Second Sunday After Epiphany
Year A
January 20, 2007
All Saints’ Bentonville
Gospel:
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).
John the Baptist declared, “I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel”. John didn’t know who Jesus was and, evidently, neither did John’s followers Andrew and the unnamed disciple. They came up with all kinds of ways of describing Jesus trying to figure out what might fit best. In this short passage we heard Jesus referred to as “Lamb of God”, “Son of God”, “Rabbi (translated as “Teacher”), and “Messiah (translated as “Anointed”). Each of these would-be followers of Christ was more artist than historian. Each of the disciples is offering an impression of an astounding encounter.
The question of whom this man Jesus was extended far beyond an afternoon conversation on the banks of the Jordon. Three centuries later, the question of Jesus’ identity was still the burning issue of the day. Gregory of Nyssa complained in his piece "On the Deity of the Son," that
"The whole city is full of it, the squares, the marketplaces, the crossroads, the old-clothes men, money changers, food sellers: They are all busy arguing. If you ask someone to give you change, he philosophizes about the Begotten and the Unbegotten; if you inquire about the price of a loaf, you are told by way of a reply that the Father is greater and the Son inferior; if you ask ‘Is my bath ready?’ the attendant answers that the Son was made out of nothing."
It was in the fourth century as it would be today if the server at McDonalds asked, “Would you like some fries with that burger and tell me sir, do you think Jesus was fully divine and fully human?
And still in the 21st century, we are continue trying to find the real Jesus. And in answer to our quest to know him, Jesus offers the same reply he offered these potential disciples, “Come and See”.
One morning, a few months ago, I was sitting alone at one of the plastic booths at the Station - the greasy hamburger joint on the square, two doors down from the Walton’s original five and dime. Maybe the last restaurant in the country to still hold the French in such low regard that they persist in calling their fried potatoes, “Freedom Fries”.
The owner was lecturing one of his young employees on the value of hard work and punctuality – qualities he urged the young man to acquire quickly so that he could “get ahead in this world” or at least keep his job flipping burgers.
A teenaged waitress, more adept at avoiding the owner’s morning counsel, busied herself arranging cutlery and keeping my tea cup hot. She commented on the theology book I was reading, on the cold biting wind outside and finally garnered the courage to ask the question that had puzzled her since I had walked in, “What are you?” she asked.
It was …. a curious question, but one I understood. I’ve worn a clerical collar around Benton County long enough to know that it elicits some interest. There are times when I would rather just blend in with the crowd, but the collar is a calling card of sorts. Often providing me with an entrée into peoples lives. Sometimes giving me a chance to talk with folks about their spiritual journey and the work we are doing here at All Saints’. And so I wear it, in the hope that it will inspire other curious questions about the nature of my identity.
Jesus didn’t need to wear a clerical collar to inspire questions about his identity. It was apparent to all who met him that they had encountered someone unique.
Imagine what a day it was for the John’s disciples when they first stumbled upon Jesus. Apparently they were almost dumbstruck, acting like star stuck groupies. Invision encountering someone that you thought might be the son of God and the first question out of your mouth is “Where are you staying?” That might be a question I would eventually ask someone I had bumped into on the square. But if I had just met the son of God, I’m not sure it would be the first question out of my mouth. But that was the question they blurted out.
And Jesus answered it by saying, “Come and see.” That afternoon he showed them where he was staying, probably in the simple home of a relative or acquaintance or maybe at the campsite where John the Baptist ate his meals of locust and wild honey. But what he really showed them was who he was.
The question, “Where are you staying?” is elsewhere translated as “Where do you abide?” It is this language of abiding that is more to the point, words that we, later in John, hear Jesus use repeatedly. “Abide in me as I abide in you…As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.” So maybe the naïve question of these aspiring disciples isn’t so foolish after all. In asking, “Where are you staying? They were really asking who Jesus was, what he was about, and perhaps most importantly, what is the nature of our relationship? In offering them the invitation to come and see, Jesus was asking them to take the first step in a journey of discovery. Discovering what it meant to be truly loved – to find love that is abiding, enduring.
Whenever I meet a new person, a question they eventually get around to asking me is, ”So… Where is your church?” I’m happy to tell them. I’ll usually give them the address and maybe some directions. But what I really want to say is “Come and see.” Because the question I want to answer isn’t just “Where are you staying?” but “Where do you abide.” “What are you about?” “Who are you people?” And is this a place where I can be loved?
And after spending an afternoon with Jesus, Andrew left to tell his brother Simon, “We have found the Messiah.”
It’s what I want for All Saints’. I would like for every visitor who comes through this door to sense that this is a place where the love of Christ abides. That this is a place where on any given Sunday each of us can expect an encounter with the Messiah. And maybe more importantly, that we leave this sacred space in anticipation of an encounter with the resurrected Christ in the face of every curious waiter, overbearing teacher, insolent student, demanding patient, overbearing doctor, insistent client, unreasonable boss and irritating office mate. Realizing that in each of these encounters is an opportunity to meet Jesus over and over again.