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SERMONS

The Second Sunday after the Epiphany
January 20, 2002

By David Christian

"Come and see."

When I was a child, whenever I saw anything interesting or unusual; whenever I did anything that I was pleased with or proud of; I looked for a parent or grandparent or friend; someone I could share it with. I would cry, "Come and see, come and see."

Still today, when I see something remarkable, my first instinct is to share it. I look around for someone and I say, "Come and see."

As I watch other people, I suspect that I am not that unusual. For most of us, when we see something that makes an impression on us, our first instinct is to share it.

The events recorded in today's gospel come from the account of John the evangelist. They occur some time after John the baptizer has baptized Jesus. Seeing Jesus coming toward him John says, "Here is the Lamb of God." John goes on to claim that he has seen the Spirit descend and remain on Jesus. John takes this as a sign that Jesus is the one that he has spoken of who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. He declares Jesus to be the Son of God.

The following day, again, John sees Jesus and declares, "Look, here is the Lamb of God." This time two of his disciples are with him. Intrigued, they follow Jesus. Jesus, who seems to be always aware of the people around him, sees them and asks, "What are you looking for?"

Perhaps taken aback by this direct question, they respond with a question, "Where are you staying?" J

esus says to them, "Come and see."

John tells us, "They came and saw where he was staying ..." But apparently they see much more than that. For they stay with him the rest of the day. One of them is Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. He goes and finds Simon and says to him, "We have found the Messiah."

Come and see.

John the baptizer sees something remarkable, and he says to two people with him, "Come and see."

They begin to follow Jesus who invites them again to, "Come and see." The invitation is to see where he is staying, but obviously they see much more. After spending time with him, one of them goes to find his brother and says, "Come and see." They come and the see and they follow and they are changed. And others come and see and join them. Too soon the man Jesus is no longer with them. But what they have seen is so remarkable that they continue to invite others to come and see what this experience has done to them.

Those others invite others who also come and see and are changed. And those others invite others and the Church grows. And so it goes down through the ages. People are invited to come and see. And they come and see. And what they see is so remarkable that they are changed. And it is so remarkable that they must share it. So they in their turn go out and find others and say, "Come and see."

So it has been. Each of us, each of you, is here because God wants you to be here. Each of you can claim along with Isaiah, "The LORD called me before I was born, while I was in my mother's womb [God] named me." Each of you is numbered among those whom Paul claims are "called to be saints together with all those in every place who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Each of you is here because God called you here. There are occasionally people who enter the church uninvited-because they are curious or in need or seeking something specific. But for most of you here, I suspect, God called you here through a person. God called you here through someone who found something here and said to you, "Come and see."

And you came and you saw and you found something special. And you return because that something satisfies a need or a desire or a longing that is not satisfied anywhere else.

The details will be different for each of you, but at the center what you have found is God. And you have found God's love. That is pretty amazing. It is something to share.

So now it is your turn: Your turn to find someone to share that love with. Your turn to tell someone something of what can be found in this place. Your turn to tell someone of the wonderful news that the God who made us loves us and desires nothing more than to draw us to himself. That in God and in God's church are to be found love and joy and hope and peace and meaning. That in God and in God's Church is to be found life; true life; eternal life.

Now it is your turn to find someone and say, "Come and see."

David Christian
The Chapel of the Cross
Madison, Mississippi

Isaiah 49.1-7
1 Corinthians 1.1-9
John 1.29-41