"God’s Positioning System"
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Congregational Church of Amherst, NH (UCC)
The Rev. Catriona F. Grant, associate pastor
Scripture readings: John 1:29-42
Back in the eighties when I was a student in Glasgow, I
had a little part time job a few evenings a week. I worked in a cinema called
the Hillhead Salon. This was in the days before giant multiplex cinemas. This
little movie house was on a side street, off the main road. Each night there’d
be four of us on duty, as well as the manager, wee Willie Walker. One of us
would sell tickets behind the window, one sold the sweets and soda at the kiosk,
and two of us would tear the tickets. Of the two that tore tickets, one had a
flashlight to show latecomers to their seats, and the other had to strap on the
ice cream tray and stand up front in the semi-darkness selling ice cream,
between the screening of the “short” and the feature presentation. Each of us
was given two free tickets every week, so there’d often be friends sitting in
the audience doing their very best to make the person selling the ice cream
laugh out loud.
Wee Willie Walker the manager would begin the evening inside the
lobby or outside on the side walk suspiciously eyeing the pockets and purses of
patrons, trying to catch anyone who was illegally importing food and drink that
hadn’t been bought on the premises. Then he would retire to the screening room
for the duration of the evening. The four hosts on duty each had a seat that was
fixed to the back wall and pulled down, like the ones air hostesses use. Two of
us could leave after the feature presentation began, and two of us had to stay
through the whole thing. I think I saw Rocky IV (or Rocky I Vee as we used to
call it) at least twenty times, not to mention Woody Allen’s “The Purple Rose of
Cairo” and “Santa Claus the Movie.”
So you get the picture (as it were)…pokey
wee cinema. Well there’s an ad that was shown in that movie house that puts me
in mind of our Gospel reading today. The screen would start off completely
black, and there’d be a few pregnant seconds of silence. Then from the stereo
speakers at the back, there’d be a drum roll, starting small but reaching a
crescendo, until at one point a spinning planet earth would fill the screen to
the accompaniment of some intergalactic music, at which point a deep,
disembodied voice would boom, “Where in the world are you going?” By this time
your mind would be full of galaxies and universes, black holes and light years.
Then, a perfectly ordinary feet-on-the-ground, in-this-world voice would answer,
“I’m going to the Chandigarh Tandoori Restaurant, 28 Vinicombe Street, Glasgow.”
And the Chandigarh Tandoori Restaurant at 28 Vinicombe Street was directly
across the street from the cinema itself. On the same road. In this little
cinema, “Where in the world are you going?” and fifteen steps max, across the
cobbled street, you were there.
This is something like today’s Gospel reading in reverse. This passage is the
very first real life glimpse we get of Jesus in the Gospel of John. Our first
view of Emmanuel God-with-us, God becoming flesh, God joining humanity in a new
way, God being revealed in new ways, God becoming fully human so that we might
live more fully as humans, as Amy-Jill Levine describes; Jesus coming to make us
more holy and more fully human, as Kathleen Norris says, and as John Dominic
Crossan says, “God with sandals.” This passage is the genesis of Jesus’
ministry. It’s the story of how Jesus meets the first disciples; how they come
to dedicate their lives to him, and yet it’s all somehow so understated, so low
key, so modest and unassuming. It’s a big step in Jesus’ life and it’s a big
choice for the disciples, and significant for the birth of the church and for
our church life today, the life of what Martin Luther King, Jr. called “the
beloved community.” And yet there’s no drum roll, no ultimate picture of the
universe, no vista of galaxies of possibility, simply an everyday question in a
regular voice, “What are you looking for?”
When was the last time you heard that question? “What are you looking for?”
Perhaps you were hunting down your keys that had disappeared yet again. Or were
you looking through your tools in the garage trying to find that wrench? Or
perhaps rifling through piles of paper on your desk saying, “I know it was here
a minute ago.” Maybe you were plowing through boxes in the attic looking for
some remembrance that you knew was there somewhere. Perhaps you were scouting
about in vain looking for a lost sock. Or perhaps you were the person asking the
question, “What are you looking for?” Your partner, complete upper half of their
body inside the refrigerator claiming that there’s still some of that delicious
Camembert cheese in there somewhere. Or a grandchild digging a hole in the snow,
down to the earth below. Or a friend at the bookstore. Or a parent scrutinizing
the yellow pages. We are always looking for things. Some of us more than others,
no doubt, but we are always looking for things. Chances are when we ask, “What
are you looking for?” we’re referring to some physical object, some little
thing, often inconsequential. Not that day-to-day everyday minutiae is not the
stuff life contained in a meaningful life, “What are you looking for?” usually
refers to something material, some physical thing that is used for in our manner
of living.
The first words spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of John are, “What are you looking
for?” And although it is clear to whom he is addressing the question (at least
at that time), what he means by the question is not immediately obvious.
For us to look for the truth and meaning of this passage, we have to open the
curtains and take a good look at what is behind the text. John, the fourth
Gospel, has some intriguing differences to the other Gospels, even just in this
very first chapter. For example, the writer of John didn’t include any of the
Christmas story, which is interesting. Then, when we’re told about that next
important event in Jesus’ life, his baptism, we’re not given a direct account
like the other Gospels, but we’re told what happened through the eyes of John
the Baptist. And in Matthew, Mark and Luke (the Synoptic Gospels), the disciples
are all fishermen before they become disciples, but in the fourth Gospel some of
them are first disciples of John the Baptist before they join Jesus.
The writer of the fourth Gospel tells us that when John the Baptist baptized
Jesus, he had a clear sense that the Holy Spirit was there with Jesus and indeed
that it remained on Jesus, and so told John the Baptist that indeed Jesus was
the divine person John the Baptist had been waiting for.
One more thing about the context. In this short passage we are given at least
two new titles for Jesus. One is “Son of God.” “Son of God” was a name given to
emperors of the time, and the phrase interpreted “Son of God” may also be
translated “God’s chosen one.” Here in the beginning of John Jesus is also
called the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Although we know
that the early church had adopted this title even by the time the Gospel of John
was written down, and already the words “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of
the world” were firmly ingrained in the language of Holy Communion, it’s not
obvious where those words came from. Animals such as bulls and goats and sheep
were given as sacrifices for sin, but not lambs. Calling Jesus the Lamb of God
may have been adopting the Israelites’ symbol which served to remind the
Israelites of their freedom from slavery. But social historians say that the
image of a lamb meekly going to the slaughter would not have been encouragement
to disciples within the culture Jesus was a part of. Being compared to a meek
lamb would not have been considered a virtue for a man. Another possibility is
that Lamb of God may be a reference to the lamb constellation of Aries in the
heavens which reigned supreme in the sky at certain times. Whatever the
derivation, John the Baptist calls Jesus the Lamb of God.
Now that we’ve set the scene little bit more… John the Baptist is standing with
two of his disciples. He sees Jesus walking by, says, “Look, there’s the Lamb of
God!” And so the disciples begin walking after Jesus. By and by Jesus turns
around, sees them following, and asks, “What are you looking for?” The two
disciples answer him with another question, “Where are you staying?” and Jesus
replies, “Come and see.” So they go with him, spend the rest of the day with
him, and that’s how the first two disciples of Jesus came to be disciples of
Jesus in the Gospel of John.
“What are you looking for?” The disciples answer, “Where are you staying?” Jesus
replies, “Come and see.” In the literary style of the Gospel of John there’s
often more than one level of meaning. Words have their usual literal definition,
then there are metaphorical and symbolic meanings beyond that. “What are you
looking for?” usually refers to some material thing that we are physically
searching for, but it also has another meaning, and sometimes, perhaps very
occasionally in deeper conversation, we’ll use that connotation. There’s a
beautiful thing that comes to light when we examine some of the language used in
this passage. When the disciples ask, “Where are you staying?” there is a level
of permanence about it, of solid stability. It’s not sporadic or transient. They
are not saying, “Where are you staying?” as in, “What family are you lodging
with?” or, “Where did you find accommodation for the night?” That same verb
translated “to stay” is used in John to describe the relationship between God
the creator and the Holy Spirit and Jesus is a solid, permanent one. And that
very same word is used again to describe the relationship between those
different aspects of God, and people of faith who follow Christ. So Jesus is
permanent and can be relied upon, the relationship within the trinity is
permanent and can be relied upon, and the relationship between the Trinitarian
God and those who believe is permanent and can be relied upon. And that was the
solid foundation of the early church, and it is our solid foundation today. And
of course Jesus’ question, “What are you looking for?” was addressed not only to
the first disciples, but is for each one of us here this very morning.
Recent surveys indicate that many people are looking for a relationship with
God, and are looking at different ways of developing an inner spiritual life. A
perhaps surprising result is that 86% of adults who haven’t attended religious
services in the last six months say they can have a good relationship with God
without belonging to a church. Developing an inner spiritual life is an absolute
necessity to live a spiritual life, whether or not one is a part of a church
community. But an integral part of being a Christian, indeed part of the very
definition of Christianity is communion in community. Our scripture passage
talks about Jesus’ baptism, and yours and mine, and it is through baptism that
make promises to one another, that we are brought into covenant with one
another. A baptism without community makes no sense. I certainly wouldn’t argue
with anyone who says they can find God outside of church, but we have chosen to
come to church this morning, and I’m here to tell you that it makes all the
difference in the world. Much has been said about the age of Christendom coming
to a slow end with church no longer being an automatic decision for people. But
as so many have pointed out crisis is the same as opportunity, and this is a
great opportunity for the church. Marcus Borg talks about members of faith
communities no longer joining by convention, but by intention, so that soon
everyone in churches will be there by intention, rather than convention. That’s
good news and a great opportunity for communities of faith. There are so many
dimensions to church life. The church is the primary unit of Christianity. And
since this is the case we mustn’t forget that the question, “What are you
looking for?” is addressed not just to each of us as disciples, but also to all
of us as a group.
“What are we looking for?”
From what I see and hear, we are
looking for church –for ways to get to know God better, ways to get to know one
another better, ways to serve God in this community, the greater community and
the world, ways to learn more about God, ways to walk with Jesus, ways to have
ourselves and our community infiltrated by the Holy Spirit, ways to show forth
God’s love. There is so much vitality and love in this body of God’s faithful
people. Beloved community, I think we might just have found what we’re looking
for! It’s right across the street, as close as you and me.