Welcome to the second Sunday after the Epiphany. This Sunday stands between the advent of Jesus Christ and our journey in following him; between the wonders of the Word made flesh and the gritty joy of our attempts to respond. This day comes after the celebration of God coming to earth in Jesus, after the awe of those who discover him in a stable in Bethlehem, after the tearing of the heavens at his baptism and hearing the words from heaven, “You are my beloved” and before the long path to discipleship in Lent, when following Jesus will take us through the cross. Our reading in John stands at a similar place in the Fourth Gospel: between the great revelation found in the prologue, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God,” to the stories of signs and wonders witnessed by those who try to follow Jesus.
Our reading today from John’s Gospel brings us to where Jesus has begun inviting people to follow him. I will go back a few verses from what we read today to where John the Baptist sees Jesus walking by and says about him, “Look here is the Lamb of God.” After he says this two of those with him hurry after Jesus. Jesus turns around and says to these two, “What are you looking for?” They do not respond to his question—they may not yet know what they are looking for, but instead call him “Rabbi” (master or great one) and ask him where he is staying. Jesus responds, “Come and see.” One of the two people is Andrew. He spends the day with Jesus and then goes and finds his brother, Simon Peter and tells him, “We have found the Messiah.” Simon Peter follows his brother to Jesus where is recognized as Simon the son of John and re-called as “Cephas.”
The next day, Jesus decides to go to Galilee. He finds Philip and invites him to follow. Philip may have known Andrew and Peter since they are from the same village Bethsaida, but Philip, on whatever basis, finds in Jesus someone on whom he can proclaim to Nathanael, “We have found the one about whom Moses and the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Nathanael responds in a less than generous way, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” to which Philip responds simply, “Come and see.”
Come and see. How might you respond to hearing these words? How might these words affect you if someone you knew and trusted said them to you? Would you be curious? Would you feel a certain sense of excitement about what it was you were being invited to witness? Would you feel flattered that someone thought to include you?
Come and see. Such open and simple words. Words that welcome, that include, that offer another the chance to experience something for themselves. An invitation that rings with a sense of hopefulness—a sense that something has been discovered that may have value for you as well. An invitation that invites you not only to see something, but to enter into the possibility of becoming a part of something.
Come and see.
These words, this invitation, form the heart not simply of this opening scene but much of John’s Gospel. John’s story is built around encounters with Jesus. Again and again, from these early disciples, to the Pharisee named Nicodemus, to the Samaritan women at the well, to the man born blind, to Peter, to Pilate, characters throughout John’s Gospel are encountered by Jesus.
And to these women and men, Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, powerful and marginalized, people of all shapes and sizes that Jesus meets, he says in one way or another, the same thing, “Come and see.” Come and see God do a new thing. Come and see as your future opens up in front of you. Come and see the grace of God made evident and accessible and available to all. They are invited to bring their faith and their willingness to learn and follow as Jesus reveals his desire to restore them to the fullness of life. John tells his story this way, I believe, to show the many ways’ Jesus reaches out to many kinds of people and how their responses can offer us a way to view our own discipleship.
And each of the people see something unique in Jesus. John the Baptizer sees Jesus as the one who is the Lamb of God—the Son in whom God can be known, the One who does God’s will.
The two who run after him see Jesus as Rabbi—or Master, one whose is deserving of honor and respect. Andrew sees Jesus as the promised Messiah, the one they have been waiting for—the anointed one promised to Israel. And Philip tells Nathanael that Jesus is the One prophesied by Moses and the prophets—the One who would fulfill the promise of the Torah. And Jesus says to them, “you don’t know the first of it.” “You will see greater things than these.” He says that they “will see the heaven opened and angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” For as these persons follow Jesus they learn that Jesus points them to God who is always more, in ways far beyond which they could have thought or imagined or experienced. In Jesus, God is made manifest. Jesus connects them and us directly to God. For Christ is the embodiment of God in the world.
Come and see. These words not only speak to the heart of John’s Gospel, but they are at the center of our Christian faith. We are called as followers to invite others to join us in praise, in study, in prayer and in service,. We are called to proclaim the good news of God in Christ to everyone. We are invited to share the work God is doing in and through us as we offer our gifts and our love.
Many of us are here because someone said to us, “Come and see” You may have become a part of a Christian community when you were a young child. You may have been invited to participate in a youth group, traveling to serve others. You may have discovered a longing in your heart as an adult. You may have left the church only to rejoin when you meet someone who shared their joy in being a part of a retreat experience, or a study group, or a fellowship of men and women who gather to explore their faith and bear each others’ burdens.
Our church has been spread across the world by one person sharing the story of Jesus with one other person and together discovering what Jesus has done in their lives. People turn to our Christian faith because they see what this faith has meant to those they know. We are known by our love that comes from Jesus and of the good work that comes from that love. Our call as Christians is not to convince others of the truth of a creed or a doctrine. We are invited to say, “Come and see.”
A person is new in the community, “Come and see” I know a group of people where you will be welcome.
Someone is struggling with troubles in life that weigh down their heart. “Come and see” Be a part of a community that follows the Christ who reached out to everyone he met to comfort and to heal . You do not need to walk this path alone. Let us travel with you, care for you, pray with you.
As daily we read or hear stories of relentless violence and hatred that leaves us feeling disheartened and helpless— “Come and see. We are going to march so that many can lift up our voices to care for creation. Come and see, we are going to learn how we can care for those who are homeless in our community. Come and see, we invite children and families to plant seeds and care for a garden that produces a wonderful bounty that is shared with those in our community who are hungry. Come and see—ride a bus with some warm socks to give to others in this cold winter. Come and see our work at food pantries where people are given the opportunity to gather the food they need to feed themselves and their families while receiving a welcome and a generous word that offers them food for their soul as well.
In our current time when the word of the Lord can seem rare, when there is a sense that the church is becoming less and less important in the lives of people in our society, we have the opportunity to share the good news with those who may not know God or whose eyesight may be dim as a result of their distance from the light of God.
We at Grace Church are actively engaged in God’s work in the world—moving outward as a community of faith. We continue to pray and listen as the Holy Spirit guides our discovery of ways in which we can work alongside our brothers and sisters in the Berkshires to follow Jesus as we care for young people who may not see themselves as “marvelously made,” to visit and offer hope to those who are isolated in their homes, to support young families as they raise their children in an unsteady and often confusing world, to respect and support our brothers and sisters who face hardship and discrimination as a result of their skin color, national origin, or native language.
We have so many opportunities to invite others who long for intimate community, serious spiritual discernment, engaged ministry to come and see. Our doors and our hearts are open to God’s call to be present to each other and to the wider community.
In this time of Epiphany we are invited to bear witness to how God in Jesus Christ is revealed in our lives. We are invited to share how God has transformed us and how with God’s help, working with others, we can proclaim the Good News, seek and serve all persons, striving for justice and peace. Come Holy Spirit, that we may share the grace of God with all, following you and inviting others into your love.