What Are You Looking For?

2^nd Sunday Ordinary Time – Cycle B

Samuel 3:3b-10,19; Cor. 6:13c-15a, 17-19; 

John 1:35-42

I’m planning a trip, a long journey, and all of you are invited to come with me. OK, you might respond, that sounds like an adventure, but I have a few questions. Where are we going, how will we get there, what will we see, how much will it cost and when are we returning home?

Vital questions, one and all. My response to you is – what are you looking for? Andrew and the other disciple didn’t have an answer to that question. John the Baptist had shown them the way. He pointed them in the right direction, but he didn’t tell them what they would find. That information would have to come from Jesus.

Does this scene seem familiar to you? It Should – we reenact it at every mass. The priest holds up the consecrated body and blood of Christ and using John’s exact words, he says “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” And just as Andrew and the other disciple, we leave our pews and go to Jesus. And Jesus welcomes us. He invites us to journey with him, but like Andrew and the other disciple, we don’t know all the details. Our ultimate destination is the Kingdom of God, but the route we take, the company we keep, the stops along the way are not clearly defined for us.

Two years ago, one of the couples from our deacon class invited my wife and I to a gathering on their farm. Their place is on the other side of Brandenburg, Kentucky. I knew how to get to Brandenburg, but needed directions to the farm from there. The instructions called for us to make a right turn at the flashing yellow light. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The sun was bright. I had a good CD in the stereo and was enjoying the scenery so much that I missed my turnoff. Susan saw the yellow light, but I had failed to tell her what to look for. We eventually realized our mistake, turned around and found our way back to the farm. Life is sometimes like that. Between getting the kids to school on time, stopping by the grocery, making sure the homework is finished, we miss the face of God in the checkout girl. We get so caught up in the busyness that we miss the flashing yellow light that God has left for us. The signs are there, but recognizing them is sometimes not so easy.

I’ve often wondered what was said that afternoon between Jesus, Andrew and the other disciple. Did they talk about the kingdom of God? Did they discuss covenants and prophesies? What did Jesus say that prompted Andrew to proclaim to his brother Peter that “we have found the Messiah”? What convinced Andrew and Peter and the other disciple to go on this journey with Christ? And who exactly was this other disciple?

The identity of the other disciple is never revealed. The other disciple is mentioned on at least six separate occasions in John’s gospel. He is sometimes referred to as the “disciple that Jesus loved”. What do we know about this person? We have no name, no occupation, no town of origin with which to identify the person. We are not even certain of gender. So who was it? The church has always traditionally identified this person as John the apostle. Perhaps I’m taking a few liberties here, but I’ve always felt that the disciple’s identity is unspoken so that we can insert ourselves into the gospel story. The unnamed disciple is you … and me.

So when Christ asks, “What are you looking for?” he is asking us as well. When he invites Andrew to come and see where he is staying, he invites us also. We can continue this through the whole of John’s gospel. It was you and me that reclined with Jesus at the last supper. It was you and me that Christ addressed from the cross when he said “there is your mother”. It was you and me that raced with Peter to the empty tomb on Easter morning. We are there too.

Suffice it to say, Andrew and the other disciple did not receive ALL of the answers that they were searching for that first afternoon with Jesus. They walked with Jesus for the three years of his earthly ministry. They spent the remainder of their lives interpreting Jesus’ words and traveling the known world, preaching the gospel of the risen lord. Early Christian writers place Andrew in modern day Istanbul and Russia before being martyred in Greece. His story is complete. OUR story is still being written. We spend this day with Jesus, we accept him, we become one with him through the Eucharist. It’s a great first step, but one step does not a journey make. It will take us a lifetime of searching to truly know Him. What are you looking for?

Deacon Darryl J. Diemer

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

January 18, 2009