Come and See

Come and See

In the first chapter of the Gospel of John we hear the powerful “Christmas Story” of the presence of Christ with God the Creator in the beginning as all things were created. We hear that this Christ came as the Light into a world of darkness and that the darkness did not overcome it because the Light was stronger than any darkness. “and that Light, that “Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:18)

This is a wonderful story of assurance of God’s presence in the world, of God’s presence with us: but, now what? As John’s Gospel continues, we see and hear the beginning of the answer to our question:

“John saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! . . .’ 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 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. . . . 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.’ He brought Simon to Jesus. . .” (John 1:29-42)

The story does not stop with the Messiah’s presence in our world. It continues as human beings began to experience this presence as John the Baptist and his disciples experience the Light, the Lamb of God, in the fully human and fully divine Jesus, the anointed: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” The answer to Now What? Continues as John’s disciples leave him and follow Jesus. The two become Jesus’ first disciples as they ask the bumbling question, ‘where are you staying?’ After all, what does one ask the Messiah when we meet him on the Road? Jesus’ answer to them is the key to life and the key to our calling and our place in God’s kingdom.

Jesus answers them, “Come and see.” Come and see where I am staying, come and see what God sent me to do in the world, come and see what God through me calls you to do.’ As we read, “one of the two was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, who immediately finds Peter and proclaims, ‘We have found the Messiah,’” and brings him to Jesus. My guess is Peter had questions of his own: are you sure? Where is he staying, what must I do? My bet is that Andrew answered, “Come and see!”

And that, I believe, is our calling, our mission from God: to go as Andrew did to our brothers and sisters, family and friends, and those whom God puts into our paths and proclaim “we have found the Messiah, the Anointed,” and take them to him, proclaiming to them not only by our words but by our actions, “Come and See!”