St. Charles' Episcopal Church– St. Charles, IL

The Second Sunday after the Epiphany – 2 Epiphany – Year A RCL

Sunday January 20, 2008 

Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 40:1-12; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9; John 1:29-42

Rev. William R. Nesbit, Jr.

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

What are you looking for? Rabbi, where are you staying? Come and see. In this brief exchange between Andrew and Jesus the Gospel of John presents for us the cycle of faith. These words speak to us across time. That’s right, they speak to us! What are you looking for?

Or to put it a different way, Why do you come to church? This church. Or any church for that matter. Why are you following Jesus around. Is it because someone older than you told you to? That’s a good reason to start, but it won’t hold up for long. Is it because someone you respect, a peer, told you to? That will stand up a little longer, perhaps, but it too will eventually fail. It really is a good question. What are you looking for? It is such a good question in fact, that I am going to give you time to answer, and time to offer that answer up to God. Your answer, like Andrew’s, may be a question. Or it may not. Either way, that's OK. In the following two minutes of silence, look within yourself for the answer to the question Christ is asking us this morning, “What are you looking for?”

(Pause)

Now that you have had the chance to be in Andrew’s shoes, so to speak, let’s see how Andrew, and his unnamed companion did. Before we go on, I want to remind you of some things about the Fourth Gospel. The Gospel of John is the most metaphorical and poetic of the Gospels. You can always count on there being a lot more going on than meets the eye. So be ready to wonder! Now, back to the story. Andrew and company reply, “Rabbi, where are you staying?”

As with much in the Fourth Gospel, this is a two part answer. Just in case we miss this point, the author of the Fourth Gospel makes it more obvious by translating the title “Rabbi” to bring attention to it. And so we wonder...Why do they call Jesus teacher? He hasn’t done any teaching yet. John is the one doing the teaching. John has called Jesus, the Lamb of God, the Son of God, and he on whom the Spirit descended and abides, but nothing about Rabbi. How do they know he has something to teach them? Was it the question that he asked them?

Perhaps. With this one word, the author of the Fourth Gospel is showing us an important and universal truth. This is how we all come to Jesus at first; intrigued by what he may have to teach us. We all first meet Jesus as Rabbi and what about the second half of their question, "where are you staying?" On the one hand this is a very practical inquiry. But let's not forget that this is John's Gospel. Can you hear the metaphorical side of this question? Where do you live? Where do you come from? Who are you really? Here is the real question. The biggie. The question that we all wrestle with at one time or another. We can put it off for only so long before we are forced to face it. Who is this Jesus, really? The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world? The Son of God? A man? A God? The God; the great I AM?

It's easy to say that Jesus was a teacher who lived a long time ago and had a lot of important things to say and taught a way of life that was fulfilling. That’s the way we all start out. But sooner or later you get around to the point of having to accept that Jesus is God. Fully human and fully divine. It’s time to fish or cut bait. This, however, is a much tougher proposition. How can we get there?

Well, there’s only one way, and it’s risky. It’s risky because we have to make the first move. Our answer is there in Jesus’ answer to Andrew and his companion. “Come and see.” Again notice that the answer has two parts. The first part is an invitation. Come. Come to where I live. Come to where I am. Come into the reality of Jesus. Act like Jesus. That is the risky part. It feels risky because it is action before faith. The faith comes later.

The belief comes as the result of doing. In the Gospel of John, seeing is believing. And so the answer to the question of faith is answered in the doing of God’s will. If you are coming to church only on Sunday in hopes of finding your faith, you will sit there in your pew a long time and find nothing. This is God’s house only because it is filled with God’s people. God doesn’t live here. Sure, it’s a great place for people who believe to come together to celebrate, and when we do, God is present, but if you want to find your faith, you need to come and see where God lives, not where God celebrates. And to do that, you need to be about doing God’s will. If you wait until you believe before you act, you may be waiting forever.

Get involved. Now! Do something. Cook a meal for Hesed House. Teach a Sunday School class. Sing in the Choir. Go to Sandwich Board. Buy food for Sandwich Board. Join a Vestry committee. Heck, join the Vestry. Increase your pledge. Get involved with a charity group. Or a prayer group. Or a Bible study group. Donate your time. And on and on and on. I could go on forever. If you don't know what needs doing, ask. There are countless things that you can do to help the Church, our church in St. Charles as well as Christ’s Universal Church, to be a faithful, committed, Christian community.

If you have doubts, if you’re not sure if you believe, I can’t make you. Faith comes from the Spirit. But I can invite you. Come and see. Make the time. Take the risk. Do something. It only took Andrew a day before he ran to his brother Simon Peter and said of this teacher, “We have found the Messiah!”How long will it take the Spirit to work a miracle in you?