Come and See

Wednesday Before The Epiphany A-1

Entrance Antiphon Is 9:1 A people who walked in darkness has seen a great light; for those dwelling in a land of deep gloom, a light has shone.

Collect Grant us, almighty God, that the bringer of your salvation, who for the world’s redemption came forth with newness of heavenly light, may dawn afresh in our hearts and bring us constant renewal. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Scripture today: 1 John 3:7-10; Psalm 97; John 1:35-42

The next day John stood with two of his disciples watching Jesus walking, and he said “Behold the Lamb of God.” The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and seeing them following him said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to him, “Rabbi, (which is to say, Master,) where do you dwell?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came, saw where he was dwelling, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who had heard what John had said, and had followed Jesus. He found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah, which, interpreted, is the Christ.” And he brought him to Jesus. And Jesus looking upon him, said, You are Simon the son of Jonah: you will be called Cephas, which translated is Peter. (John 1:35-42)

Come and See I have often considered that this scene is one of the most beautiful scenes in the Gospel, occurring right at the beginning of the public ministry of our Lord. Inasmuch as there are only three persons involved (except for the Baptist at the beginning), the source for this must be one of the two disciples of John who followed Jesus. Let us presume it was the one other than Andrew — probably John the Evangelist himself, the author of the Gospel. He remembers long afterwards the scene of his first meeting with Jesus. He met Jesus together with Andrew the brother of Simon Peter. It came about because of what John the Baptist said of Jesus to his disciples, that he was the Lamb of God, that he was at the very centre of God’s plans for his people and for the world, that he was the Messiah. John was encouraging his two disciples to follow Jesus and this they did. Think of the respect and perhaps awe with which they followed Jesus, having heard these words of John! Why did they follow him? They yearned for God and they loved what was good. It was this which had drawn them to John the Baptist and had led them to place themselves at his feet as his disciples. Now they were taking their first steps towards someone far greater than the Baptist, and indeed they were within close proximity to the very best that God had sent. So they followed Jesus respectfully, diffidently and at a little distance, with yearning and love. They had before them the greatest of treasures, and lo! Jesus turns and gazes at them with simple friendliness, asking them what they were looking for. All they could say was, “Master” — implying their desire to listen and learn from him and be his disciples — “where do you live?” (John 1:35‑42) Could we follow you there and listen to you? Could we have that privilege? Could we be with you? With a smile (so we may imagine) our Lord replies, “Come and see.” So they went and stayed with him that day, seeing for themselves that he, Jesus, was indeed the promised Messiah.

There are many things we could comment on in respect to this scene, so pivotal for these first two of our Lord’s Apostles. Reading the other Gospels, we gather that at a certain point early during his public ministry our Lord formally called these same Apostles to follow him and they left their nets and did so (Matthew 4:18‑22). But our Gospel scene today places us prior to this formal call and lets us glimpse the first encounter and the rise of their commitment to Jesus. How did it come about? There were several factors, beginning with John the Baptist’s clear and lofty testimony to Jesus. He was the Messiah, the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. John’s holy life and immense prophetic authority conferred on Jesus a powerful aura at the outset, and constituted a positive encouragement for the two disciples to follow him. Secondly, our Lord’s own simple friendliness immediately drew the two disciples to his life and person, convincing them at first hand of the truth of what John their prior master had said of him. But there was a third and indispensable element and that was their own active disposition. They truly wanted to know our Lord and to be his disciples. There was something in them that impelled them towards him and made them responsive to the testimony of John and wide open to the invitation, the friendship, the teaching and the authority of Jesus. In a word, they had the right dispositions. They were, to use the words of one of our Lord’s parables in a different Gospel, very good soil for the word to produce its crop. Their hearts desired God, and they saw in Jesus the full presence of God. There were others who would interact with our Lord and who would not have these dispositions — quite to the contrary. Their hearts were not right. There was even one of his disciples who presumably actively desired to be in our Lord’s company and whom our Lord not only called but chose as one of the Twelve, but who betrayed him. Let us then humbly and perseveringly ask God for the right fundamental dispositions for discipleship while we ourselves work daily at acquiring them.

All through life we must listen to the testimony of the Church about Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We have the example of these two disciples and their response to John’s testimony. But to listen well, our hearts must be properly disposed . We must attend to the state of our heart and we must every day work at eradicating the sin that lodges there and which will spoil the response we could give to Christ and his word. Let us entrust ourselves to the care and grace of the Holy Spirit whom we received at our baptism, nd who abides with us in order to lead us to Jesus.

(E.J.Tyler)

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