Epiphany 2 A

There is a theme for our gospel text today and that theme is come and walk with me.

John tells the story of how Jesus calls his disciples in a different way than the other gospel writers tell it. What is important to John before anything else is that, for those who are going to follow Jesus, those people who will eventually be leaders in the new church, spend time walking with him. Spend time getting to know and understand him. And then being ready to stay with him.

When Jesus meets Andrew and the other disciple they ask where he is staying. What a funny question. John tells them that Jesus is the Lamb of God anointed with the spirit and they ask him where is staying. Then again his response is a bit strange too. He says come and see and so they do and, according to the text, they end up staying with him there. I can't say that when I first meet someone this is the type of exchange I have but that in part goes to something that is lost in translation here.

When the text says that the disciples remained with Jesus the actual word is a little weightier than that. It wasn't just that they needed a place to stay. They found a sort of home with Jesus and so heart and soul they remained with him.

This come and see and then stick around phrasing in used a lot in the gospel of John. But most notably it is used here at the very, very beginning of Jesus' ministry and then at the very end after the resurrection. Mary says come and see, Jesus is risen and the other disciples went with her and saw and this led to their finally understanding that Jesus was indeed the messiah.

I like the idea that nobody asks what is going on and is given some kind of explanation. No ones sits them down and says read this brochure, it will explain the whole thing. It is almost as if they are just too caught up in what they are doing for that to be an option so instead they say just come along, you'll see.

Come walk with me and talk with me and you'll figure it out. There are a few things that I like about this approach. I like that it isn't asking too much. We aren't making a big commitment right up front. Just taking a walk and a look, it seems manageable. So often we feel like there is so much to faith, so much we have to believe and understand and do and control. We have to constantly be improving, be working. And there is value to strong belief and to understanding some theological principles. But really all Jesus says when he calls his disciples is come, walk with me.

I also like the idea of movement in this text. Jesus doesn't stay in the same place doing the same thing and so there is no reason to expect that we will always find faith in just the same place and the same way. Faith is dynamic, it moves and changes and grows and so we have permission to move and change and grow too. Nowhere does the bible say stay rooted to just where and how you are in order to remain faithful. Jesus walked and traveled and preached and taught and ate and prayed and healed and went to the temple and sat in the marketplace and in each of these places people encountered him in different ways. Perhaps we can too. Perhaps we can even be the ones through whom other people encounter Jesus in some of these places.

Now the final thing I like about this approach and maybe my very favorite thing is the invitation to be part of a community. Jesus and later the other people who speak words of invitation don't desert those whom they are inviting for even a little while. Instead they say walk with me and they stay there to make sure that the walking works out.

Our Synod adopted a motto a few years back that they are trying to use to frame all synodical work and decisions. It includes three action statements, Pray first, Walk together, and Change lives. This is just how all the disciples operated. They spent some time talking to Jesus. (that is the praying part). Then they walked with Jesus and each other. Always together. Always in community and in so doing lives were changed.

One of the greatest gifts that we have from God is that of community. Of people to walk with. People who change our lives and let us change theirs. We get the great joy today of celebrating our community. We are celebrating the reception of Janice as a new member. A long awaited event here as Janice has been walking with us for quite some time. But I urge you all to realize that while she is making a commitment to us to be part of our community here, really we are making a much bigger commitment to her. We are saying all at once We have prayed with you, now walk with us, be part of us and we promise lives will change.

It is a busy day today too as we are also installing some very important leadership. We are installing our new council members as well as our Sunday school teachers. What great news. Surely these people being leaders like they are, they are the ones making the promises to us. But again that isn't how it works in community. They are promising to prayerfully help lead this congregation but even more so we are promising to pray with and for them and to walk ever faithfully by their sides. And we're promising them that through this lives will change.

Starting with what we do today new relationships will begin, ministry will grow, people will learn things and forget woes and our community will strengthen. Through that we will be blessed and those around us will be blessed and lives will change.

Now it is pretty intense to promise that lives will change, especially to be making that promise to so many people all at once. But I assure you it is true because whenever we walk in community here as a church or outside these walls we know that we are walking with he who first called Andrew and Simon and all the other disciples with an invitation to come and see and walk with him. And we know that the nature of the Holy Spirit is one that moves and grows and is constantly walking with us, changing lives. Amen