Sunday, January 19, 2020

“Come and See” (John 1:29-42)


The scariest four-letter word in Christianity is “evangelism”.  True, it is not a four-letter word, but it carries the same gut reaction as any vulgar, profane word known to humanity.  It is a word that makes people feel anxious, uneasy, and scared.  It is a frightening word for many of the faith.  Some religious experts believe that most of the faithful in North America are frightened by the word, and that this has led to the decline of the church in North America. 

Typically, this fear comes from the receiving end of someone else’s “evangelism” . . . whether it is being asked “Have you accepted Jesus?” by some domineering family member or “Do you know where you are going when you die?” by some well-meaning passerby or co-worker, too many people experience “evangelism” as coercive, even threatening.  For others it might be bound to the conviction that religion is not something that polite people talk about . . . or that one’s faith is private . . . or simply the desire to not be thought as one of those pushy people we described earlier.

Whatever the case, most people not only have little experience with “evangelism” but are downright frightened of it.  And, that cripples our ability to reach out and share the good news.  Such an understanding of “evangelism” freezes us in our tracks and keeps us from sharing our faith.

Thank goodness then for our reading this morning in the Gospel of John . . . the story of Jesus’ baptism.  It might be just the thing that we need to admit our unease with “evangelism” and to begin to overcome it.  Here we can find a truer meaning of the word “evangelism” and discover a more honest means of sharing the good news.

One of the first things we notice about the writer of John’s version of the baptism story is that it is not like the other three gospels.    In the other three gospels the writers record that Jesus comes to John the Baptist to be baptized, describe the descent of the dove, and share the message of the heavenly voice.  But the fourth writer, the writer of the Gospel of John, does no such thing.  Instead we get a second-hand account from the testimony of John the Baptist.  Interestingly, he does not actually baptize Jesus in this gospel . . . instead he only shares what he sees.

This is the more important point of the story—that when it comes to our relationship with Jesus, our primary job is to see and share.  Our job is not to threaten, intimidate, woo or wheedle or plead, but to simply see and share.  That is what the Baptist does here . . . he tells others what he sees.  Later we witness Andrew do the same thing.  He tells his brother what he and the other disciple saw—the person they believe to be the Messiah—and invites Peter to come along and see for himself.

That’s it!

That is how simple “evangelism” is.  At its heart . . . it’s very foundation . . . “evangelism” is noticing what God is doing in our lives, sharing that with others, and inviting them to come and see for themselves.  It is that simple.

Why is it that simple?  Well, think about it.  That is what John the Baptist is doing . . . that is what Andrew is doing . . . and, that is what Jesus does.  When Jesus notices that some of John’s disciples are following him, he asks them what they are looking for.  In return they ask where he is staying.  But Jesus does not answer them, instead he tells them, “Come, and you will see.”  There are no further questions, just an invitation . . . an invitation to “come and see”. 

Notice.  Share.  Invite.  Those are the three elements of “evangelism”, sharing the good news of what God has done and is still doing through life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for us and all the world.

So, the challenge is that most of us have little experience in any of these activities.  It is time that we change that.

We begin with “notice” . . . where in our lives have we seen or felt the presence of God in our lives and in the world around us?  Take five minutes a day and answer that question.  Was it in the glorious sunrise or sunset of the day?  Was it in that moment when caring for a neighbor?  Was it in the first responder responding to the needs of someone in crisis?  Was it in the smile of a child, or tear of a friend, or even in that moment when we could not find words to describe the feelings and emotions we were feeling?  We need to develop the capacity to see God in our lives and world.

Sharing our faith is never easy.  It might be because of the things I mentioned earlier, or it makes us uneasy and nervous because we have never really done it before.  This is something we can learn.  It is something that we need to learn . . . we need to learn to share . . . to share who we are, what we feel, what we believe, how we live, who God created us to be.  We need to learn how to be open and honest about our lives . . . the good, the bad, the happy, and the sad . . . all of it!  This is not something that we are comfortable with.

Think about it.  How do you greet people that you know when you encounter them on the street?  Do you say, “Hi”, or do you say, “How ya doing?”  Well, I learned that living in a small town, that you never say, “How ya doing?” unless you have thirty minutes to hear the response.  Instead I learned to just say “hello” and keep on moving . . . or to cross to the other side of the street to avoid any encounter.  In sharing, we come to open ourselves to others and to receive others.

Which brings us to “invite”.  This might be the most difficult of all because it feels intrusive, and because it calls upon us to follow through.  And, yet, we do it all the time.  We are always inviting people.  We invite them to go somewhere with us . . . to go to a meeting or party . . . to attend a school event . . . to come over to dinner.  We are good about inviting people to things, we just are not always good at inviting people to things that involve our faith.

But I want us to stop and think about it . . . this thing we call “faith”.  God surrounds us like the air that we breathe . . . we cannot escape the presence of God.  God is everywhere.  In each and everything that we do . . . God is there.  So, what are we inviting people to do?  We are inviting them to come into our lives and to come into their lives where together we begin to notice God’s presence.  We invite others to “come and see”.

“Come and see”.  It is as simple as that.

John the Baptist invites those who listen to “come and see”.

Jesus invites the two disciples to “come and see”.

Andrew invites Peter, his brother, to “come and see”.

Too often we spend our lives looking for God in the big things of life.  We forget the wonder of God’s presence in all things, especially the small things.  Yet, God takes delight in the little things—things that the world deems to be nothing—and then doing something wonderful through them.  So, we begin simply . . . we share with others the touch of God—God’s presence—in what we have seen and felt.  In the sunrise or sunset, in the smile of a friend, in the beauty of a flower, or even in that person who asks how we are doing and actually stands there as we tell them.  God is there.  The God who brought light to darkness, raise the dead to life, is also there in the everyday moments of life that reveal love and grace over and over again.  Even through the smallest things, God does marvelous things.

“Evangelism” is not a four-letter word.  Nor is it scary.  It is quite simple.  It is the invitation to another to “come and see”.  “Come and see” what?  Nothing more than who we are as we live our lives to the best of our abilities relating to God.  Jesus invites us to “come and see”.  “Come and see” and see for yourself . . . nothing more, nothing less.  It might be simple, but God does marvelous things through the simple things of life.  Amen.

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