Jesus is asking, "What are you looking for?"

Saturday, 11/30/13

St. Andrew’s earliest appearance was in John’s Gospel. Andrew and John were neighbor boys, sons of fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. On having heard that John the Baptist was baptizing people eighty mils south of them, they got permission from their dads to go down there. They thought they could help the Baptist with the young and the old who were wading out in the Jordan to be baptized by him.

One day when they were out in the river with him, the Baptist pointed to Jesus  passing by as he called out, “Behold the Lamb of God.” 

With an exchange of looks, Andrew and John waded ashore, and they followed after Jesus. But, being bashful country boys, they kept their distance as they followed along. At last, Jesus turned, and he asked them, “What are you looking for?”

I think St. John put that question in his Gospel for you to read. He wanted you to know Jesus was asking you  “What are you looking for?” What do you want to do with the rest of your life? “  Try answering that.

Andrew and John answered Jesus by asking, “Where are you staying?” And, he said, “Come and see,” and “they went and stayed with him.”

That Greek word translated here as “stay” was  mineis. It might be the most frequently used word in John’s Gospel. Sometimes it is translated as “dwell,” and sometimes as “remain.”  

John’s Gospel is all about remaining in Christ. You could say that John’s Gospel is all about Sanctifying Grace by which we remain in Christ, and he remains in us.