"Come and See"
John 1:29-42
Epiphany 2A, January 20, 2008
A Sermon by Fr. James Haney V
When did you first become aware of God in your life? When did you first come to believe? For Christians, there are usually 3 different answers. They span a continuum.
At one end are those who have always had a sense of God's presence in their lives. My former bishop in Texas was that way. He never could remember a time when God wasn't a reality in his life. Some of you may fall into that category.
At the opposite end of the spectrum are those who experience a sudden and dramatic conversion. For example, think of Saul, the chief persecutor of the church who was struck blind by the glory of Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. After he was healed, he became St. Paul, one of the chief apostles and author of the bulk of the New Testament. Or think of John Newton. He was a slave ship captain and a complete and total s.o.b. Yet he had a life changing spiritual encounter with Jesus. Afterwards, he wrote the hymn, "Amazing grace! how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!" Those are very dramatic types of conversion. Some of you may have experienced that yourselves.
But I suspect many of us, including me, fall somewhere in the middle. A sense of God's presence wasn't always a part of your life. But conversion wasn't a sudden thing either. The process was more gradual. God may have come to you in stages. God may have been laying the groundwork for years, but then some event crystallized your awareness of God and brought it to the forefront.
This week and next we hear about the calling of the disciples. We often think of that calling as a rather sudden sort of conversion. That's the way we'll hear it next week in Matthew. In next week's Gospel, Jesus walks up to the sea shore. He sees two brothers, Simon, and Andrew. He says, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." Then he calls two other brothers, James and John. And they all leave their nets and boats behind, and they follow Jesus.
Now, why the heck would they do this? This stranger walks up, says "Follow me," and they do. They drop everything and follow him. Why would they do this? Maybe Jesus had such a hypnotic and magnetic personality that they were drawn to him immediately. That is possible. That would make the calling of the first disciples one of those sudden and dramatic types of conversions.
But I think there’s more going on than meets the eye in Matthew. I think John’s tradition has something important for us. And for that, we need to turn to today’s Gospel lesson: John ch1 p967. This story takes place right after Jesus' baptism, well before John the Baptist was arrested.
In ch1 v29, John testifies that Jesus is the Lamb of God, and in v32 he testifies that he saw the Spirit descend upon Jesus like a dove. Then in v35, John points Jesus out to 2 of his disciples. One of them is Andrew. There is a good possibility that the other is John the brother of James. v37, these two disciples of John the Baptist leave him and follow Jesus.
Now you may be asking, "What are Galilean fisherman doing 70 miles away from home hanging around John the Baptist?" It turns out, fishing in the Sea of Galilee was a seasonal venture. In the hot summers, the fish go deep into the cool water. If you're fishing with a net in the summer, it's almost impossible to catch anything. However in the winter, the fish are attracted to the area by the shore where hot springs feed into the lake. Winter is a prime time to scoop them up. Then they'd salt them down for export or for storage during the other months.
So maybe these fishermen were on a break during the off-season of summer. Or maybe they were coming back from selling their pickled fish in Jerusalem. But however it might have worked, they’ve been hanging out with John the Baptist.
And when Jesus passes by, John passes the two disciples off. He tells them to follow Jesus. And they do. v38, as they're tagging along, Jesus turns and asks them "What are you looking for?" They respond, "Teacher/Rabbi, where are you staying?"
v39 Jesus says, "Come and see." It's a simple invitation. Come and see. Very understated. Yet very powerful. Come and see.
It's a wonderful model for Evangelism. Jesus doesn't beat them over the head with scripture. He doesn't thump a Bible. He doesn't push pamphlets in their faces. He meets them where they are. "What are you looking for? Come and see."
And it works. v41, Andrew is so impressed by Jesus that he brings his brother Simon Peter to meet him. Later in the chapter, Philip and Nathaniel join up. In fact, in v46, Philip uses the same words Jesus used, "Come and see." And if you continue reading John, they hang around with Jesus for at least a week.
Now, it doesn't take too much imagination to put the scenarios of the Gospels of John and Matthew together. John suggests that these disciples had a relationship with Jesus early on. Later on, by the time Jesus calls the 4 fisherman on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, there's a good chance that they've had a while to mull over his earlier teachings.
And apparently at that point, they're ready to commit. And they commit whole hog. They leave their nets. They leave their boats. They leave their livelihood behind. And they begin to follow Jesus in earnest.
I am convinced that the calling of the 4 fishermen is not an example of sudden and dramatic conversion. Instead, I believe it's an example of God working on them little by little, until the right moment comes along. And at that point, everything crystallizes for them. And they are ready to follow Jesus Christ as his disciples.
They first hear Jesus say "Come and see." And then afterwards they are ready to respond when he says, "Follow me."
And this is good news for us in two different ways.
First, because so often we equate discipleship with the kind of radical response of those 4 disciples: dropping everything and heading off down the road. So we beat ourselves up spiritually. We think things like, "If I were really going to be a good Christian then I would need to quit my job and head off and be a missionary in Haiti."
Of course, if Jesus is really calling you to do something like that, then you need to pay attention. But that's not the normal pattern. I don’t believe it wasn't even the normal pattern for the disciples.
I believe that they started following Jesus early on, that they went back to their regular jobs as fishermen until a very specific and narrow call came to them a while later. And even then, Jesus didn't change their job title. They were still going to be fishermen. He just changed the type of fishing they were going to do, fishing for people. So that's good news for all of us ordinary Christians who are called to follow Jesus in the midst of our regular occupations. We don't have to beat ourselves up because we're not dropping everything.
In fact God needs Christian doctors and nurses, Christian teachers and engineers, Christian police officers and attorneys. Maybe God especially needs Christian attorneys. God need faithful servants in all walks of life. So that’s good news.
It's also good news in another way. Part of our job as Christians is to go into all the world and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. And this can seem a daunting and overwhelming task.
But remember. You don't call people to be disciples. Jesus calls them to be disciples. Jesus is the one who says "Follow me." But you can help. You don't have the authority to say, "Follow me." But you can say, "Come and see."
We do this all the time in our secular lives. We say the equivalent of 'Come and see' over and over again. "Hey, have you seen this movie? Well, you really need to see it." "Hey, have you eaten at this wonderful restaurant? You ought to try it, the food is great." "Hey, I've got an extra ticket to the game. Do you want to come with me?"
And yet, when it comes to our faith, we clam up. We keep our religion private. We're very hesitant to share our faith with those around us. And yet, the reality is, most people don't come to a new church because of the signs. It's not Yellow Page ads or the website.
Most people still visit a church because they're invited by their friends. It's The #1 most effective way of bringing people to begin the path of discipleship is to invite them. That's something you can do. Make that invitation, "Come and see."
Do you want to come with me to church? We've got lots of exciting things going on. The people are great. The priest is a little weird, but it's a great place anyway. Do you want to come and visit our Bible study, or our Wednesday Night Alive? It's meant a lot in my life. Will you come to our men's breakfast or our youth group meeting? We have a great time together.
Those are ways of saying, "Come and see." That's the way to get people started on the Christian path. Not a hard sell. But a simple invitation.
That's the most effective way of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. You make the invitation, "Come and see." Then let Jesus make the invitation, "Follow me."
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Rev. James P. Haney V
Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Wichita, Kansas
January 20, 2008
