Readings:
1 Samuel 3: 1-10;
Psalm 139: 1-5, 12-18;
Revelation 5: 1-10;
John 1: 43-end

Collect:
Eternal Lord,
our beginning and our end:
bring us with the whole of creation to your glory,
hidden through past ages and made known in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Reflection 

Direct and to the point. No shilly-shallying or mucking about. John’s gospel has quite a few gifts for preachers and today’s is: “and they followed Jesus” (Jn 1:37). In all sorts of ways, that’s what we’re about.

But there are a few surprises in this story too. The gospel has been telling us of John the Baptist calling the people to repentance and now here, two of the Baptist’s disciples do more than repent. They leave John to follow Jesus, and they do this because John has told them Jesus is “the Lamb of God”. It’s as simple as that. But don’t be fooled by the simplicity. Jesus response is, to my ears, quite shocking. He asks them: “What are you looking for?” Does he mistrust them? We don’t know, but he’s certainly putting them on the spot. Their reply is just as odd: “Where are you staying?” Are they looking for accommodation? All the more reason for Jesus to ask why they’re coming to him. 

But the gospel makes nothing of these questions with no answers. Next thing Andrew fetches his brother Simon, who comes directly to Jesus. No whys, no wherefores, no questions. He just comes because Andrew has said “We’ve found the Messiah”, which the gospel helpfully translates as “Christ”. When Simon arrives, there’s none of the usual “Simon meet Jesus. Jesus meet Simon.” No time for that in this gospel. Jesus looks at him and changes his name. Our names hold our identity – given by our family and as intimate as our breath. Bit of a cheek, really, and Simon has nothing to say about this. And we’re given another helpful translation by the author: “You will be called Cephas, which is translated Peter.” 

Three times in five verses a word is translated for us, so the writer clearly thinks those reading will not know the significance, or perhaps the importance of these words. First “Rabbi”, which we’re told means teacher, then Messiah and then Cephas.

Sometimes these verses are called “The call of the disciples”. In John’s gospel, however, it’s more like “The disciples follow Jesus”. We read the bible also to learn about ourselves and there are three things I learned about myself in this story. First, it’s my choice to follow Jesus. I may be prompted, I may need to understand, but I decide. Secondly, when I decide to follow, I am challenged and asked: “What are you looking for?” There are consequences and I need to know then and accept them. Third,  I’ll be changed, and in ways that I may not choose, and in the process my true identity is revealed. Of course, these apply to us all individually. They also apply to us as Church as we work out our life together.

Barry Lotz