stay (or remain or abide) is very important. The word has more to do with a “who” than a “where.” Through this brief exchange John’s Jesus wants to invite us into a deeper relationship with God.
When Jesus asks, “What are you looking for?” he acknowledges that all of us are seeking something, most often to do with meaning and purpose, whether we know it or not. For those of us who have at least begun that journey with Jesus, it means two scary things. First, it means that as people who have encountered the Son of God, part of our responsibility as followers is to issue the same invitation to others to “Come and see.”
But notice who does the heavy lifting in this exchange. It’s not up to us to prove anything about Jesus; that’s Jesus’ job. Ours is to simply invite people to come and see. Martin Luther is purported to have said that sharing the gospel is simply one beggar telling another beggar where to find food. Indeed, his last words on his deathbed were, “We are all beggars.”
Yet, as scary as inviting people to encounter Jesus is, there is something that is even scarier that God asks of us. The invitation for us to “Come and see” is not a one and done event; it’s ongoing our whole lives. Every time we gather, Jesus wants to know “What are you looking for?” and bids us come and see. That often means going places with Jesus and doing things that are downright terrifying for us.
For me, I sense that Jesus is continually inviting me to give him my whole self, not just part of me that I’m comfortable giving him. And for me that means giving him my heart as well as mind. Jesus seems to be asking me to open myself up, to him and to others in a way that is risky and vulnerable, but life giving. For others of you, that might be different.
Where is Jesus calling you to go deeper with him, to come and see? Wherever we are and whatever that means, Jesus invites us to abide with him.May God give you the strength today to follow Jesus and the grace to open your hearts to him. Amen.
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