15th January 2023 Second Sunday after Epiphany
Last week we heard of Jesus’ baptism from Matthew’s reality. Today we have it from John’s, except the author of this gospel doesn’t actually describe Jesus’ baptism, he just tells us John the Baptist’s report of what he saw when he baptised Jesus. And he tells us of his conviction about who this Jesus is – Lamb of God. And he is so sure of this, that he is confident enough to tell his disciples about him. And so we hear of Andrew and an unnamed disciple who then follow Jesus to see ‘where he is staying’. It is a curious scenario. They are followers of John the Baptist, and John declares that ‘he who ranks ahead of me because he was before me’ is within their community, and these disciples then follow this Rabii to see where he is staying. But before they join Jesus, Andrew fetches his brother Simon, who Jesus recognises as future leader and renames him Cephas, Peter. And one of the things that puzzle me when I read this account is, what was it about Jesus, or about how John describes Jesus, that prompts these disciples to follow him.
And this is at the heart of our faith sharing. It reflects what we do when we notice what God is doing in our lives, and then share it with others, and invite them to come and see for themselves. Notice, Share, Invite. The three elements of sharing the good news of what God has done, and is doing, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for us and for the whole world. It sounds simple, doesn’t it. So why do we struggle to do it.
Notice. How often are we able to simply tell others about where we saw or felt God’s presence in our life. Or even where we saw or felt that God needed to be – like in places of pain, tragedy, anguish – so that, with time, we may get better at noticing where God actually is. And then we may develop the capacity to see God in our own lives and in the world.
Share. Most of us are not used to, or comfortable with, sharing our faith. We may fear being rejected, being ridiculed, being asked to explain our feelings when we are flat out explaining them to ourselves, let alone to other people. It is not something which comes easily but, with practice, it will gradually become easier and more ‘natural’.
Invite. This may well be the hardest thing to do. Because we may feel like we are intruding or putting pressure on other people. Yet we are more than comfortable to invite people to a whole range of other things and places, so why not church. When we invite people to those other things, we are usually inviting them to some thing or place that we like. So is our reluctance to invite people to church indicative of our not really ‘liking’ church, just going out of ‘habit’ or ‘ritual’. But when we explore what it is about church that we really do like, or value; and we discover that we do it because we enjoy it (because if we didn’t then we have a whole heap of other questions to answer), then all we have to do is just consider who might also enjoy what church has to offer and invite them. And when we think about it in these terms, it does not see that steep a hill to climb, does it.
In our gospel, John the Baptist simply shares the wonder of what he has seen, and Jesus ends up gaining his first disciples, people who carry forward his message to the ends of the earth. Jesus invites them to ‘come and see’, and they leave their previous lifestyles behind to begin God’s great adventure. From the beginning of creation, God has delighted in taking small things, things which seem insignificant, and doing something amazing with them. So too our initial attempts at sharing what we have seen and felt. They may seem like ‘insignificant acts’ or ‘minor events’, but the God who brought light from darkness and raises the dead to life wants to – and will – do amazing things through them.
Andrew shares the news of the ‘Messiah’ with his brother. And from that sharing, they ‘saw’ enough to stay. They didn’t just ‘dip their toes in’ and ‘try’ it; they left family and lifestyle and jumped in with both feet. They continued to share the story, and that is how we became followers. Because someone in our past, was willing to ‘notice, share, and invite’. So don’t let it stop with you. Continue doing it.
Jesus asks the disciples following him – what are you looking for. He is inviting them to ‘notice’. And Jesus then invites them to ‘share’. ‘Come and see’ where I am staying; ‘come and see’ what I am doing; and in the coming and seeing, they change their life direction. How can we invite others to ‘come and see’, what we are doing, to come and see where we are staying, so that in the coming and seeing we open them to the possibility of it changing their life direction too. The big question, or opportunity, facing this parish as we commence 2023 is who are we going to ask to ‘come and see’ on a Sunday afternoon in Tamborine. Who are we aiming our ministry at, and what are they looking for. What do we want to ‘share’ with them, and will it be worth them returning a second, or even a third, time. These are important questions. These are important considerations for the whole of this community. Because we cannot just ‘put on another service’ and expect the same people to attend as are already coming to the services we already have. That will not serve our community, that will not bring growth, that will not build God’s kingdom. So what have you ‘noticed’; and how will you share it; and what sort of invitation will come out of that noticing and sharing.