Meditation for 13 January 2010
From The Rev. Peter A. Munson

³⁵The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, ³⁶and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ ³⁷The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸When 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?’ ³⁹He 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. ⁴⁰One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed^*). ⁴²He 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^*).

Open to Learning, Open to Taking Risks

There were some folks following John the Baptist before (and even after) Jesus came on the scene.  There were disciples of John, and if you read the Gospels, you discover that different people wondered if John might be the long-awaited Messiah.  There came this turning point, though – right around the time when Jesus was baptized – when John started actively pointing people toward Jesus.  “… the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” (John 1:27)  “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!   … And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:29, 34)  And again (at the beginning of today’s passage):  “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” (John 1:36)

Andrew evidently had become a disciple of John (see verse 37).  He paid very close attention to what John was saying.  Probably Andrew was one of the ones who wondered if John might be the Messiah.  But suddenly John started saying, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!”

John was a pretty fascinating guy, dressed as he was and calling people to repent, and baptizing all sorts of folks in the Jordan River.  Perhaps Andrew was one of the ones who John baptized. What would you do if you were Andrew?  Would you be torn a little bit?  After becoming one of John’s disciples, would you think to yourself, “I’ve been listening to John for a while and I know something about him.  I know nothing about this other guy who John is suddenly pointing to.”  Might you not be tempted to just keep hanging out with John, who – though a little weird – was more of a known thing?

What I appreciate about Andrew is that he remained open.  He was open to learning, open to the possibilities – the possibility that God might be speaking through John, open to the possibility that maybe John was right and that this other guy was the Lamb of God and the Messiah  – even though Andrew hadn’t even heard him say a word yet.  Andrew was open to the ongoing revelation of God, and he was willing to take some risks.  Have you ever just started following someone, on a hunch, because you thought you should?  “The two disciples [one of them was Andrew] heard him [John] say this, and they followed Jesus.” (verse 37)  Isn’t that a little risky?  Wouldn’t you feel a little bit strange?  “Why am I following this guy?  I’ve never heard him utter a word!  This is sort of strange…”

And then Jesus turned and saw the two of them following him, and he did speak.  “What are you looking for?” (verse 38)  What do you say then?  “Uh…er… uh… Rabbi… uh… er… where are you staying?”  I guess it’s sort of like saying “Where are you from?”  It doesn’t strike me as the most eloquent question of all time, but probably it’s exactly the kind of thing I would have said in that situation.  And Jesus said, quite succinctly,  “Come and see.” (verse 39)

Come and see.  Another moment of truth. Should they continue following him, when all they had to go on was “come and see”?  They did.  And at least for Andrew, the rest – as they say – was history.  For he became one of the twelve disciples of Jesus.  His days of being a disciple of John were over.  Not only that… before the day was over, Andrew went and found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah.”  And he brought Simon to Jesus.  And Jesus took one look at Simon, and gave him a new name.

And then Simon was faced with his moment of truth.  Was he going to be open to hanging around with this guy who just gave him a new name?  Was he open to finding out more about him?  He could have done a little 180 degree-spin in his sandals and gone back home.  But wait!  What if this guy was the Messiah?

God continues to reveal God’s self to us all the time.  Let us remain open to learning.  Let us be open to the transforming power of God at work – through the Spirit, and through other people who also bear the Spirit of God.  Let us not be afraid to take risks, for in taking the risks of faith, the deepest transformations can occur in us.  And then God can use us – as he used Andrew and Simon Peter – to transform the world.