Preached by the Rev. Charles Dupree at Trinity Episcopal
Church, 2017
John 1:18 No one has ever seen God.
John 1: 38 What are you looking for?
Do you ever wonder how much
time we spend looking for something. You may have seen me walking around church
with a water bottle. This is a stewardship effort for me. I don’t buy water in
plastic bottles, so I have one bottle. But I lose it all the time. “Where is my
water bottle,” I say as I retrace my many steps.
Where are my car keys? Where
is my phone? Where are my gloves? Where did I leave my shoes? Where did I put
my glasses?
A popular one for downtown,
“Where am I going to park?”
From clean socks to your
children’s left shoe, we spend a lot of time looking. How much time do we spend
looking for things? A recent survey says that the average American spends 55
minutes a day looking for things they can’t find.
Another survey says that
Americans will lose approximately $5000 dollars worth of stuff over a lifetime.
What are you looking for?
This might be a question that we ask our spouses or family members every day
before racing off to work or school, but today, somebody else is asking us.
“What are you looking for?”
he asks. His name is Jesus, and I don’t think he’s referring to a misplaced
phone charger.
This idea of Looking, of
seeing, of searching, of finding, is very important in the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John is all about pointing out
who Jesus is. This is why there are so many uses of the verb “look” or “see.”
A few examples from the
portion of John’s gospel that we hear this morning:
From John’s first chapter:
·
29. John SAW
Jesus coming toward him.
·
John points to
Jesus, “THERE is the Lamb of God. . .”
·
32. John SEES the
spirit descend and stay on Jesus.
·
34: John says, “I
have SEEN it – this is God’s Chosen one.
·
Again in 36: John
LOOKS toward Jesus and says, “THERE is the Lamb of God.”
·
And when the
disciples start to follow Jesus, Jesus asks them, “What are you looking for?”
So our Gospel writer spends a
lot of time telling us who Jesus is, and what his purpose is. Primarily, Jesus
is here to be God in the flesh. Earlier back in verse 18, we hear that “no one
has ever seen God.” But now we have, and John spends a lot of time pointing out
that this Jesus is now here, in the flesh. Who? What? Where?
There! Look! See!
We kow it’s not polite to
point, but I imagine John the Baptist pointing with his finger to Jesus. THAT
ONE! See, we can see God, and he stands there in the flesh, I can point him out
to you. I can point God out to you. There, look, see.
Again, we remember that
Jesus’ birth just four short weeks ago, is about the incarnation. And this
Jesus we can ese with out own eyes is here so that we can see and know God and
point to the ways that life and society can be different. Seeing is believing,
they say.
Remember, first things are
important in the Gospel. In John’s Gospel these are Jesus’ first words are
about looking, seeking, searching. So today, Jesus asks the most philosophical
question ever asked, “What are you LOOKING for?” And in asking the question,
Jesus also answers the question. For Jesus himself, in the flesh, in body,
standing right in front of them, is the answer. And this answer has to do with closeness.
In Jesus, there is a
closeness to God that was never before possible. And John the baptist’s role,
in this Gospel, is to point to him and say, “There he is. We can be as close as
the Jesus right in your midst.”
As 21st century disciples,
our role is no different. We are to point to Jesus – to where he is active and
moving and bidding us go. We are to point to the Kingdom. We are to point to
the vision that God, through Jesus’ teachings, has imagined for us.
If there was anyone who knew
how to do this - whose life pointed to Jesus. If there was anyone who saw Jesus
everywhere all the time, it was the man whose life we celebrate tomorrow: Martin
Luther King, Jr.
Guided by what he saw in
Jesus Christ – guided by the eyes of his faith, Dr. King refused to accept, as
he wrote, “he refused to accept the view that [human]kind is so tragically
bound to the starless midnight of racism and war. I refuse to accept,” he says,
“that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.
I believe,” he says, “that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the
final word.”[1]
King was a disciple – a
student – a witness – always expecting Jesus to show up. And if Jesus had asked
Dr. King, “What are you looking for?” I’m sure he would have given Jesus an
earful! He would have been as clear with Jesus about what he was looking for. What
was he looking for? Life and Freedom and Equality for all God’s people. And Dr.
King was clear with all of us that we should be looking for it, too.
What do we spend our time
looking for?
Is it our phone chargers and
for our earbuds? Is it our chapstick and our car keys? Or, is it something
deeper?
But today, Jesus, God in the
flesh, is asking, “What are you looking for?”
What are you looking for?
What motivates you? Are you following a path that will take you there? Are your
eyes set on a leader that will lead you in that direction?
We are all looking for
something. Some sort of change. For deep meaning. For significance – for a
place to find and use our gifts. And, my hunch, is that this is why God has
brought you here today. My friends, if you are looking for something, deeply
and honestly, if you are desiring something so bad it hurts, chances are, God
put it there and is already leading your in that direction.
So, as you move to the Altar
this day, hear God’s question to you, “What are you looking for?” And don’t be
afraid to tell God, honestly, what it is that you deeply need, and deeply
desire. And then, keep your heart and your eyes open for what God will show
you.
