John 1:29-42
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).(NIV)
Grace to you and peace from God our creator, from Jesus the Christ, our redeemer and friend and from the Holy Spirit, our sustainer and guide.
There are two things I have to tell you to set up this illustration. When I was a kid, we had a dog named Sparky. He was a black mix of who knows what variety. He was a farm dog; lived outside and knew every square inch of the place.
The other thing is that there was a natural gas pipeline that ran through our farm. It ran northwest to south east in a land where the roads were laid out in north-south/east-west one mile grids. It crossed our lane a little south of the house and continued at a diagonal across the fields. The pipeline company would inspect the pipeline on a regular basis. To do so, they would fly the length of the pipeline in a small plane looking for signs of rupture.
Our dog Sparky was especially fond of that airplane. As soon as he would hear the whine of that twin engine, and he could hear it before any of us, he was off like a shot. He would run out into the field to meet it and then he would come charging back. He just loved to chase that plane. He would cross the lane, run the ditches, leap over the fence and off across the pasture he would go. My dad was always a little bemused by Sparky’s behavior. “I wonder what he thinks he will do with it if he ever caught it.”
And that is really the question of the day. “What are you going to do now?” It is the question of all our readings this morning. It is the question of Isaiah. Now that God has revealed God’s calling of Israel to be the light to the nations, what are they going to do with that? How will they live that out? It is the question Paul asks the people in Corinth. What are you going to do with the gifts God has given you? It is the next question to ask after you find Jesus. What are you going to do now?
Jesus called his disciples with ‘Come and see.’
What would they see? They would…
See what Jesus does.
See how people are treated and how it affects them.
See what good news in action looks like.
They would see that…
It looks like hungry people being fed.
It looks like people who are homeless and vulnerable being protected.
It looks like the sick being healed and comforted.
It looks like the refugee being given a warm welcome.
It looks like justice and peace for all.
Good news in action is the Kingdom of God.
But it is hard for us humans to keep our focus on the Kingdom of God. We get distracted by the pressures of living in this world. We have to make a living and forget to make a life. We get sidetracked by chasing things we cannot catch and would do us no good even if we DID catch them. And we get worried that we won’t have enough… that we won’t have enough resources, enough courage, enough faith, enough ideas of what to do.
But just as Paul reminds the people in Corinth they have what they need, we are reminded as well. He wrote: “For in him [Christ]you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— 6 God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.” (1 Cor 1:5-7, NIV) Paul is talking to the community, not to individuals. “You, together, have been enriched in every way.” All the ‘yous’ are plural. No individual has everything they need. Everyone has a bit of what the whole community needs.
This weekend we celebrate the legacy of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Our nation needed his gifts. Our nation needed his advocacy. We, as a nation, did not have the will nor the vision to do or be what God intended; at least not until he spoke up. Not until he mobilized the people to stand tall and stand together, to dream big dreams and not give up. Our nation needed that energy. We still need it. But it was given.
That is just one contemporary example, but there are so many more. We are given what we need when we look for it in faith. Even sometimes when we are not looking for it, we get what we need. We may not catch what we are chasing, but we can look back and see that we have been given what what we need.
And so remember, my friends, we are in this together and together we have the power to do what God would have us do…We can be the good news in action… We get the opportunity to be God’s good news toward each other and toward our broader community in which we are situated. We are meant to do this thing together- this thing called life; this thing called faith, and this thing called following the Christ.
In these few moments of silence, I invite you to pray for God to give us vision, that we may see what God is calling us to be.
silence for reflection
Holy God, come into our hearts and increase our faith. Inspire us in serving your people and being the church for the good of the world. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Blessings to you,
Pastor Karla
New International Version (NIV)
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Words To Live By 