‘What Are You Looking For?’

“The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ 39 He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day.” John 1:35-39a

We are a people and culture obsessed with living in the fast lane. When was the last time you slid behind the steering wheel of your car or truck without the least idea of where you were going to go? Perhaps you remember the old tradition of taking a “Sunday drive.” I do. Every once in a while my parents, brothers, sister, and I would all pile into the car and just drive around to take in the sights. Now we get upset when we get behind someone who appears to be out for a Sunday drive. We are busy people, with busy schedules.

But in the midst of all of our busyness, a lot of people have not found real fulfillment. I believe that people are searching for some meaning in their lives. There is a search for some sort of awakening; a deep hunger for spiritual renewal, hiding behind all of the busyness that fills our lives.

When Jesus turned and confronted John the Baptist’s two disciples as they started to follow Jesus, they probably were startled by Jesus’ question and its directness. “What are you looking for?” Jesus asked them. These are the first words of Jesus in the Gospel of John. “What are you looking for?” “Why are you here?” This question has a deeper meaning of “What are you searching for in your lives?”

The disciples answer the question of Jesus with a question of their own. “Rabbi, where are you staying?” “Teacher,” they were saying, “let us follow you and become your students.” And Jesus responds with a warm invitation, “Come and see.”

If you have times when you feel that life is empty, that you are all alone in this world, that no one cares, then listen to the words of our Lord. When God seems far away, we can come to him with the question, “Where are you; where are you staying?” And his warm and compassionate response to you and to me is, “Come and see.”

May we, with John the Baptist, proclaim, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” I want to follow him. I want to be his disciple. And then may we be led to go out to others and say, “Come and see!”