He said the them, “come and see”
August 2016 Newsletter Article
When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.”
–John 1:38-39 (NRSV)
In John’s gospel Jesus calls his first disciples immediately after his baptism. Two of John’s followers are standing around talking with their teacher when all of a sudden a stranger walks by. Their teacher, John, then says something very cryptic, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” Fortunately, the two followers have been paying attention to their teacher. They know that John’s words mean, “Look, this is the one I’ve been telling you about.”
Because Jesus was the one that they had been told about, John’s students begin to follow the stranger. Eventually Jesus hears the footsteps behind him and turns to face them. That is where we join the story.
How do we respond when Jesus asks us, “what are you looking for?” What are we looking for when we come to church? Are we looking to be entertained? Is it about finding a social outlet? Are we hoping to find a relationship with someone who can save us from lives of quiet desperation? Do we need to learn to forgive ourselves and others?
John’s followers respond to Jesus by asking him where he is going. They want to know what the journey is going to look like before they sign up to go with him. They have jobs, families, and reputations to protect. Even if their teacher says, “this is the one,” they want to know more before they commit. The risk of following this stranger into the unknown is simply too great. In short, John’s followers are just like us.
The stranger does not give them the answer they are looking for. Instead of details, he simply says, “come and see.” He asks the same thing of us. Implicit in this statement is the reminder that the future is uncertain. Our journey will take us in directions we do not expect and would choose on our own. This is true for us as individuals, as well our church as a whole.
Because we are just like John’s followers, the temptation is to remain skeptical. We want to know the details. We want to know where Jesus is taking us. It is much easier to stay where we are than to accept his invitation to “come and see” what the future might hold. The difficulty of faith is that Christ does not tell us where the journey will take us. He does, however, assure us the we are headed to the promised land of God’s eternal kingdom. The question is, are we prepared to follow him along the way?
