Epiphany 2A

"Come and see!"

Since they are very easy words,

they develop early in childhood,

and then they spend years

telling everyone to come and see,

see their painting,

their little hop with foot touching,

See whatever it is they think is really cool at that moment

the weirdly shaped pumpkin in the grocery store.

Come and see!

The Gospel books are full of people saying,

Come and see! 

The women at the well,

Philip to Nathanael,

and from the gospel passage today:

Andrew to Simon

and Jesus to the disciples.

Come and see. 

Come and see

really means, however I could tell you,

would simply not be good enough.

You have to experience this for yourself.

Its an invitation,

a simple one, 

but one we all use over and over again in our lives.

Come and see this! 

After John the Baptist,

who had a little help,

Andrew is the first one to figure out that Jesus really is the Messiah.

And he doesn't wait around,

he immediately thinks, this is awesome

and goes to find his brother Simon

and say, Come and see! 

Andrew takes action immediately,

he goes and invites someone else,

and he has barely even met Jesus at this point.

Jesus is also a man of action,

He doesn't tell the disciples who ask him where he is staying,

he says,

Come and see.

These are active verbs, there is no passivity when it comes to Jesus.

He doesn't say, stay here and I'll bring things to you.

He makes them move, he takes them somewhere else.

He requires them to open their eyes and see something

he makes them change their day, their week,

their month and their entire lives.

Where is Jesus staying?

I don't really think it was all that interesting

where Jesus was staying at that moment,

probably just a room in someone's house

but the point isn't about where he is staying,

it is about the invitation in.

He hasn't met Andrew or Simon or any of them before,

but he invites them in immediately.

Come and see.

There is nothing stationary about Jesus. 

He doesn't sit, stay, and do nothing.

Sometimes he sits and prays, but even then, he tends to go off by himself, walking up a hill or in a garden.

He is always moving.

Martin Luther King Jr. said,

"Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase."

Jesus was always stepping forward in faith

and he was always inviting others to do the same.

To try a new way of being in relationship

to try a new way of living in love

to experience God for themselves.

Come and see.

I have heard stories of people who travel for business, 

who technically have been everywhere

and who haven't seen a thing. 

They don't know what any place is like or how it is different from where they live.

They travel, they move, but they don't see.

They don't see the people or the culture or the beauty.

I am so grateful to God for the beauty in this world.

Sometimes the awe for me is simply in the way something looks,

sometimes the awe is in the amazing details in how something is made.

All of which are invitations from God.

God is waiting for us to see!

I'll say, that when I was first invited to put my name in for the job of priest here in Franklin,

I didn't want to come to Franklin

It wasn't until I came and saw this place

I saw the town and the people and the church and the house

when I had experienced it,

I felt called to be here.

But it wasn't until I left Houston and traveled up here.

I had to be invited,

I had to come and see. 

We need more brothers and sisters on the way, 

and they need our witness to be able to "come and see"

They need us to invite them in,

to reach out our hands and say,

Come and see. 

What have you seen as a part of St. John's community?

people helping each other, 

people being spiritual friends along the way,

people caring about others in the community

Come and see

The invitation is a call to action

come... move away from what you were doing

come... leave behind your old ways

come... let the Holy Spirit move within you

and see... open your eyes to something new

see... what God is doing in this time and place.

Come and see

what is Jesus inviting you to come and see? 

what haven't you seen, that you need to see?

for what do you need to get out of your seat?

Come and see... what God is doing. 

Come and See what Jesus is doing. 

Come and see what the Holy Spirit is doing. 

I can guarantee you,

it is some amazing stuff.

(pause)

Today we are going to do a little exercise in movement and sight

our little exercise is a cross between a scavenger hunt 

and getting a part in a play.

I'm going to pass around this hat, 

and everyone is going to take a slip of paper from it. 

All of the things listed on the slips of paper

are either something in this church, or a part of the rest of the service.

All of them represent some part of Christ's mission in the world.

I invite you to see them in a new way

Let's see with our hearts and eyes and hands and minds and souls

now or later, take a real look. 

Even if you have seen whatever you receive a thousand times, 

look at it deeply, think about why it is part of our church

why would someone want to see it?

what is God doing?

(pass around hat with slips)

I invite you to get up and go see what is on your slip of paper, 

right now, 

or some of you have different parts of the rest of the service, 

so when they come up, come see what is going on, be a part of that part of the service. 

I invite you also to come up to the altar when we do the Eucharistic prayer

if you would like,

Come and see what is going on. 

I once heard someone say what I do up at the altar is like the chicken dance without music, 

I move my arms around and you all have no idea what I am doing. 

I love what happens up there... I want you all to come and see it!

Find your invitation today.

Come and see!