Sunday Readings: 1 Samuel 3.3-10,19; 1 Corinthians 6.13-15,17-20; John 1.35-42
John the Baptist stood with two of his disciples, looking intently at Jesus walking by. “See the lamb of God,” John said. The two disciples followed Jesus. Noticing that they were following him, Jesus turned around and said to them, “What do you seek?” “Teacher, where do you stay?” Jesus said, “Come and see.” They went and saw where he was staying. – John 1.35-39
Come and see,” Jesus says when Andrew wants to learn more about him in Sunday’s gospel. “Come and see” is a call to encounter. Come, talk, stay, meet face to face, interact, discover who I am and what our relationship might be. The invitation opens the door to more than a quick look. With our five senses and conscious minds, we humans can probe who someone really is and what life means.
Jesus invites us to stay curious. We humans are embodied spirits. Wonder and awe fuel our spirits. Beauty in nature or art can stir awe-filled moments of breathing deeper and feeling gratitude for being alive. Creation implies a creator.
The Old Testament book of Lamentations finds God’s love in every dawn. “The steadfast love of the Holy One never ceases; God’s mercies never come to an end; they are new each morning. So great is God’s faithfulness” (3.22-23).
Our experiences matter, our daily sights, sounds, handshakes, conversations. We can probe what and who gives us life and ask where God is in the events we live. We can also take the world for granted and consider it ours, not God’s gift.
What do we hear in the birds singing each morning? Their songs can awaken us to the gift of being alive or simply frustrate our efforts to stay asleep. What attention am I paying to all I see, hear, taste, smell, and feel? Where am I finding God in the ups and down of being alive?
Can I find God at the intersection where I live? The traffic starts at five. A symphony of sounds begins — the swish of buses and delivery trucks, the clang of empty side-loaders banging like cymbals on every bump. People are up for the day, interconnecting, using their life energies to do their part in a whole. I want to join in.
What do you experience in creation and your daily interactions with others, especially during the pandemic? What and who gives you life?