The Sunday starts out normal. You arrive at church, sit down in your usual pew, sing the familiar hymns, and even start to fall asleep in your usual spot during the sermon, somewhere between the engaging into and the nonsensical droning that always sets in at about the three minutes mark. It is a normal Sunday morning.
But, about half way through the droning and halfway into a dream about boating in the deep blue waters of the Bahamas with Darth Vader…because that is how dreams are…the pastor screams loudly, “There he is!”
You startle awake to see the pastor pointing to the back of the church. You turn and search through the sea of heads. You do not quite see what the pastor is screaming about.
Looking again at the pastor, he exclaims, “Listen, I’m just a pastor, doing my best to point my people toward the Lord, and here he is in the flesh. Look, right there is the Lamb of God! He’s come!”
You look back again and see the man standing in the back of the church. Could it possibly be true?
As if answering your thoughts, the pastor reassures, “This is the one who came before any of us and is greater than all of us. I’ve seen the Holy Spirit fall on this man. This is the Lord’s anointed. This is the Lamb of God!”
The man in the back of the church looks directly at you with his engaging eyes, summons with the tilt of the head, and starts to exit the church.
For the first time in his life, the pastor is excited to have said something so drastic that it emptied the pews of his church. Most of the congregation follows the Lord’s anointed out the door. You decide to follow also, to see what it is all about.
Who would not follow after-all? I cannot tell you the amount of times that I have heard the words, “If only Jesus were right here,” fall from the lips of the faithful. I cannot tell you the number of times that I have wished the same thing.
We have the stories of the scriptures to tell us about Jesus of course, but would it not be nice to actually be able to follow the Lord and see what he does? Would it not be nice to invite him over to your house and see how he would handle the kids climbing the furniture…just to see if you are even in the realm of doing it right?
Would it not be nice to walk the halls of school with Jesus to see how he handles the constant drama of your friends?
How would Jesus deal with your adult children and their decisions? Would it not be nice to know what Jesus would do with them?
But, beyond all of that, would it not be nice to simply be in the presence of God’s love in the flesh?
This brings us to the first question the Lord asks as we step outside the doors of the church. He turns suddenly and asks, “What are you looking for?”
Now, you know immediately that this is not a question about the wallet you lost the other day. In his eyes you see that this is a deeper question that means something like: “What are you seeking?” “What do you hope to find?” “What do you long for?”
So I am actually asking you as you read this: what do you long for? What are you seeking whenever you come to the house of the Lord? What do you hope to find? Of course this is a question that is answered at a more profound level than, “I hope to find some good music.” What is your heart searching for when you come to the house of the Lord? Go ahead and keep the answer in you mind.
Now, I cannot read your mind, but I already know that a lot of the responses probably have something to do with being nearer to Jesus, or growing in faith with Jesus. This is not so far off of the mark of the question one of the people asks the Lamb of God just outside of the church door.
“Where are you staying?” the woman at your right shoulder asks. This is not a practical question of location your realize as you see the yearning in her eyes. What she is really asking is, “How can we be near you?” That is your question too, “Jesus, how can I be near you? How can I know you? How can we follow you?”
I just want to point out how personal and relational this all is. Almost no one asks, “Jesus how can we memorize more of your amazing theological precepts.” No, what we are asking is more along the line of the ancient Israelite people who desired to have the law of God written on their hearts. We desire to have God’s love and wisdom so close to us that it cannot be forgotten among the shopping lists and homework assignments that seem to consume most of our lives.
“Jesus, how can I be near you and know you?” you blurt out echoing the woman’s question. Jesus turns to you, smiles as small smile, and gives the simplest, but most perfect response: “Come and see.”
The answer is actually, absolutely perfect. It lands lightly on your soul.
It requires no bible study preparation or confirmation memorization. It requires no facades of perfection, nor does it drip in any way of moral requirements of right and wrong like a moral physical exam before you call play ball on Jesus' team. None of that is there. It is a simple invitation to even the most messed up people on the face of the earth.
“Jesus, how can we be near you and know you more?”
“Just, come and see.”
Sometimes I wonder if we in the church make this all a little more complicated than it actually is.
One time I was asked about my faith by a coworker as we scraped rust together in the hold of an old dredge boat. He truly desired to know more and wanted a faith community in which to place his feet, so-to-speak.
I recall trying my best to articulate my faith in some sort of coherent string of sentences. I recall trying my best to answer him correctly. And, I recall trying my best and failing completely.
The scriptures say that the Holy Spirit will give you the right words, but I am pretty sure I was ignoring the right ones at that moment.
I could see in the glazed look on his face that my rambling answer was not the answer for which he was looking. He did not want the right answer. He did not want the profound statement that would rock his world. In the end, all he wanted was Jesus. All he needed me to say was, “Come and see.”
“Come and see,” Jesus says.
“Come and see the life I have to offer.
Come and see the love I have to share.
Come and see the forgiveness that can be yours.”
So, go ahead and come. Find your life in the risen Lord.
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