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!”

The Word became Flesh and Lived among Us

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. . . And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-18)

“In the beginning. . .the Word was God!” What a great Message for Christmas, God in Jesus present for the creation, a part of all that was, is and is to come. Also a wonderful message for the beginning of a new year, that God became one of us and lives among us, that God moved into our neighborhood and is with us always, even to the “end of the age.”

Our world and our lives are filled with light and darkness, and in times of darkness it is easy to forget that there once was light. Jesus Christ brings that light into the world and reminds us that even in the darkest hours, that light can never be extinguished, that it is always with us.

Times of endings and beginnings allow, perhaps even force, us to reflect on the past, to learn from our experiences both positive and negative; to remember those we have loved and lost and to give thanks for them and their lives as gifts of God to us. These times allow and encourage us to look forward, to realize that “graduation” is also “commencement,” a new beginning, a time to nurture old relationships and to build new ones, a time to discard those things that way us down, and to open ourselves to the possibilities that the Light of Christ brings to us as we begin our next journey around the sun, including living abundantly and fully in the present moment.

In the year just ended, I retired (for the second time), nursed my wife back to health after major Thoracic surgery, was blessed to spend time with my 96 year old mother, including being with her when she died and passed on into the nearer presence of our Lord. I had good times with family and friends and hiked and paddled a lot, enjoying the beauty of God’s Creation. I ended the year with a long hike and the 100^th birthday party for one of my mother’s friends from the nursing home. Throughout the year, through good times and tough times, I lived in the light of Christ which has overcome the darkness.

As we begin a New Year, I invite you all to join me in remembering and celebrating the past year, grateful for God’s presence and Grace, and in looking forward to a New Year, open to God’s Spirit and surrounded by God’s Grace and Truth.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, full of grace and truth. (John 1:18)