Sunday 15th January
Isaiah 49: 1-7
John 1: 29 – 42
“When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them
What are you looking for?”
I wonder how those two followers of Jesus responded to his question?
How might John the Baptist felt when Andrew and an unnamed person decided to change their allegiance to Jesus because of what John had said about him?
What you have you looked for as a follower of the Christian way?
The Invitation
Christianity is at its heart a way of life, rather than a belief system. As we seek to listen to the gospel in our times and context the call is always to join in, engage and participate in the Jesus-movement.
What Jesus offered wasn’t Christianity, or church-going. His invitation was to join a community, become disciples of a Way of life. And, as conventional, christendom Christianity slowly dies this ancient invitation comes into sharper relief.
A President of the Uniting Church the Rev Dean Drayton (2003-6) was earlier SA Consultant for Evangelism. He wrote a slim study of the life of the Methodist Church about the four generations of any congregation. They are birth, adulthood, maturity & dying.
He wrote in the early 80’s well before the great decline that is experienced today. His study showed that as families numbers shrank( from 5+ children to 1.5!!) congregations also shrank. Why? because the old loyalties “what we’ve always believed” was losing ground, and there were fewer children who would grow into loyal members of their family church.
His point was that the Methodist Church depended on family growth and committment to a local church and when that began declining congregations – over a forty year period – slowly vanished.
He was convinced that the Methodist Church had largely lost its evangelical heart – embodied in Jesus’ invitation “Come and see”.
Participating
What have you discovered about Jesus over the years? How have those discoveries shaped you? What keeps you participating in this church?
How would you share your spiritual journey with someone who was curious about your faith? Of course, that’s the heart of evangelism, telling something of your spiritual journey, experiences in a community of faith and perhaps some of the things which create hope, meaning and purpose.
Some weeks ago I was visiting a person who occasionally goes to church. She is relaxed and gregarious and told me about her childhood experiences which had deeply negatively influenced her. As an adult she rarely sought out any church because of a sense of judgement, not coming up to scratch. Her spiritual journey hadn’t stopped but was derailed by the attitude of clergy in her early years. And isn’t that always the way?
It’s famously said that Christianity isn’t taught, but caught and that’s very true for participating as a follower of Jesus. My own sense is that everything is caught not taught. Not that teaching isn’t important, but it’s the enthusiasm, the passion of the teacher for her/his subject that transcends any information.
When we gather in worship we come to be renewed, spiritually fed, inspired and reflect on our life together in Christ. We participate in a rythmn which is as ancient as the Church : water, word, bread & wine.
Exploring
It’s a long time since I began exploring the way of Jesus. It began with an invitation of a friend who invited me to come and see at her church. Somewhat reluctantly I went, and to the horror of family I stayed!
It continued with a two-year sojourn in a radical christian community which challenged me to my core as it sought to live and serve as disciples of the Jesus way.
It was then shaped by several years biblical and theological study
and then for the past three decades seeking to encourage people to explore for themselves the way of Jesus, the Bible and spirituality.
Over those years I have experienced a spectrum of Christian communities – from the conventional to the experimental and learnt much from each of them, for better and worse!
So think about this congregation. What has it given you? How does it sustain your spiritual journey? What are you looking for?
What kind of Jesus do you find amongst us? How does he call you to follow him? If you were not participating in this church how might your life differ?
The bible readings today depict Jesus through several titles. Isaiah 49 speaks of an unnamed Servant who will be a light to the nations. Not a proud, boastful, look-at-me leader, but someone who “ is deeply despised, abhorred by the nations”.
John’s Gospel doesn’t use the term Servant, but it lies in the background of a kaleidoscope of titles and four are used in his first chapter: Lamb of God, Son of God, Rabbi and Messiah (Anointed).
We can hear some of the early confessions about the meaning of Jesus which arise out of their response to their discoveries as they follow the way of Jesus.
It’s this response that gives the church new life in every generation, that even as it is dying which it is always doing, and also being renewed wherever the spiritual DNA of water, word, bread & wine are shared and expressed – even when we if we can’t perceive it in our midst.
So, friends, let us remember our vocation as we repeat some convictions of Christian faith, hope and love as those who have heard, and responded to Jesus’ invitation Come and see for yourself.
Being a disciple is following the way of Jesus – one step at a time.
Being a disciple is responding with our lives, our service,
our community-building, our care.
Being a disciple is practicing faith, hope and love
with our neighbours – no matter who they are.
Being a disciple lies at the heart of Jesus’ gospel –
Come, follow me …