SEE FOR YOURSELF

GOSPEL — JOHN 1:29-42
The Second Sunday After Epiphany

Sometimes you just have to experience something for yourself in order to understand its true impact. It’s just not the same to listen to someone else describe the rich flavors of an extravagant meal or list reasons a choral piece was so moving to its listeners. Few words are adequate to describe a magnificent sunset. A sticky summer’s day, the bitter chill of winter, the palpable excitement that builds inside a sports stadium—sometimes you just have to be there to really understand what it’s like.

Perhaps to some extent this is true of our faith too. “Come and see,” Jesus tells two of John’s disciples (John 1:39). Come and see for yourself where Jesus resides. Take a risk. Jump in. These words echo across time and space, offering us an invitation as well.

Every week we are invited to come and see where God dwells. Not only that, but we are invited to taste, to hear, to touch. We are invited to feast on the bread of communion, to hear ancient words of promise, to splash in the waters of baptism. We are invited to raise our hands, hearts, and voices in praise. Perhaps we are invited to bear witness to the power of digital community that unites us across time and space. We are invited to follow Christ’s call into worship with our bodies as well as our souls. We are invited to let ourselves be surprised by whom and what we encounter. Finally, we are invited to listen for Christ’s voice as we leave the worship space and search out God’s presence in the world.

Where is God inviting you to come and see? Where might Christ already be dwelling among you?

From sundaysandseasons.com.
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