Commentary on the Gospel of
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I am most drawn into the first exchange between Andrew, the other disciple, and Jesus in today’s Gospel:
“What are you looking for?”
That first question, “What are you looking for?” comes up fairly often in my prayer as, “God, what am I looking for?” I would rather God just tell me what I’m looking for. I want a John the Baptist to point it out conspicuously saying, “Look, there it is,” because honestly, I’m not usually very good at knowing what I want. I like that the disciples answer Jesus’ question with another question, one of the few times in scripture when Jesus is not the one doing that! Maybe the disciples weren’t sure what they were looking for, either, but they thought they would know it when they saw it.
So they ask, “Where are you staying?” What is this Jesus about? Where is he rooted?It’s a beautiful way of answering the question about what they seek. “God, I’m not sure what I’m looking for, but show me where you are.” This is, I think, where the rather harsh black-and-white language of the first reading seems applicable: if it is truly good, it is of God. This question requests an invitation to get to know this Jesus better, to know whether he is of God. Jesus seems to like that request and offers an invitation to relationship: “Come, and you will see.” The disciples spend the evening with Jesus. Afterwards, they are sure – he’s the real deal, and no mistake. It’s amazing to me that they could be so sure after so little time. I think the disciples must have been well prepared and open to knowing who Jesus was. When he knows who Jesus is, Andrew becomes a prophet to his brother Simon, like John was for him, saying, “Look, there he is.” We, too, become prophets for each other in a community of faith. |
