Richard Mallory
Dear friends of Christ,
Today’s Epiphany 2 gospel is full of questions. People are trying to understand who this John character is. A bombardment of questions land as if people are anxious and disturbed: “Who are you?” and “What do you say about yourself?” and “Why then are you baptizing…?” The next day, Jesus is spotted. The Baptizer tells them, “Here is the one who ranks before me” and I’m not worthy to tie or untie his shoes as a servant.” The day after that, John’s disciples began to engage Jesus, also with questions but not until Jesus queried them: “What are you looking for?” They clearly couldn’t handle that one so they changed the subject with “Where are you staying?” An existential question from Jesus is upstaged with a mundane mutter, “Where are you staying?” Jesus accepts their fright to be so put on the spot and goes along with refocusing, “Come and see.” They took him up on that offer and did spend the rest of the day with this newcomer on the scene, Jesus. Thus began the formation of this band of brothers we call his disciples.
In the study guide used in the Monday evening lectionary Bible group, editors emphasize these calls to discipleship that were answered affirmatively by the twelve. This Johannine account was written three or four generations after these interactions occurred. This was not primarily historical documentation but rather the telling of stories meant to educate and inspire those living around 90-100 CE to also become disciples. How do we today see ourselves as disciples? To ponder oneself as a disciple immediately takes a person into uncertain territory far different from simply being a church member. The stories that follow are pervaded with action verbs: follow, see, seek, stay, find, abide. The very beginning of any discipling is to accept the invitation to “come and see.” Take a test drive. Check things out. Questions from the study guide: “What would it take for you to get up from where you are, go, and see? What draws you to ‘come and see?’ What in you resists going to see?”
How vital and life-giving to continue to be a seeker even as one has committed to be a Jesus follower. After all, the disciples continued to learn, stumble along, and sometimes outright challenge him and pronounce him misguided. He never expelled them (Judas expelled himself). He hung in with them and even after publically repudiating him, as Peter did, and as a stand in for all of the men, he accepted them through and through. These frail men model for us the way of the seeker and the way of the adventurer. They would not give up. The women of Christian origins are not as fickle. In the words of depth psychology, they know and live with greater object constancy which translates as loyalty.
The concluding paragraph from this guide on Epiphany 2 gospel quotes Episcopal priest Barbara Brown Taylor: ” What I hear less about from Jesus’ followers is what it costs to oppose the traditions of the elders, to upset pious expectations of what a child of God should say or do, to subvert religious certainty, and to make people responsible for their own lives. Yet all of these are present in his example too.”
—Richard