Theme - What are you looking for?
Although the liturgical season of Ordinary Time begins this week, today’s reading continues with the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord, which concludes the Christmas season. Today’s reading from the Gospel according to John immediately follows John the Baptist's testimony about Jesus and his identification of Jesus as the Lamb of God. The first followers searched for Jesus because of the testimony and witness of John the Baptist.
It is very evident from the attitude of these disciples they were in search a good teacher but from the side of the master Jesus He is not concerned about perfect followers. When John the Baptist told his two disciples about Jesus: “Behold, the Lamb of God!” At once they began following Jesus. And when Jesus saw them, he asked them: “What are you looking for?” At first, it may look like a simple question. But actually, it is profound and challenging. It invites one to look deeply into himself and evaluate the direction and the meaning of his life. Obviously, the two disciples did not get the full implication of the question because they replied with another question: “Rabbi, where are you staying?”
The rabbi during the time of Jesus was unlike the rabbi of today, who taught mainly in synagogues. And then, he was an itinerant preacher much like the prophets of old. He moves from place to place, teaching about the Scriptures and many important lessons from concrete realities in life. His disciples follow him wherever he goes and they imbibe his knowledge and way of life in the process.
Hence, to ask where a rabbi lives is rather insignificant and even irrelevant. What really matters is being with him wherever he goes. That is why, instead of answering their question, Jesus replies with an invitation: “Come, and you will see”. It is an invitation, not to a place of living, but to a relationship, to be part of his life. “So, they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day”. That one day of experience inspires them so much that it radically transforms them, from being followers to evangelizers. One of them, Andrew, looks for his brother, Simon, and eagerly shares the good news to him: “We have found the Messiah”.
Every day the Lord invites us: “Come, follow me.” Like the two disciples, many of us would readily follow him. But he would invariably pose the same question: “What are you looking for?” As the great philosopher Aristotle wrote, “Those who wish to succeed must ask the right basic questions”. And I believe this is one of the important fundamental questions we need to ask ourselves before seriously deciding to follow Jesus.
Today, therefore, Jesus asks us: “What are you looking for?” In other words, he wants to know why we are following him, a crucial question that has to be answered honestly in order to purify our motivations and intensify our commitment to follow him. Peter accurately responded: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life.”
On this second Sunday, as we draw a lesson from the Gospel, let us be clear about our motivations. We follow Jesus because we profess our firm belief in him as our Lord and God. We humbly acknowledge that without him, we are nothing, and we can do nothing. He is the reason for our being and existence. In him alone can we find fullness of life, happiness and salvation.
St.Montfort in his writing LEW 54 says “Whoever wishes to find this precious treasure of Wisdom should, like Solomon, search for him (a) early and, if possible, while still young; (b) purely and spiritually as a chaste young man seeks a bride; (c) unceasingly, to the very end, until he has found him”. This is the disposition of the first disciples that we see in the gospel today.
As we look around us, we see so many lost and wandering souls. They go through life looking for meaning and happiness in the world of drugs, vices, materialism and selfishness. Like St. John the Baptist, we have the duty to tell them about Jesus: “Behold, the Lamb of God!” And like St. Andrew, we must bring them to Jesus that they, too, may find the true meaning of life. Dear brothers and sisters let us pray during this Holy Eucharist for the virtues of St. John the Baptist humility and selflessness and the virtue of St. Andrew the enthusiasm to take Jesus Christ to others.
Fr. John Marie SMM