Epiphany 2A: Come and See – An Invitation to Abide
In our reading today, two of John’s disciples find themselves intrigued when they hear John suddenly exclaim, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” Something in that moment catches their attention. Something stirs their curiosity, and so, they begin to follow Jesus.
They wonder what it is about this man that makes him the one — the one John had been pointing toward, the one John said, “ranked ahead of him because he was before him.” What is it that makes this man different? What is it that makes him worth leaving John to follow?
When Jesus notices them following, he turns and asks a simple but disarming question:
“What are you looking for?”
I imagine that the disciples are a bit perplexed. They may not quite know how to answer. They had been following John — standing with him at the Jordan, watching him baptize, listening as he challenged the religious authorities, trusting his witness, and now they are standing face-to-face with the one John prepared them for.
So, when Jesus asks, “What are you looking for?” — what are they looking for? It is a question that doesn’t stay safely in the past of our reading. It reaches forward and asks us the same thing: What are we looking for?
What is it that we seek when we come to prayer? When we gather for worship, sitting beside one another in the pews? What are we looking for when we say that we follow Jesus, when we say that we commit ourselves to our baptismal promises? Are we simply fulfilling an obligation? Responding to habit, routine, or social expectation? Or does this actually mean something to us — something deep, something real?
I think many of us would like to believe that we know the answer. We assume we know what motivates us to worship, to pray, to follow. But if we’re honest, do we really? Do we even know what it is we’re seeking?
Jesus doesn’t answer the disciples’ question directly. Instead, he invites them into something deeper. When they ask him, “Where are you staying?” Jesus responds with an invitation: “Come and see.” But here’s where the text gets interesting. The question the disciples ask is probably better translated not as “Where are you staying?” but “Where are you abiding?”.
That changes everything.
Asking where Jesus is staying sounds like a logistical detail question about temporary lodging, a place to spend the night, but asking where Jesus abides is a much deeper question. It’s really asking, “Where do you dwell?”, “Where is your life rooted?”, “Where do you make your home?” And that raises a question for us: Are we prepared for the answer?
Are we prepared to abide where Jesus abides?
To dwell where Jesus dwells?
To remain where Jesus remains?
Because abiding where Jesus abides may not look like comfort or certainty. It may not line up with our expectations. It may lead us into places of vulnerability, compassion, challenge, and transformation.
So perhaps these are the real questions before us today, questions we may not yet know how to answer, or may not even want to answer: What are we seeking? and Are we willing to abide where we find Jesus abiding?
We may be surprised by what we discover. We may not fully understand what we’re asking.
But the invitation remains: Jesus says, “Come and see.”
Are we willing to take the chance? To follow the question where it leads? To dwell where Jesus dwells? Perhaps, once we dare to do that, we will finally begin to understand what it is we are truly seeking.