John 1:29-42
Come and see. We are being invited in just as the disciples are. Come and see where Jesus lives, come and see how he lives, come and see who he is. But how, how do we see what we can't? How do we come and see? Yet this gospel gives us this message of seeing who Jesus really is.
It starts just a little early in this same chapter. Jesus is God, Jesus is light, and Jesus is the word of God made flesh. Still this doesn't give us anything concrete, but all are ways to observe, to see meaning. Yesterday, as the clouds were breaking up and flying across the sky, you could see the play of light and dark. How they complimented and made the sky a beautiful thing to watch as it changed and moved. Like a beautiful dance. So often we think of the dark as the bad thing, but without it we cannot perceive what is light. It helps us remain balanced. In his book Landmarks by Robert MacFarlane he describes a white out, where nothing is the same, even gravity is off. Everything is light and so all the landmarks disappear, it is how settlers got lost from house to barn in the winter and died. There was nothing to distinguish where they were or how to get back. So darkness is a landmark to where the light exists. It is our landmark of hope.
The next place we see Jesus is in this testimony we have read today of John the Baptist. Behold, the Lamb of God. The word behold is from Old English actually bihaldan and it means thoroughly to retain. The looking part is found only in English translations. It actually means something deeper. How do we thoroughly retain Jesus or the Lamb of God. There are so many meanings and instances of this word in scripture. In John though Jesus says he is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. When Peter is estranged from Jesus and they have breakfast on the beach Peter is to feed and tend the sheep. Looking more deeply helps us to thoroughly retain what, who Jesus is. It helps us to look more deeply into the gospel in order to find him.
Jesus asks them what they are seeking, when they follow him after John points him out. And they want to see where he is staying. They want to know Jesus more than just a passing person through their lives. Hospitality from this period would have demanded a meal, not just a visit with me in the parlor. They would have talked, seen things about Jesus that you don't get from just passing by on the street. So come and see is the beginning of invitation to us all. The gospel writer has used this from the beginning and it is one we can learn from also.
We as Episcopalians aren't very adept at invitation. We don't just ask someone to come and see our church. Yet it is the very essence of what John is inviting us to. Come and see deeply, come and invite others because this is what Andrew does. They have gone and seen and he invites Peter, his brother to know more deeply. When we ask people to come and see, they will get to know us more deeply and how we see Jesus, who Jesus is to us. There are things we see about Jesus which others don't. We have a unique way of seeing Jesus.
We believe Jesus is not something you can nail down. We believe we get to know Jesus on our journey of faith, and sometimes that is challenged and changed. Because mystery is a part of our knowing. Going deeper into the meaning in the scripture. Going deeper into the Way of Love which Jesus teaches us is why he has come, not to condemn, but to offer the invitation. Invitation shouldn't threaten us or make us uncomfortable. Just this week I told a friend about a book I was reading and by the weekend they had it and were finding the same depth and wonder I had found. They never would have read it though if I hadn't invited them to.
There are people out there who are just waiting for the invitation. The invitation to know they have found a safe space. A church home which will welcome them with all their imperfections and understand this is good, very good. A church home which shows we are beloved and God loves us. Don't doubt the treasure you have here. Share it, invite people into it and you will find we come to know Jesus in ways we couldn't have imagined as we journey along this path. Come and see.
Come and see. We are being invited in just as the disciples are. Come and see where Jesus lives, come and see how he lives, come and see who he is. But how, how do we see what we can't? How do we come and see? Yet this gospel gives us this message of seeing who Jesus really is.
It starts just a little early in this same chapter. Jesus is God, Jesus is light, and Jesus is the word of God made flesh. Still this doesn't give us anything concrete, but all are ways to observe, to see meaning. Yesterday, as the clouds were breaking up and flying across the sky, you could see the play of light and dark. How they complimented and made the sky a beautiful thing to watch as it changed and moved. Like a beautiful dance. So often we think of the dark as the bad thing, but without it we cannot perceive what is light. It helps us remain balanced. In his book Landmarks by Robert MacFarlane he describes a white out, where nothing is the same, even gravity is off. Everything is light and so all the landmarks disappear, it is how settlers got lost from house to barn in the winter and died. There was nothing to distinguish where they were or how to get back. So darkness is a landmark to where the light exists. It is our landmark of hope.
The next place we see Jesus is in this testimony we have read today of John the Baptist. Behold, the Lamb of God. The word behold is from Old English actually bihaldan and it means thoroughly to retain. The looking part is found only in English translations. It actually means something deeper. How do we thoroughly retain Jesus or the Lamb of God. There are so many meanings and instances of this word in scripture. In John though Jesus says he is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. When Peter is estranged from Jesus and they have breakfast on the beach Peter is to feed and tend the sheep. Looking more deeply helps us to thoroughly retain what, who Jesus is. It helps us to look more deeply into the gospel in order to find him.
Jesus asks them what they are seeking, when they follow him after John points him out. And they want to see where he is staying. They want to know Jesus more than just a passing person through their lives. Hospitality from this period would have demanded a meal, not just a visit with me in the parlor. They would have talked, seen things about Jesus that you don't get from just passing by on the street. So come and see is the beginning of invitation to us all. The gospel writer has used this from the beginning and it is one we can learn from also.
We as Episcopalians aren't very adept at invitation. We don't just ask someone to come and see our church. Yet it is the very essence of what John is inviting us to. Come and see deeply, come and invite others because this is what Andrew does. They have gone and seen and he invites Peter, his brother to know more deeply. When we ask people to come and see, they will get to know us more deeply and how we see Jesus, who Jesus is to us. There are things we see about Jesus which others don't. We have a unique way of seeing Jesus.
We believe Jesus is not something you can nail down. We believe we get to know Jesus on our journey of faith, and sometimes that is challenged and changed. Because mystery is a part of our knowing. Going deeper into the meaning in the scripture. Going deeper into the Way of Love which Jesus teaches us is why he has come, not to condemn, but to offer the invitation. Invitation shouldn't threaten us or make us uncomfortable. Just this week I told a friend about a book I was reading and by the weekend they had it and were finding the same depth and wonder I had found. They never would have read it though if I hadn't invited them to.
There are people out there who are just waiting for the invitation. The invitation to know they have found a safe space. A church home which will welcome them with all their imperfections and understand this is good, very good. A church home which shows we are beloved and God loves us. Don't doubt the treasure you have here. Share it, invite people into it and you will find we come to know Jesus in ways we couldn't have imagined as we journey along this path. Come and see.
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