Sermons

Second Sunday of Epiphany
Sunday 16 January 2005 at 8am and 10am

Kathryn Elliott
Readings: Isaiah 49.1-7 & John 1.29-42

Last Saturday (8th January) the notorious Jerry Springer - The Opera caused much controversy; opinion ranged from outrage to acceptance.

The screening of the programme should never have been allowed; it is an outrage. Victoria Blackburn, Daily Express, 10.1.5
and
The show is not an attack on God, Jesus or Christianity; it is instead an attack
upon the modern values of television… the show's extraordinary degree of profanity and obscenity is making a satirical point… no one was compelled to watch it. Melanie Philips, Daily Mail 10.1.5.

I do not know if you find such satire to your taste or not but Anthony Pitts a senior BBC producer, found the blasphemy on the Springer show so offensive that he resigned; in a radio interview, he explained that his resignation was not only because of the blasphemy, but because of who Jesus is and what Jesus means to.

How do you feel about Jesus? Who is he to you?

John has already described Jesus (in previous verses of John 1) as the Word (v1)
ie God's word to us, as God (v1), as the real light (v9), as a human being full of grace and truth; now, in today's gospel reading, John gives us more information: he is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.
I have seen it and tell you that he is the Son of God (v34)
God revealed to John that Jesus would baptise with the Holy Spirit - God's helping and empowering presence, among us and for us(v33)

Jesus is also one who asks questions: Jesus turned, saw them following him, and asked, "What are you looking for?" (v38)

Jesus seems to know that the two disciples are curious and puzzled - are enqurers finding out for themselves who Jesus is. Is he really the son of God? Was Jesus really greater than John as John had told them? He encourages them to voice their query.
I suggest we should always be like those disciples, voicing our questions about who Jesus is, seeking to expand our knowledge of him, always wanting to discover more about him for ourselves.

We move on to find out that Jesus is one who invites, Come and see (v39). Jesus invited them to come and see for themselves, and to stay with him.

The two disciples - that is, Andrew and the other unnamed disciple (who was possibly John) accepted Jesus' invitation and literally followed him to where he was living; they spent the rest of that day with him. That visit led to a spiritual 'seeing and understanding', eg John 14.19 Before long the world will not see me any more, but you will see me, said Jesus, and to a spiritual 'staying and abiding' as John 15 describes - we are to remain in and with Jesus just as branches are part of the vine.

Jesus, God's Word, the Lamb of God, the Light, the one who sends the Holy Spirit is also the one questions, and encourages questions, who invites and leads us on into fresh insight.

Anthony Pitts explained in his radio interview that he resigned not only because of the show's blasphemy but because of who Jesus is to him. He said, "Jesus is God; he is alive and was born a human being. If you love, honour and trust him, you don't want him to be ridiculed."

Anthony Pitts has an obvious living friendship with Jesus - just as John and the two disciples came to have; so thrilled was Andrew that he immediately found his brother, Simon and shared the news, "We've found the Messiah." We can imagine Andrew animatedly describing all that he felt and noticed about Jesus when he stayed with him that first afternoon visit - so much so that Simon agreed to be taken by him to meet Jesus.

These preliminary meetings led to the disciples' immediate response to Jesus' call to follow him which we read of in Mark:
As Jesus walked along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew catching fish with a net. Jesus said to them, 'Come follow me and I will teach you to catch people.' At once they left their nets and followed him. Mark 1.16-20.

I find a pattern emerging in John 1: people hear as John the Baptist tells about Jesus; John directs people to Jesus; they then inquire, ask questions for themselves; they grow on in their understanding and have their own personal relationship with Jesus which is so meaningful to them that they move on and out to tell others.

Where are you at in this pattern of hearing, enquiring, growing in friendship and telling others?

Whatever stage we are at, or indeed revisiting, Jesus calls us on to follow him, to discover a deeper fellowship with him.

But when and how?
The time is now; make the decision today to start finding out more about Jesus and to explore the importance of God in each day of your life.
… How do we follow Jesus? By taking time to daily pray, reading and reflecting on Bible passages - alone and with others and by offering our daily routines as part of our worship to him.

Someone once wrote, You won't experience the ocean if you don't let go of the shore.
Dare we let go of the safe and the familiar to experience the wonderful purposes which God has for us and for those we meet.

Where is God calling you and me to serve, to speak and to live?

Jesus invites us to Come and see.

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