Epiphany 2 A

John the Baptist is out there causing a stir again. He has gathered disciples (followers) around him and intrigued the Pharisees (who are the religion experts) enough to have them come out and question him. At this point in history, many faithful Jews expected a Messiah to come and save the Jewish people. Not just metaphorically, but in a very real way.

John assures he is not the Messiah, but says that “Among you stands one whom you do not know.” One who is greater than John. One who is more than a prophet. The Messiah is already here.

This is a word of hope and judgment. On the one hand, this must mean the Messiah is here now, in our midst. On the other hand…apparently we’ve been too blind to even notice. If they even believed him, they must have wondered if they’d even know what to look for if the Messiah was already there.

John knows what to look for. John has been called by God to point to the Messiah.

“The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” 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).” (1 Corinthians 1.9; John 1.29–42 NRSV)

John recognized God’s anointed One by the spirit. And not just any spirit, but the Holy Spirit descending like a dove, and marking, or claiming Jesus as a particular kind of Messiah: not the Rambo of God who blows away the enemies from the world… not the Politician of God who wheels and deals with the leaders of the world but … the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

This is the Messiah that John recognizes in Jesus. And when John recognizes him, so do others who know John and trust John. They must have realized that John wasn’t in it for the money. It certainly didn’t do much for his health.

When John’s disciples recognized the Lamb of God, they followed him. And when Jesus, who apparently up to this point in the Gospel has nothing better to do than to walk up and down the banks of the Jordan river … when Jesus notices these followers he engages them and tells them to “come and see.”

Come and see. If those disciples had any sense of propriety or safety they would have ran away as fast as they could. Instead they encountered God in a way that they had never known before. One of the disciples, Andrew, had to share this encounter with his brother Peter. Yes, that Peter. And when Peter was brought to Jesus, he found that the Messiah already knew him and had named him.

Come and see. Would that still work? Seems pretty simple. Especially with all the church’s more recent attempts at Evangelism: from Campus Crusade to the actual Crusades, to our former neighbor D James Kennedy’s Evangelism Explosion … “come and see” seems a little trite. Not only that, but many have a growing feeling that Evangelism has become embarrassing for everyone involved… at best annoying people, and at worst colonizing them for their money, or land, or power.

We get into the habit of thinking our faith is just about ‘me and God.’ Which is usually a code word for a religion of ‘me.’ And from that perspective, it’s hard to imagine why anyone would ever invite anyone else to come and see anything at all. Religion of ‘me’ is pretty terrible. There’s lots of bickering, and anxiety, and fear. Religion of ‘me’ is in no condition to invite folks to come and see.

From that perspective, we’ve lost sight of the anointed One in our world. Among us stands one whom we do not know. The bad news is that we often fail to recognize Christ among us. But the good news is that we know where to look.

Come and see the words of God that promise forgiveness to all who believe. Come and see a place we gather around these beloved words of forgiveness, not as faith haves and faith have nots, but as people who all need their faith restored.

Come and see and hear and taste around a table where we are fed with certainty, that though all other questions may remain, we know that God loves us.

Come and see a church that is not just about ‘me and God’ but has been given courage to follow Jesus on marches for freedom, into dangerous places for the sake of the Gospel, and in the face of hate, speaking words of love alongside saints like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Come and see.

Come and see a community of believers who have been sealed with the Holy Spirit in baptism, marked with the cross of the Lamb of God. Who are not just the sum total of what they’ve done, or how good they think they’ve been, but who are who God says they are.

Come and see … and when you recognize Jesus, the one who saves your life not by being strong and not by being right, but by loving and forgiving you — you can’t help but to share it with those you know.

And your evangelism (which just means the Good News) will not be about annoying someone or controlling someone or being right. It will be a word of love spoken from one forgiven person to another.

Come and see … and Christ will be there.