Second Sunday after the Epiphany
Text: John 1:29-42
Pastor Jean M. Hansen
Weird things happen when I’m preparing for a sermon. This past week I had finished reading about 10 commentaries or sermons on today’s Gospel reading, and in spite of all that erudite input, all that initially came to my mind was these song lyrics. Now, remember, I am not musically gifted, and I hardly ever listen to music, but this is what was playing on repeat in my memory, complete with a tune. “Do you know where you’re going to? Do you like the things that life is showing you? Where are you going to? Do you know?”
Who can name that tune and the singer? It’s the theme from the movie Mahogany from around 1976, sung by Diana Ross. Now, why would that be floating among the scholarly discourse and creative comments that I had just read? It’s because of Jesus’ question, “What are you looking for?”
To summarize what happened before that question, it seems that John the Baptist saw Jesus, whom he had recently baptized, and openly declared to those accompanying him, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (If I wanted to, that phrase alone could merit a sermon, but we’re headed a different direction today.) John then offered a rather convoluted explanation which concluded with his description of seeing the Spirit of God coming down from heaven, like a dove, and resting on Jesus. That was exactly what God told John would occur to the greater one, the one for whom John was preparing the way, the one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. So this one, Jesus, is the Chosen One, John proclaimed.
He was convincing, because the very next day two of John’s disciples followed Jesus as he walked by, and were asked by Jesus, “What are you looking for?” We hear that question today; evidently a common question in initial employment interviews is, “What are you looking for in a job?” I also read that on dating apps, “What are you looking for” is a question that women often ask, and men often dread. It’s a question used to help people pin down what they want in a college or a retirement community or in retirement or in a new pastor (to bring this closer to home).
What are you looking for? In all of those cases people are encouraged to say something about their needs and desires. Was that also the case when Jesus asked John’s disciples, “What are you looking for?” One commentator expanded the question in these ways, “Where do you find meaning in life? What activities make your heart sing? What ideas stir you to action? What tragedies break your heart?” (1)
Those are questions that require some contemplation, and perhaps these would-be disciples were not quite ready for that because they answer Jesus’ question with a question, “Where are you staying?” Now, they did call Jesus, “Rabbi”, which means that they recognized him as a teacher, and perhaps were indicating that they wanted him to be their teacher, and thus they wanted to spend some time with him.
But, as often is true in scripture, that English translation isn’t quite right; it would be more accurate for the text to say, “Where do you abide?”, which could have deeper meaning, including, “Where are you in relation to God?” They wanted to know where to go to receive what he had to offer, which could include connecting more fully to God. In which case, Jesus’ response, “Come and see,” was inviting them to do more than check out where he was lodging. He was inviting them to walk the path he walked and to see a new way of life.
Quoting Pastor Mark Havel, “Ultimately, they saw him heal and forgive and tell great stories. They watched him live and move and breathe with and among everyday people, just like they were. They watched him touch lepers and be touched with oil and tears and hair of a sinful woman. They saw him love others purely and plainly. They watched him suffer and struggle and sacrifice and die - like a “lamb of God”, after all. And they suffered the sting of that loss as a result. And they felt the joy of his redemption, on the other side of the empty tomb. All of this changed them, transformed them, and changed the world around them….” (2)
When Jesus asked them, “What are you looking for?”, he understood that they were seeking something more, something more significant than the lives they were living. I doubt they could have imagined what was in store for them. Yet, the experience of that one encounter was consequential enough for one of those disciples, Andrew, to invite his brother, Simon to come and see as well, not just anyone, but the Messiah. And we all know that Simon became known as Peter, the rock on which the church was built.
The Gospel of John begins with these words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…and the word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1, 14) Just a few verses later in Chapter 1 that message is clarified; if you want to see the word made flesh, come and see Jesus.
Today the words of Jesus still ring true for us. In this confusing world he asks us, “What are we looking for?”, and then invites us to come and see. Come and see the one who taught and practiced unconditional love, peace and kindness; who spent this life defending the poor and the marginalized; who included the excluded and even forgave his killers while they executed him unjustly.
In a world where power, bullying, consumption, winning and retaliation are championed as the way to succeed, we should be asking ourselves two questions. First, what are we truly looking for that will give our lives meaning, make our hearts sing and has the ability to transform us and others for the good, and, second, how can we find it in and through Jesus?
Then, as many people look for a savior elsewhere, or are turning Jesus into a savior he is not, it is our task to share who he is, to challenge wrong-headedness and self-aggrandizement firmly and lovingly and invite them to “come and see” along with us. Do we know where we are going? No, but we’re not going alone. AMEN
(1) “What are you Looking for? … Come and See” by Carla Pratt Keyes, January 15, 2023, “A Sermon for Every Sunday”
(2) “Come and See, Go and Show” by Pastor Mark Havel, John 1:29-42, January 15, 2017, www.crossofgrace.org