Epiphany 2 (John 1:29-42) “What are
you looking for?”
Jesus
frequently asked people questions.
He asked
questions to help people clarify their spiritual state.
Sadly, most
people then (as now) refused to consider the questions Jesus asked. Most people
most of the time were locked into a system of rigid, inflexible uncompromising
belief. They were in fact lost in their own narrow and unquestioned assumptions
about God, other people and themselves.
The most difficult
people Jesus encountered were the religious leaders of the time. These were
well educated, accomplished, wealthy and powerful people. They not only
believed they knew the one right religion- they knew they knew. They were lost
in the spiritual state of invincible ignorance.
They were
those of whom the prophet Amos said: woe to those who are at ease in Zion. They
were those who were looking for a Messiah to confirm their beliefs and secure
their wealth and power.
Jesus knew
this aspect of human nature. He grew up in a society in conflict. He listened
to the various rabbis of the many religious sects argue with each other and
condemn each other. He knew that once he began to teach that these religious
leaders would analyze and criticize his every word looking for flaws.
As the
perfect mirror of God, Jesus reveals to us our spiritual condition. In the
question: “what are you looking for?” Jesus invites us to consider our
inherited beliefs.
The apostles
by and large were not members of the religious elite. They were working class
men. The smartest and the brightest among them was Judas. They also came to
Jesus looking for something. As with everyone at that time they initially came
with a demand.
The demand
comes from deep within the soul. The demand is: my will be done. Give me what I
want.
Jesus came
in the superabundance of divine love. He came to seek out and to find the lost
who do not want to be found. He came to fulfill the Law of Moses and the
teachings of the Prophets. He came to reveal that God just doesn’t have love as
one of many attributes but God is love.
Jesus is the
extravagance of divine love who comes to offer a new life and a new way of
living. Sadly, no one wanted the new life. They wanted their old lives enriched
and empowered. No one wanted the new way of living. They just wanted more of
what they already had. Fundamentally, lost souls do not want to change. Lost
souls do not want to be challenged or inspired. Lost souls do not want the
active dynamic transforming personal relationship God offers us in Jesus
Christ.
Jesus knew all
of this. At the beginning of His public ministry He knew his time was short. He
knew that people lost in separation would criticize him, reject him, abandon
him and kill him. He knew he had to endure the worst that people would inflict upon
him in order to bring the best that God has to offer.
The lost do
not want to change. The lost resist transformation. The lost need both change
(conversion) and transformation (sanctification). The only alternative is
stagnation (damnation). Jesus died to save us from ourselves. Jesus died to
save us from stagnation.
Human nature
never changes of itself. People are still lost in separation from God. People
still live from the place of pride that declares: do it my way. Give me what I
want when I want it or else.
Human nature
can only change as we follow the path of Jesus into a personal transforming relationship
with God in Jesus Christ. The way forward into the kingdom of heaven is the
altar of sacrifice. It is the way of Jesus who prayed: heavenly Father not my will
but Thy will be done. It is the way of sacrifice and service empowered by
divine love.
Are you
willing to surrender self- will to Divine will in the prayer of Jesus: Heavenly
Father, not my will but Thy will be done?
Jesus asks
us the same question he asked the religious people of the first century: “What are you looking for?”
Your words
and actions answer that question more loudly and more profoundly than your
imagined religious beliefs.
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