Epiphany 2A Gospel Reflection and Questions
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).
Commentary:
We are in the church season of Epiphany, the time following Christmas, when we focus our attention on the moments when God reveals God’s life, God’s very Self, in and among us. The passage from the first chapter of John this morning is a story of John the Baptist’s and the disciples’ face-to-face encounter with Jesus.
John the Baptist points to Jesus and says “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” We hear that two of John’s disciples heard him say this and in response to this proclamation follow Jesus. Jesus asks these new followers what they seek. The question that we hear they ask Jesus sounds like an odd one to us, asking Him where He is staying. It helps to know that the original Greek word for “staying” (meno) may be a double entendre here, having the superficial meaning of where you are staying (as in what house are you going to spend the night in), as well as the deeper question about where Jesus’ heart or spirit lies, abides. Understanding the disciples’ question as a probing one to Jesus about His intentions, allows Jesus’ simple response of “come and see” to be understood as an invitation into Jesus’ heart and Mission.
With Jesus’ invitation to come and see who He is, where He’s going, and what His purpose is, Andrew invites Peter, Peter invites others, and those who discover God abiding among us grows exponentially. And it’s all through the simple pointing of one of us toward Messiah, and God’s constant, eternal, and gentle invitation to come and see!
Questions for Reflection:
· In what ways do people point to God?
· Have you ever heard God inviting you to share what you want?
· Sometimes it’s difficult to be honest with God, even though we know God knows what’s in our hearts. How can we be more vulnerable with God?
· How has God called you or someone you know in the past to “come and see” to experience a new thing? How did you/they respond?