Andrew and an unnamed disciple go and see firsthand where Jesus lives and stay with him for a couple of hours late one afternoon. They leave transformed.
John’s gospel calls us today into the same transforming relationship with Jesus that Andrew experienced. In this simple scene Jesus calls us to come, see, and stay with him.
The fourth gospel is a carefully-composed literary work. In Sunday’s gospel passage the evangelist uses the simple verbs hear, seek, come, see, stay with, and find. These familiar verbs herald theological themes that the gospel elaborates over the course of its narrative.
Hear. Andrew searches out Jesus because he hears John the Baptist exclaim as Jesus walks by, “See, the lamb of God.” Hearing his teacher identify Jesus in such an intriguing way sets Andrew on a search to learn more about him.
The carefully-crafted gospel lets us hear this title, “Lamb of God,” said of Jesus twice in chapter one without telling us what it means. The author draws us into using the written story to find out who Jesus is, just as the Baptist draws Andrew into seeking him in the plot. Only in the passion narrative does the gospel give the answer to the meaning this title hints from the beginning.
In John’s narrative Jesus dies at the same time the lambs for Passover are slain in the temple. This parallel identifies Jesus’ giving of his life on the cross with the Passover lambs that saved the Hebrew slaves from the tenth plague — the death of the firstborn, the plague that persuaded Pharaoh to free them.
- What do you hear about Jesus that makes you want to learn more?
Seek. In John’s gospel Jesus draws people out and into conversation, into questions and misunderstanding, into reflection on the wonders of his presence with them, and ultimately into faith in him. Jesus’ conversation with Andrew is typical. Jesus asks, “What are you seeking?”
Come and see. Jesus uses these words to invite Andrew and his friend to get to know him firsthand. He invites the two to experience his conversation and person, to see physically with their eyes what he’s like.
The fourth gospel stresses the reality of the incarnation; these disciples that Jesus gathers in chapter one can see God in Jesus. The gospel makes this explicit only after the last supper when Jesus explains to Philip, “Who sees me has seen the Father.”
- What are you seeking?
- What does Jesus show us about who God is?
Stay with, remain, abide. The few hours Andrew and his friend stay with Jesus changes their lives. Afterward Andrew immediately tells his brother Peter that he has found the messiah. Encountering the holy in Jesus impels Andrew to mission, to invite others to find out who Jesus is.
Jesus’ disciples stay with him as he heals, teaches, and models how to live. They follow him through misunderstanding, bewilderment, footwashing, his death — to the abiding relationship he promises in his farewell address. “I am in the Father and the Father is in me. You are in me, and you are in the Father.”
Staying with Jesus on the journey of discipleship leads to abiding in the lasting love and life of God. The Spirit will stay with Jesus’ followers as the Spirit remained with him.
Today many first-world missionaries understand their role among two-thirds world peoples as accompaniment. They walk with, stay with, and learn firsthand from people who are poor — from their sufferings and indignities, from their traditions of hospitality and solidarity.
Working together to achieve dignity and meet basic needs follows from first getting to know one another across cultures.
Find. Andrew finds his brother to tell him about Jesus, beginning a chain reaction in the gospel plot. Jesus finds Philip the next day, and Philip finds Nathanael. God lodges among us, according to John’s gospel. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” We can find God and help others find God.
- What Christian practice have you stayed with in your life, for example, rosary, meditation, daily Mass, adoration, retreats, bible study, spiritual reading, a service or advocacy group? How have you grown through this practice?
