The Gospel of John 1:29-42
John saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
Let us Pray: Holy God, You who reveal the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world, draw my heart into the same wonder that filled John when he recognized Your Son standing among ordinary people. Let my eyes be opened to Your presence in the quiet places where You dwell unnoticed. Teach me to point toward Christ with humility, not drawing attention to myself, but directing others to the One who brings freedom, mercy, and truth. As the first disciples heard Jesus ask, “What are you looking for,” let that question echo within me. Search, my desires, purify my intentions, and lead me to seek what truly gives life. When You invite me to “come and see,” give me the courage to follow, to step into the unknown with trust, to dwell where You dwell, and to let that encounter reshape my heart. Amen.
“Come and see.” An invitation that would be hard to turn down.
The most meaningful things to most of us are things we have experienced, witnessed, seen, heard, tasted, touched, felt in some real, human way. And I think this is something like what the disciples of John the Baptist were hungry for, whether they would have explained it that way or not , when they first saw Jesus and started to follow him in this morning’s Gospel. John points them in the right direction, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” And they follow, because “Lamb of God” for 1st Century Jews meant sacrifice, forgiveness, redemption, and who wouldn’t want to see and get their hands on why John would have ever thought to call Jesus any of those things? They meet up with Jesus, and they call him Rabbi, which means “teacher,” like maybe they were expecting a lecture or a reading or a sermon or something. But Jesus doesn’t do any of that. He just says, “come and see.” “Come and see.” And so, they do. This life of faith is meant to be felt, which God proved by showing up in the skin and bones of Jesus. This life of faith is meant to be practiced, not just preached about. This life of faith is meant to be shared through worship, learning and service. This faith matters most, for us and for others , when we come and see it in flesh and blood, through sweat and tears, in laughter and love and when we become it and go and show it to such an extent that others are fascinated by the light our very lives share with and for, the sake of God’s world. So, after we go and see, we need to continue to see, show, and share. This is the essence of the sharing. We need to notice what God is doing in our lives, sharing that with others, and inviting them to come and see for themselves.” So why do we find this so hard to do? Why are we so afraid of spreading the Good News to others? Maybe part of our fear comes from the fact that we just don’t see God at work in our lives, and we don’t want to be exposed as frauds. And yet, each of us has had some encounter with Jesus, or we wouldn’t be here right now. Think about it for a moment: how have you personally experienced Christ? How have you seen God in action lately? When John saw Jesus, He openly declared: “Here comes the Lamb of God, the One who takes away the sin of the entire world!” That’s quite a statement! But John had experienced something his disciples apparently had not, and he was eager to tell them about that experience. He wanted them to see it, too. He wanted them to follow Jesus and go and see the meaning of Jesus’ coming to us in the flesh and to understand that when Jesus asks Andrew and the other disciple, “What are you looking for?” it means a lot more than just, “Did you lose something? Can I help you find it?” Jesus is really asking, “What are you searching for in life? What is your soul’s deepest desire? What are you seeking with all of your being?” Jesus asks us the same question. What are you looking for? What do you seek? What are you hunting for, to satisfy your soul’s deep longing? It is one that exists in every life and community. It is, however, a question we often avoid or deny. For most of us it is not the subject of everyday social conversation. To face our deepest longings, to acknowledge the emptiness within, to inquire about what is of ultimate importance, that which shapes and forms our lives, just is not polite dinner party conversation. It is too risky. It means we would have to get real, be honest, vulnerable, and open. So, we talk mostly about what doesn’t matter until something happens that does matter – a tragedy, a failure, the loss of a loved one, a challenge that seems insurmountable. That’s when the question arises. “What are you looking for”? As we bring Jesus into our lives, He says to us: “come and see.”
He’s still asking. He still wants to know, because we are really good at looking for all the wrong things, in all the wrong places.
So come and see, see what Jesus has to offer each and everyone of us.
Let us Pray: Perfect Light of revelation, as you shown in the life of Jesus, whose epiphany we celebrate, so shine in us and through us, that we may become beacons of truth and compassion, enlightening all creation with deeds of justice and mercy. Amen.
Reflections by Bob 