Epiphany 2A
January 18, 2026
John 1:29-42
INTRODUCTION
The season of Epiphany is all about the revelation of God in the world, and today’s texts continue that theme. In fact, they give us a sense that we are a part of that revelation – we, as a servant people, are given as a light to the nations, Isaiah says. The Psalm talks about living out God’s will in the world. Paul tells the Corinthians that the testimony of Christ has been strengthened in them. The point is consistent: we are a part of what reveals Christ to the world!
This is perhaps clearest of all in the Gospel reading. First, we’ll see John the Baptist, pointing to Christ. That’s his whole thing, in John’s Gospel – in Matthew, Mark and Luke, he is the Baptist, but in John, he is a witness, pointing and testifying to who Christ is. He’ll do it twice today, calling Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. But the remarkable thing is, when he points out Jesus, people start following Jesus. They want to know more. That is what happens when we point out the amazing ways Jesus shows up the world – people want to know more!
So, listen in these texts for the incredible ways God is being revealed – and let that inspire you to find God revealed in other ways, both around you and through you. Let’s listen.
[READ]
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ Amen.
When you see John the Baptist, or John the Witness, portrayed in art, you will often see him depicted as pointing. That is his primary role in John’s Gospel: to point to Christ, and testify to who he is. We saw it during Advent in Matthew’s Gospel. Now in John’s Gospel, during the season of Epiphany, we see it again. In today’s passage, twice, he points to Jesus and says, “Look, it’s the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
John’s pointing reminded me of what I talked about in my sermon last week – do you remember? (It’s okay if you don’t, I often don’t remember my own sermons!) I talked about how my star gift was helping me cope with the deluge of heart-breaking news these days. By viewing the world and the news through the lens of my star gift, which is “appreciation,” I was able to find God at work, even in the heartbreak, and this became a lifeline that kept me from falling into despair during a tough news week. I hope my experience encouraged you to try the same this past week, and that if you did, that it helped you.
But in today’s text, John and his pointing pushed me to take it even a step further – that is, not only to notice for myself where I was seeing God, but to then point to it and speak it aloud. “Look! There’s the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Look, the one who came to draw us into relationship with the living God! Look, the one who so loves the world, that he came to dwell with us! Look!
When John points to Jesus, an amazing thing happens: first, of course, people take notice. And then, they follow him. They go to where Jesus is.
This may seem like a nothingburger. I know I have read right on through this part many times and noticed nothing especially remarkable about it. But here is what I recognized this time: Andrew and his friend following Jesus is an invitation to us, to also go to where Jesus is. When someone points him out, we don’t just shrug, say, “Huh, cool,” and stay where you are, or even turn a different way. No, now that we know where Jesus is, we go to where he is.
What brought this to light for me was what happens next. After Andrew and his friend start following Jesus, Jesus turns around and asks them, “What are you looking for?” The new disciples’ answer is another question: “Rabbi, where are you staying?” That word, “staying,” is translated from the Greek, meno, a word often translated as “abide.” The word appears in John’s Gospel some 40 times. Abiding is a big deal to John, because in John’s Gospel, to abide with Jesus is what it means to have faith. Faith, or belief, is having a relationship with Jesus. So when the disciples ask Jesus, “Where are you staying,” or, “Where do you abide?” the implication in the question is, “Where do you abide – so that we can abide there, too. So that we can be close to you. So that we can be in relationship with you.”
And Jesus’ response to this is an invitation: “Come and see.” Come and see where I am. Come here, to where I am. Come – come and see.
This feels incredibly important to me right now. Last week we talked about noticing where Jesus is. This week, we see that the importance of pointing it out, pointing to where Jesus is, is so that we will know to go where Jesus is. And when we go there, we will come to know more deeply who Jesus is, and be in closer relationship with him.
So where is Jesus? Where do you see him?
I can see a lot of places where he is not, places where we never, in all of scripture, see Jesus go. Jesus is not in acts of violence or aggression. Later in John’s Gospel he tells the disciples to put down their swords, because violence is not what he is about. Jesus is not in the act of sending away people who are considered outsiders. Indeed, shortly after this interaction, Jesus will have a long conversation, the longest one he has with anyone in scripture, on the outskirts of town with a Samaritan woman by a well, a woman who is as much of an outsider as they come. Jesus is not in words and acts of retribution and retaliation. During his trial, not once does he resort to self-defense or attack, though he literally has the power of God on his side and would definitely win.
So if he’s not there, then, where is he? If you were going to point to where Jesus is, today, in 2026 America, where would you point?
Most obviously and frequently, Jesus is with those in need, and specifically, with those who are in the most need. Again and again, Jesus puts himself on the side of the poor, the sick, the hungry, the stranger, the outcast. So if I had to guess, if I had to point somewhere to show where Jesus is today, I would point to him among those who are losing their healthcare benefits and are not sure how they will afford to keep living. I would point to him among those who can’t afford groceries, who depend upon SNAP benefits to feed their families. I would point to him among those who came to our country as refugees or asylum seekers, who fled their homes to find a safer life for themselves and their families. I would point to Jesus among those who are grieving, those who are lonely, those who are victims of violence of any kind. I would point to Jesus among the immigrant community in the Twin Cities who are afraid to leave their homes to go to work or to buy groceries or to take their kids to school. I would also point to Jesus among those who are responding to that fear by delivering groceries to those families, walking their kids to school for them, and keeping watch over the school playground during recess (these are all things that friends of mine who live in Minneapolis are doing right now for their neighbors). I would point to Jesus among those who call for peaceful resistance to violence, and who step in to help their neighbors, even when it is dangerous. I would point to Jesus among people in power who use that power to help the most vulnerable, rather than to help or enrich themselves.
“Rabbi, where are you staying?” I think Jesus is staying, abiding, in all of these places. If we want to see Jesus, if we want to know Jesus, if we want to be in relationship with Jesus – then that is where we should look, among those who are most vulnerable and afraid.
And, like Andrew and his friend, that is also where we are invited, by Christ himself, to “come and see.” To follow Jesus into those places of most need, as well as into places of courageous love and devoted compassion, so that we might dwell with him there.
It is difficult work, being a following Jesus, especially when he is always leading us into the hard places! But his promise to us is that when we do, we will, like Andrew, be able to say, “We have found the Messiah” – the one who will save us from our sin, who will draw us close to God, who will give and has already given everything in order to give us life. Come and see, and what you will see is life everlasting.
Let us pray… Lamb of God, we long to see you. Show us where you are, so that we might abide there with you, and find in you everything we are looking for. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment