Jesus invites us: "Come and See!"

 

We are all accustomed to inviting Jesus in our hearts. What if, Jesus is in fact, the one inviting you to join him in his sacred heart? It is a picture of ‘life in Jesus’ that is dynamic, it is a relationship going both ways. Jesus says: Abide in me as I abide in you (John 15). There is something very healing about us, joining the life of God, our weaknesses or imperfections get blown away, chipped off as we join/participate in the life of the divine. This is what happened to Andrew and his brother Simon Peter when they met Jesus for the first time. Andrew had been following John the Baptist and one day, Jesus happened to pass by and John pointed out to Jesus, saying: “Here is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” This was a huge revelation since Jews knew that a lamb was used in sacrifice to get rid of sin, and this man Jesus is being called the lamb provided by God to get rid of the sin of the world. Andrew must have been completely impressed by Jesus: I think he saw something special/ very distinctive about Jesus, something that is life giving and eternal. He asked Jesus: Rabbi, where are you staying? Of course, he wasn’t asking for Jesus’ address really! He was saying what is it really like, to abide with you? And Jesus response is stunning: “Come and See!” I argue that when we begin the journey of knowing who Jesus is, what it means to abide in Jesus, and what it is like to have Jesus abide in us, we begin to live life as God intended, every moment, we grow in our understanding of the purposes of the will of God for us.

When I started to be serious about my relationship with Jesus, it felt as if He was the one seeking me out. I followed him ever since. To be honest, I had a motivation: After the war I had no options left. I was there bare in God’s presence. We shouldn’t wait until things go wrong to be serious with God! When Andrew was in front of Jesus, Jesus asked: what are you looking for? This was a much deeper question than us thinking Andrew must have lost something and that’s why Jesus was asking what he is looking for. What Jesus meant was: “What are you searching in your life? What are you seeking to satisfy your soul’s deep longing? We fill our lives with things: Some helpful and others not so helpful. Andrew also could have had his own stuff. He could have replied. I am assuming here. Bear with me: I was following John the Baptist, but now I sense that you have something of value. What are you offering? Jesus’ response come to all of us: Come and See.

What are we looking for? Perhaps it’s a much deeper peace; maybe we seek a relief from long term hurts. Jesus says to us: Come you who are weary and heavy laden, I will give you rest! An invitation to join in the divine life where the transforming power of God is at work: Whatever you are dealing with, Come into the life of the divine. God wants to bring us to the path of life, and to the fullness of joy. We join in the divine life so we can heal from sin and its effects, especially when we share in the Holy Communion. In it, we join in the divine life and rehearse the same history of God saving Israelites with the blood of the lamb on their doors, where in parallel, Jesus is presented here as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. God wants to save us, but we must respond to this invitation: Come and See. Come, and hide in Jesus. Ps 17 says: “hide me under the shadow of your wings”

Not only we are invited in the realm of intimacy with God, also we are letting the power of God transform us in the process. Once Andrew began his journey with the lamb of God, he knew, his life would never be the same again, he had found the Messiah, so he brought his brother Simon Peter to Jesus. What a witness! Come and See: A model for evangelism.

We have these little pamphlets that says Come and See. What I love about St Andrew our church is that it is a place of healing. Could it be that we are being called to be Andrew to others? Take a pamphlet, tell someone what you enjoy about your church, ask if they would consider coming and checking us out. I have found peace, love and forgiveness with Jesus, I wish someone else also would come and discover Jesus.

Tell someone to come and see.