John’s letter tells it straight out: If you sin, you belong to the devil; and if you act righteously, you belong to God. It seems a little simplistic. Maybe this was the push and shove to get people to act faithfully. Certainly, righteous living was being held high as a very important way to live with big and satisfying consequences.
John’s Gospel ramps it up as Jesus begins to call his followers who, in a rather simple dialogue, asks the question to ascertain what it was that the two disciples of John the Baptist were looking for, and asking of them straight out.
They responded with what seems like a rather unimportant question —
“Where are you staying?”
It doesn’t seem to be a question of much significance. Were they simply asking Jesus about his residence?
Or where he stayed, perhaps, had more to do with the “who, what, where, when, and how” stuff.
We could ask the same question and answer, “in the tabernacle” or “in the church. Or would we dare to say, “within each of us”?
And when Jesus answered, “Come, and you will see,” do we begin to believe that actually it is within us, all around us, and in every person we pass. Do we begin to get the idea that Jesus the Christ wants to get into us and through us to reach others?
And when we hear Andrew, the brother of Simon, telling Simon —
“We have found the Messiah.”
Can we say the same?
Have we found the Messiah? Can we and have we led others to him? Are we committed to following?
