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Readings: 1 Corinthians 1: 1-9 and John 1: 29-42
We mentioned last week that the Epiphany season marks the revelation – or manifestation – of Christ to the Gentiles: his showing forth to the wider world. We might imagine that Jesus led a private and sheltered life during his adolescent years and early adulthood, only coming to public notice at the time of his baptism.
Today we hear John the Baptist’s assessment of Jesus after their direct encounter at the Jordan. “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me, because he was before me.” Not particularly easy to understand, but it leaves no doubt that John realised the great significance of Jesus’ appearing; in fact he proclaims, “I myself have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
There is a grand theological discourse and lofty language at the start of John’s gospel, but we then move into the recording of everyday encounters Jesus had with people. Two of John’s disciples start following Jesus. Maybe it was rather as if we spot a famous person or celebrity in the street, and decide to follow them for a while out of curiosity. Possibly they had seen him before. Whatever the case, Jesus turns and asks them, “What are you looking for?”
There is a sermon in itself there. Notice that whatever their quest, Jesus had come to meet them half-way. They’d heard a bit about Jesus from John, no doubt, because they were his disciples. They had decided to follow Jesus, maybe unsure why, or where this was heading. Then Jesus confronted them. “What are you looking for?” In the New International Version of the bible, it’s rather more blunt: ‘What do you want?’
The two disciples respond with a question, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” That sounds as if they might have been trying to evade the question with one of their own, but equally likely is that they were trying to prolong their encounter with Jesus. He invited them back to his place, wherever that was, and the writer recalls that he stayed with them that day until four o’clock in the afternoon. Very precise, but maybe this was such a life-changing encounter that the disciples remember the very moment.
It was certainly about more than just paying Jesus a quick visit. The Greek word used seems to be a favourite of the gospel-writer – ‘abide’. In the Revised Version of the bible, the disciples ask Jesus – ‘Where abidest thou?’ Then, ‘they saw where he abode, and they abode with him that day.’ ‘Abide’ is not a word we greatly use today, but it is used much in John’s Gospel. Later on, Jesus tells the twelve, “Abide in me as I abide in you.” To abide is to ‘wait patiently with’; there seems to be something more intimate and personal in ‘abiding with’ rather than just ‘staying with.’ We have the invitation to abide with Jesus as he abides in us, but also, Jesus wants the Church to abide with the world, and especially to be with all those who have no one to be with them.
‘What are you looking for? – Jesus asked the disciples. What are we looking for? Had I stopped you on the path on the way in to church this morning and asked you what you were looking for in your visit here, or seeking, what answer might you have given? Meaning? Peace? Security? Knowledge? Purpose in life? Or a relationship with the living God?
The first reading today is the opening passage of Paul’s first letter to Corinth. The letter addresses many problems which were to be found in the Corinthian church, not least the factions that had sprung up. Some church members claimed to be Paul’s disciples, some the followers of Cephas, other of Apollos. As we enter the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, it is perhaps instructive to see that church factions and divisions are nothing new. But not all divisions are necessarily destructive. Over the past fifty years or so, there have been moments when organic unity between some Christian denominations seemed possible – Anglicans and Methodists became quite close to it. Presbyterians and Congregations joined to become the United Reformed Church in the early 1970s. But the emphasis in the Week of Prayer has subtly shifted over the years. Now it is an opportunity to give thanks for the beliefs we share and to pray for the world in which we are set, recognising that Christ’s light is shed through so many different expressions of Christian worship and service. We can take heart that the early conflicts in the Church did not quench the spread of the gospel, nor have denominational boundaries stopped people living – and dying – for Christ ever since. God’s grace is greater than all our schisms and limitations.
At the beginning of his letter to Corinth, Paul starts off by cataloguing all that they should be grateful for: that they had been summoned by God to be saints and worshippers; that great grace had been poured out on them; that they had been given many gifts of speech and knowledge; that God is faithful, and would give them strength. The last verse notes that they were called into the ‘fellowship’ of Jesus Christ, just as we are with each other here and with those of other denominations. Here is another of those words which has a deeper resonance. The word in Greek is koinonia. It is a word that has little to do with cosy, inward-looking faith, but rather challenges us to share in the very life of God’s Son – that ‘abiding’ that we were considering earlier. It challenges us, too, to remember that even any Christians we find most difficult are fellow disciples, loved by Jesus as we are.
It seems significant that one of Jesus’ first actions after his baptism, or commissioning as we might think of it, was to gather a group of people together around him. Andrew and Simon Peter and the others had no idea of what they would have to go through; how much they would need each other, and certainly not how much their names would be revered down the centuries.
Maybe the question shouldn’t be ‘What are you looking for?’ as most of us are not new to Christian discipleship. Perhaps the question should rather be – ‘What are you going to do?’
So maybe today’s readings can help us reflect on our own sense of vocation, and what special task each of us might have been called to as a Christian. At the very least, if we have answered the question of what we are looking for, we should be taking steps to encourage and help others to ‘come and see.’ I like this prayer of Pat Bennett:
God be with us in our watching: and may our looking be attentive and focussed.
God be with us in our looking: and may our seeing be sharp and clear.
God be with us in our seeing: and may our understanding be deep and rich.
God be with us in our understanding: and may our doing be courageous and loving.
God be with us in our doing: and may our living be generous and true.
God be with us in the year to come: and may we well spend ourselves in it. Amen.