John 1: 35-42
To listen to Andrew tell it, one would think that he was the one who found Jesus. Remember his exuberant sentence to his brother Peter, "We have found the Messiah!" When you examines this gospel closely, however, you learn that it didn't happen quite that way.
Jesus was walking by. John the Baptist noticed him and called out, "There is the Lamb of God!" Andrew and another disciple heard his exclamation of admiration and started walking after Jesus.
Now, here's the important sentence. "When Jesus turned around and noticed them following Him, he asked them, 'What are you looking for?"
Their curiosity piqued, "Rabbi," they replied, "where do you stay?"
"Come and see," said Jesus. And the two of them spent the rest of the day in His company.
Now, who found who? As I read that gospel passage, it was Jesus who found Andrew and his friend.
Let me put it another way. It was Jesus who came knocking on the door of their hearts. It was Jesus who invited them to come and share His good company.
That gospel is a remarkable paradigm of how Jesus enters our lives. He comes knocking at the door of our heart. In other words, He enters the circumstances of our life. He whispers within our heart, "Who are you looking for?" Or sometimes, "What are you looking for in life?"
Then, when at last we notice Him, often surprised that He is interested in what's going on with us, we blurt out, "Lord, where do you live?"
"Come and see," He says, and we enter into His company.
Jesus is always entering people's lives, knocking on the door of their hearts, in the concrete circumstances in which they find themselves. (1)
- I remember reading about King Henry III of Bavaria who lived in the eleventh century. He grew weary of being king and longed to leave the business of governing behind and enter a monastery. He went to a local monastery to consult with the Father Abbot and asked him to accept him as a monk so that he could spend the remainder of his life in contemplative prayer. The Father Abbot pointed out that as a king he was accustomed to governing and giving the orders but as a monk he would have to obey the abbot and do his bidding." King Henry III saw no problem with that. He was willing to obey. "All right," said the Father Abbot, "then I will tell you what to do. Go back to your palace and throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you." (2)
- Let me tell you about another couple whom Jesus encountered right where they were in life. Elisabeth and Barbara met in college and became best friends. And you know what they had in common? Both women loved daisies. When Barbara got married, she and Elisabeth searched for a silverware pattern of daisies. Elisabeth was the bridesmaid. She carried a bouquet of yellow and white daisies when she walked down the aisle on the wedding day. At the reception afterward, on every table there was an arrangement of daisies. After their marriages, every single day these two women would phone one another to chat. Then, unfortunately, their husbands got into an argument. Hard feelings resulted. A wedge was driven between the two friends. No more get-togethers for family barbeques. No more telephone calls. No more celebrations of birthdays together. They were no longer friends. Elisabeth thought often about calling Barbara to see if they could patch up their relationship. But she never had enough courage or maybe humility to make the call. Then, through another mutual friend, she found out that Barbara had died. She was only thirty-eight. The news devastated her. You can guess why. They had never patched up their friendship. She never got around to saying, "I'm sorry. Let's be friends again." In her guilt and anguish, she turned to the Lord in prayer. "Oh, Jesus, I'll never forgive myself for not telling Barbara how sorry I am and how much I loved her." Then, within her heart, she felt Jesus directing her, urging her to pour out her heart to Barbara just like they used to do as college friends and young newlyweds. In prayer she told Barbara, "You were the best friend I ever had. I'm so sorry." That night Elisabeth went to bed with a lighter heart. She felt healed, even though she wished the two of them could have repaired their friendship while Barbara was still alive. The next morning, when she looked out her bedroom window, there in the corner of the yard she noticed a foot-high clump of yellow and white daisies. (3)
Let me share one final example that is close to home.
- Marian Crawford lives in East Arlington, Vermont. She is a seventy-three-year-old lady. But she is no slugabed. Every morning she gets up at 5 o'clock to drive to the homes of several elderly neighbors. She helps them to bathe and shower and to fix breakfast. "Older folks," she explains, like to remain in their own homes. I saw a need to help some of them." After lunch at home, she gets back into her car to drive to the same elderly people. She helps do the laundry, vacuums the house, shops for groceries. She even drives these elderly friends of hers when they have doctors' appointments. Now, for a seventy-three-year old lady, one would think that all that visiting made up a full day. Such a morning and afternoon schedule would tucker out a much younger person. But not Marian. In the evening she still bustles with energy. She goes into her kitchen and bakes a hundred loaves of bread at a time, bread to bring to her neighbors on her next visit. She does other things as well. She bakes casseroles. She sews for those whose eyesight is failing. About sleep she confesses, "I need only a couple of hours here or there. I'd hate to think I was sleeping my life away." (4)
Be alert. In the everyday, ordinary circumstances of your life, Jesus will come knocking at the door to your heart. "Who are you looking for?" He will ask. "What do you want in life?" If we have any sense, we will not allow this golden opportunity to pass us by. We will say, "Lord, where do you live?" He will invite us to enter into His good company. He will show us the way to Heaven.
REFERENCES
(1) Patricia Datchuck Sanchez, Celebration, January 16, 2000, 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Commentary on John 1: 35-42
(2) Victor Parachin, PastoraLink, Spiritual Life, Daily Reflection, January 1, 2000
(3) Ibid, January 6, 2000
(4) Ibid, January 3, 2000
(Comments to Ron at rsaunders@connriver.net )