Jesus Says Come and See

John 1:35–51 NRSV

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 translated 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. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 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” (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

What are you looking for? The Christ knows you and calls you to come and see, for it is in Christ’s presence that we truly come to know who we are.

Prayer..

OK, so there’s a big TV show that’s been on Netflix recently called Stranger Things. In the last couple of months the final episodes of the series have aired and the story has come to its conclusion. The story is based on a group of teenagers in the little town of Hawkins, Indiana. It’s aesthetic is just like a classic 80s — kids exploring, ride their bikes around; there’s like caves to go into, there’s an adventure, and there’s this grand evil they are up against. The show has been on for a long time, the last 10 years or so, and it ended this week with a climactic finale. One of the things that I loved about the way it ended is how all of the characters had to be very present to the moment they were in. It was the end of it all, and they had to make decisions based on not waiting for something that could be, but actually dealing with what was going on right then, helping each other right now and it feels to me like this is a “come and see” kind of moment where the kids and adults have to just decide to show up and be the best that they can be, as cheesy that sounds. Rise to the occasion, fight for what matters, stay close to those you love.

Just like teenagers fighting against an unnamed evil, we too have a moment, a time, when we are called to step in and see. Of course, we’re not fighting against monsters or mad scientists. But we do live in a moment where there is great need, great unrest, and great uncertainty about the way forward as a people. In our context, I don’t feel like it it’s worth using scare tactics or talking about how the world‘s gonna end or how democracy is going to fall or whatever. But, what if, instead what we need to be considering is, “how can we make the most of this moment that God has given us?”

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The disciples start to gather as they hear the news of the Messiah. After running into Jesus, who they’ve heard about maybe they haven’t even heard about, this crowd begins to grow and one starts telling their friends about what Jesus guy has said about coming to see. Maybe things are gonna be different. The crowd starts to grow and they start sharing this possibility, this hope. I don’t mean the crowd grows like into a mass right then, but a couple more people get involved and start participating in that movement that Jesus is bringing about come and see.

And it makes me think about how we hear the call of come and see. Do we recognize that maybe this is the moment for us to make a certain decision or act in a certain way of love? Come and see.

There’s an urgency to this instruction, “come and see.” Certainly, in the story, it seems like Jesus is one the move and his priority is to gather the people, so he can’t take a long time explaining it in the passerby-moment. And for the hearers, of course there’s lots of other stuff to keep doing obviously — you’ve gotta keep fishing and you’ve gotta keep teaching and you’ve gotta keep caring for one another but this might be the moment when we need to come together as a people of faith to see what Jesus could do in these difficult times we live in.

As the stories go from the Hebrew patriarchs, to the prophets, now into first century Palestine, this moment where Jesus starts calling disciples is a moment where everything changes, in the sense that God starts to empower and equip and call real people. Not just priests. It’s not just king, not just messiah figures, but real people start to get involved and join the story — you and me, we join the movement.

I wonder, is this a time to get involved — to get going, find some way that you can be a part of what Jesus is teaching about and doing — loving our neighbors, taking care of the poor, looking after the sick, visiting the incarcerated…All these things — like what if this is the time we have to do it?

There were other people along the road who heard “come and see” and thought, “That’s great. I’ll be there.” And we hear stories about that later, where they think they will, but they never show up. Out of no condemnation or no critique of them — what if that’s us? What if that’s us when we don’t give it a try, when we don’t say a prayer if we need it, or we don’t show up when we know someone is hurting, or even like say a kind word, or if we hoard what we have, or if we bite at each other because we don’t have anywhere else to let it go? What if we recognize that it’s time to be here and be the people who Jesus has called us to be now for for this time. I wonder what we might do. I wonder what that fuller expression of ourselves would be like, as people who said, “yeah, this is the time for me to follow Jesus with my life with my actions, with the work I do, that I can use that as a way to love others, and care for others, to bring joy and hope. If it’s not now, when? Can we hear it, this call from Jesus, to come and see?

My invitation today, as I read this, and as I consider that if you’re here and if you’re listening to this message, or if you understand that you’re a part of this community here at St. James, maybe now is the time to really step in. We’ve seen growth and investment of finances for the coming year. We’ve seen new faces. Maybe this is the time for us to step in and really serve and work and grow together. I wonder if God is saying “come and see” to you — come, be here, come be here now with us. The reality is I don’t, as a pastor, I don’t know all the ways to help people connect and serve. My capacities are limited. I bring what I can to the table. If you’ve got a gift — if you’re a fisherman or a teacher or it professional or if you’ve got a way that you would like to give to the kindom, the family of God, speak up.

We’re going review and work through the time and talents forms that came attached to the stewardship campaign, and in those you may have indicated ways that you could serve. We want to make it really easy to connect, so we will make some real quick points of contact for folks who will be able to reach out and get people involved, but let the bar be really low and easy as we begin. We want to find ways that we can actually just engage the gifts that God has given us. Not just give, not just show up but sit or stay where we are, but actually step in and work together towards something — towards this kindom of God, where we invite others to come and see.

For being a TV show about inter-dimensional monsters and 1980s pop culture, Stranger Things ended in a really sweet, emotional way. I’m not gonna spoil it, but there is just a deep sense of connection and belonging that is fostered by working together. That’s all I’m gonna say, but what it made me think about is… we do the “come and see”, but then also we keep going together. Who could we become? How could we live more fully into what we have right now, these present circumstances. Not because they’re great and not because they are what we want them to be, but because this is where we’ve been called to love and serve and share that good news.

To the elders among us, how can you use this time to teach us what you have learned and pass on your gifts?

To the young, where are you inspired and how can we support that? How are you feeling? God’s called to serve.

And to people like me who are kind of in the middle of it all, how can we keep going together, loving supporting serving watching out for one another

This is the kindom of God — come and see

At the end it seems like Jesus finally “shows” them something by somehow, miraculously??, seeing them under the fig tree. Or calling Simon by a new name — Peter. These small gestures reveal that Jesus is more aware of these ruffians’ gifts and callings than even they are. Jesus says come and see, but we also know that Jesus sees us. Jesus sees your longings, your hopes, and your struggles. And Jesus says, come and see, live into this moment as you are, in grace, that you might grow and heal and flourish.

So it is with what we must see in each other. To look for more than what is possible. To look beyond who we are to how we are named beloved by God and given a meaningful purpose to belonging in humanity.

A couple of weeks ago, we welcomed some new members into our church community. This is a normal part of our annual rhythm and, for others who might be interested, we will have an opportunity later this Winter or Early Spring for you to do the same. Part of making that commitment of membership is to publicly stand up and say “I’m here. I’m a part of this. I will follow Jesus alongside all y’all.” We make a statement of faith together, not to prove something, but to affirm…I’m here to see what God will do.

I wonder about what you hear in this message today. I wonder if you are feeling that tug, that nudge, to see what God is up to in your life today. What if this is the moment where you make a shift, where you join up, where you come closer to others who are trying to serve and love and grow and be like Christ? If not now, when? If not here, where?

I have a strong conviction that God gathers the communities of faith, like ours, in ways that knit together a particular group of people to do a particular thing together — what is our task, our calling? How will you inform and contribute to that work?

Christian theology affirms that we are all called by Jesus Christ to be here, now, together, today. Christ has called you. Come. And now, see. Look around you, look inside, look beyond — what might God be stirring in you, in us, to spark your fire to follow Christ? Do you look and see people you can care for? Offer compassion, hospitality, welcome, support? Do you see places that need healing and care? Do you see opportunities to push against the darkness by being a light to one another? Come and see.

Come and see, you’ll see great things. Come and see, you’ll see harrowing things. Come and see, for by coming near to see what Jesus is doing among us, you and I find our place to be and follow this way of Love together.