“… Jesus turned and saw them…and said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’…He said to them, ‘Come and you will see’. So they went and saw…” (John 1:35-42, NAB)
This was today’s Gospel passage, where John the Baptist points Jesus out as “the Lamb of God” to two followers of his, Andrew and (perhaps) John himself. They then follow after Jesus, who turns and asks them the question which is so foundationally crucial for each of us to answer: “What are you looking for?”. Unless we have some idea of what we’re each seeking, we won’t know where to look nor will we recognize it when we see or hear of it.
These disciples of John’s were looking for the promised one, the Messiah who had been prophesied for eons, and of whom John the Baptist himself said he was the forerunner, sent to prepare the way. We know this also because later in the passage, Andrew finds his brother Peter and announces, “We have found the Messiah!” (verse 41).
They were clear about what they were looking for. Are we? Am I? If I am not, I will be distracted, preoccupied, sidetracked, “looking for love in all the wrong places” (as the old song goes). However, if I am looking for the best way to live my life, for the truth about who I am and why I’m here, and clarity that can guide me to eternal life, then I will be able actually to recognize the One who is The Way, The Truth, and the Life and follow after him.
Jesus’s words to these seekers is what he says to all of us: “Come and you will see.”. He invites us not just to learn about him, but to be with him, to stay with him. The Gospel writer says that it was, “… about the tenth hour.”. It was late enough that these two seekers likely spent the evening and night with him, getting to know him. He doesn’t just instruct them; he hangs out with them, eats with them, getting them to “see” by experience.
He invites us to do the same, for that is why he came in the flesh: to reveal the heart of the Father to us and draw us into that intimate fellowship which alone can bring peace, joy and fulfillment. Let’s really look, for then we will be able to see Him, the One by whom and for whom we were created.
Lessons From Love School 