2nd Sunday after Epiphany
Isaiah 49:1-7 ; Psalm 40:1-11; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9; John 1:29-42
Today’s gospel begins with the Baptizer pointing those around him to Christ, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” This is a big deal. It is believed Jaybee had a following, and some may have thought John to be more than he actually was. No, no, no, he says, there he is.
That revelation, or Epiphany, triggered hesitations and questions that may be no different than the ones we have today. For Andrew and the other unnamed follower of John, it takes a second pointing to get them to turn to Jesus. When they do, they ask Jesus where he is staying. That is not before Jesus asks them, “What are you looking for?” The exchange ends with an invitation, “come and see.”
I am sure they had no idea about what they would witness and experience following around the light to the nations in the Roman-occupied 1st-century Palestine. We, however, do. At first sight, Jesus was exciting and magnetic enough to cause them to proclaim their own epiphanic moment, “We have found the Messiah!” Then comes the reality of what “the light” is actually supposed to accomplish (Isaiah 49:6; see also last week, Isaiah 42:6-9).
The people of Corinth surely received with joy this great light. Nonetheless, when Paul introduces the first of his epistles – the ones preserved for us – to the faith community that he fathered, he reminds them that to be chosen in baptism, to be made a saint, is to be called alongside those of every place who have Jesus as their Lord!
Bridging Faith 