2nd Ordinary Sunday (Cycle B)

1Sam 3:3b-10,19        1Cor 6:13c-15a,17-20       Jn 1:35-42

‘Come and see’ is the catch word in today’s gospel. In common understanding, this three-worded phrase is an invitation to experience something worse or better. In 1985, the feature film titled ‘Come and see’ was a large box-office hit in the Russian screens. This was a Soviet war drama film portraying the horrifying experience and witness of a young Belarusian boy. The horrifying experience takes place in an atmosphere of Nazi punitive action. The title of the movie ‘Come and see’ points to the tragic experience of a boy turning from a cheerful teenager into a gray-haired old man. But in today’s gospel, the same title comes as an invitation to a joyful and spiritual experience. It came as a response to the enquiry made by Andrew and his companion. Though short, it is a very fascinating phrase to ponder about.

Apart from considering the phrase as an invitation, there is another side to it when seen from the standpoint of a person who utters it. Very few people have the guts to utter this short statement. Only those people who possess personal integrity could invite others to enter into their internal forum and influence them to follow their belief, philosophy and lifestyle. Jesus was one such kind.

When Andrew asked him, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” (Jn 1:38b), Jesus could have simply replied him by just mentioning about the place of his stay and would have went away. Most of us would do that only. But Jesus was different and unique. He immediately said, “Come and see” (Jn 1:39). That made all the difference in those who encountered him. With that approach, Jesus was able to attract a cluster of people to God’s own advantage and His mission. In inviting various persons to join in his discipleship, Jesus always had a direct style of telling them, either “Follow me” or “Come and see”.

But, the first reading presents the vocation narrative of Samuel which was of different style and extraordinary in nature. It was beyond the ordinary way and something supernatural. Either way, whether ordinary or extraordinary, vocation to a noble life comes from God. The same applies to our Christian vocation and discipleship.

The vocation narrative of St Andrew, in the gospel, presents a model of how a progress should happen in vocation to Christian discipleship:
- First, he hears the testimony about Jesus from the mouth of John the Baptist
- Secondly, he receives a direct experience of Jesus, the Messiah, by staying with Him
- Thirdly, he passes that testimonial experience to his brother Simon, to the extent of turning Simon into a disciple of Jesus

Therefore, we see the reception of a testimony, the experience of that testimony, and powerfully transmitting it by witnessing to that testimony. Our Christian call and life should have these three elements. A similarity we see in St John the Baptist too.

Before John the Baptist could witness to Jesus as the Lamb of God, he had the experience of Jesus Christ while he was conceived in the womb of Elizabeth. While Mary visited Elizabeth being conceived of Jesus Christ in her womb, Elizabeth said to her, “As soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy” (Lk 1:44). This leaping for joy was an outcome of John’s experience of the presence of Jesus Christ in his vicinity. Then, as per the desire of God, he grew with the mind of becoming a forerunner of the Messiah. When the time came, he witnessed to Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God, and made others as witnesses to the same fact by baptizing with water.

Hence, any witness should pass through these three noble stages of receiving a testimony, experiencing that testimony, and finally, witnessing to that testimony. Our Christian vocation would be in vain, if it does not culminate in a life of witness. Sadly, our Christian life stops with the reception stage. Hardly it switches over to the experiential stage. Very rarely it reaches the witnessing stage. Most often our Christian living is non-persuasive, and mediocre.

Till the time of Jesus’ resurrection, the Christian vocation and discipleship of Jesus’ disciples did not have the expected depth in their witnessing. But after experiencing the Spirit during the feast of Pentecost, they turned out to be powerful witnesses of Christ. They were able to spread the gospel of Christ to various corners of the world, though they lacked the current advantages of media, technology and transport.

Through the gospel, today Jesus utters the words ‘Come and see!’ to each of us as an invitation to a responsible Christian living. Our priorities in life dictate our choices and our choices determine the outcome of our lives. Whether we arrive at the right destination or not depends on our choices that are often between alternatives that appear equally attractive but lead to entirely different results. A responsible Christian living rests on the right choice we make between available alternatives. Certainly, one of the alternative would point to the gospel values of Christ. It needs real guts to opt that in this current world of so many pressures. When we live a responsible Christian life, that will be a witness to the faith we have accepted in Jesus Christ. We need not become great preachers in the pulpit to witness about Christ, rather our responsible Christian lifestyle would be sufficient to echo the gospel values of Jesus.

A company advertised an opening in its sales force. It received more than thousand applications for the job. But, of those many letters and resumes, one letter stood out: “I am presently selling furniture at the address below. You may judge my ability as a salesman if you will stop in to see me any time, pretending that you are interested in buying furniture. When you come in, you can identify me by my red hair. I will have no way of identifying you. That way, the sales abilities I exhibit will be no more than my usual everyday approach and not a special effort to impress a potential employer.” The sales manager took the applicant up on his challenge and visited the furniture store. The red-haired man got the job.

Like this salesman can we challenge God to check on our disposition to a responsible Christian living? A tree is assessed by its yield of fruits and not its leaves. Similarly, our Christian witness is shown by our good attitude and its eventual actions. God does not look for pretensions in our life of witness. Our witness should be real and genuine. How enthusiastic and authentic we are, to respond to his call?