Friends, on this first Sunday of the year, we turn to the beginning of the book of John. John is quite different from the other three books of the Gospel: Matthew, Mark and Luke. Instead of starting the beginning of his book with the birth of Jesus, like Matthew and Luke, or the baptism of Jesus, like Mark, John begins philosophically – “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God, and the word was God.” The book of John cuts to the chase – in Jesus, the Word of God became flesh (a person) and dwelled among us (the people). Through Jesus, those of us who believe become the beloved children of God.
In his first chapter after Jesus was introduced, John explained that John the Baptist was not the messiah, but came to point us to the messiah. When Jesus appeared, John the Baptist began to tell his own disciples about Jesus.
Let’s read as John’s disciples began to consider leaving John the Baptist and begin to follow Jesus instead….we will read at John chapter 1 verses thirty-five through fifty-one:
Scripture John 1: 35-51
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).
The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.
Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.”
He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”
Message Jesus Says Come and See
Come – See – Believe
Sometimes people need to “see” things to believe them…I am originally from Missouri – people have teased me about our motto: “The Show-Me” state. The motto comes from a quote Missouri Congressman Wilard Duncan Vindiver made in Philadelphia – he said “...forthy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I’m from Missouri, and you have got to show me.” Sometimes people are not convinced by the words or writing of others – they need to see things for themselves in order to believe them.
At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, some of the people who became his most loyal followers wanted to “see” him to “believe” him. John’s gospel doesn’t start at Jesus’ birth – with angels declaring Jesus is the Messiah – or Jesus’ baptism – with God’s voice echoing out from the heavens declaring Jesus is God’s son….instead, John starts with a theological statement that Jesus is God come to earth and then said John the Baptist came to prepare the people to meet Jesus. In this morning’s scripture, John the Baptist announces to his own disciples that Jesus is “the lamb of God.” John’s disciples understood this phrase to mean that Jesus was the Messiah, is the Messiah.
John’s disciples had to then make a decision – should they continue working with John the Baptist to prepare people to meet the messiah? Or should they go be with Jesus and work alongside the man John identified as the Messiah?
But, they also had a few seeds of doubt….John said Jesus is the messiah, but was he?
They needed to go and see – to come and see Jesus. And, once they met Jesus they knew John the Baptist was right – they were with the Messiah. So they left their former prophet, their former guru, and started following Jesus.
Jesus’ invitation to those first disciples extends to us through the centuries. We no longer live in a world or a community where being a member of the Christian faith is a norm. Instead, our communities are filled with people who are opting to not be Christians, or perhaps only be cultural Christians who participate in the fun traditions of Christianity without really believing in our faith.
We have chosen to “come and see” Jesus.
We choose to follow Jesus. We choose to believe in God. We choose to practice our faith by worshipping in our church, by reading our scripture, by praying, and working to deepen our faith.
We are mandated by our God to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others. Just as we have chosen to have a relationship with Jesus and believe in God, part of being believers in Christianity is sharing our faith with non-believers. It is our work to invite others to “come and see’ Jesus.
For Christians like us … UCC Christians, mainline Christians…it is sometimes very difficult for us to be open about our faith when we talk to other people. We associate evangelism with annoying people knocking on our doors early on Saturday mornings or people standing on busy street corners holding up signs that proclaim things like “The wages for sin is death.”
But, we have something important to share. You can be a Christian and not be like the people who make others uncomfortable. Instead, we believe in a faith that is open-minded. We believe in a faith that works to be non-judgmental. We believe in a faith that welcomes and respects all people – women and men, young and old, straight and gay, poor and rich, of every educational background and professional background and social group and ethnic group.
There are people in our communities who have been hurt by the church. There are people in our communities who have false notions about Christians. They need to know that God loves them, even if they have been told otherwise. They need to know they are welcome here at Trinity, even if they have been unwelcomed in places that professed to be Christian. They need to know there are people who live out the slogan of the United Church of Christ – no matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.
We understand our lives are much richer because we believe in God and in Jesus Christ – the word of God. Through our faith, we experience God’s love, God’s forgiveness, and God’s grace. Through our participation in God’s church, we are connected to a community of believers who come together to support other another during the best times of our lives and the worst times of our lives. We have a gift to share with people who need support–who need to know they are loved just as they are, they are forgiven for whatever they regret, and they are the beloved children of God.
Let us do our part to invite others to Come and See Jesus.
Amen.
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