Ezekiel 3:16-21; Romans 10:8b-18; St John 1:35-42a
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
He was a disciple of John. From him he learned to pray. From him he was instructed how to fast. From him he received a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. With him he waited for the Coming One. The Messiah. The Christ. The Baptizer was a Rabbi in his own right. He had disciples; catechumens; among whom was Andrew. But his chief function, especially in the Gospel according to St John, the Baptizer was a witness. He was a finger and a voice. He testified of the Christ and pointed to Him.
Andrew heard that proclamation of his rabbi. Behold, the Lamb of God! He had said it the previous day as well. But as it is with all catechumens, repetition is essential. And on top of that, this day, he not only said it, John looked intently at Jesus as He walked. He fixed his gaze on Him. He bears witness not only with his voice and his gestures, but also with his eyes. The preacher to the Hebrews exhorts similarly: Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:1-2).
But Andrew has to learn to walk before he can run. And so he, along with another disciple of John, followed Jesus. He’s the first disciple mentioned in John’s Gospel. He’s the first follower of Rabbi Jesus. He’s the first “home missionary,” as we’ll hear, when he brings his brother, Simon, to Jesus. He’s the first “foreign missionary,” as noted in John 12, when he brings some Greeks to Jesus. He’s one of the first apostles to be martyred. All these firsts, it’s no wonder that St Andrew’s Feast Day is the first one of the Church Year. Always associated with the start of Advent.
But there’s another first that we should note. We make a big deal about the last words of the Blessed Virgin Mary in John’s Gospel, Do whatever Jesus tells you (Jn 2:5). But what about the first words of Jesus? Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, What do you seek? These are the first words of Jesus in the Gospel of John. They are Jesus’ question for His followers, thus they are the Church’s question for catechumens. “What do you seek?”
It’s hardly an opened ended question. The Evangelist answers it for us. These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name (Jn 20:31). The entirety of the Gospel narrative, then, presents what the disciple seeks. It is as though Jesus asks Andrew, “Do you seek what this story tells of Me?” “Are you searching the Scriptures, waiting and watching for the Messiah?” “Is this the way that you desire to walk?” Its a little early, but He’s getting them ready for that big question to the Sons of Thunder, Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? (Mk 10:38)
And their response, Rabbi, is not mere politeness. They are indicating that they do, in fact, wish to assume the life that Jesus lives. That is why they ask, Where are you staying? It is not a question of, “Where do You unroll Your sleeping bag?” Its a question of conversion. Where are You remaining? “Where do You abide?” As in, The slave does not remain in the house forever; the Son remains forever (Jn 8:35). The slave of sin does not remain in the house of the Father. The Son remains forever. He is the Christ. The Lamb of God. And if He sets you free from sin you will truly be free. And this freedom is the gift given to those who are truly Jesus’ disciples. Those who remain in My Word (Jn 8:31).
What about you? Are you politely following after Jesus? Sort of going through the motions, not really committed to “delight in His will and walk in His ways to the glory of His holy name”? What are you seeking? It is life with Christ? Or is it something else? Is it to be where He is? For Jesus is nowhere other than His Cross. For the disciple to remain with Jesus is for the disciple to share the sufferings of His Teacher.
And without doubt that’s a hard thing to do. And it’s only going to get tougher. After the 5,000 filled their bellies with bread, they didn’t want to hear the hard sayings of Jesus. They all walked away. Every one of them. That’s why Paul quotes Isaiah, Lord, who has believe what he heard from us? They have not all obeyed the Gospel. That is, not everyone who heard has ears to hear. The Word goes forth, for that is what our Lord Christ has given us to do, but “some be snatched and some be scorched and some be choked and matted flat” (LSB 586:4). The preacher’s heart breaks for those who hear, but in time of testing fall away.
But that is what out Lord Jesus gives His preachers to do. That is what He gave Andrew to do. To be a watchman for the house of Israel. To preach His Word of Law and Gospel. To warn the righteous as well as the wicked. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? And how is they to preach unless they are sent?
My friends, this is the way Christ has given for the creating and sustaining of saving faith. He ordains men. Men with human voices. Men with human hands. To proclaim His Word and distribute His gifts.
And it can be no other way. A virtual Christianity is a phantom. We must be gathered together by our Lord by and around His Word and Sacraments. The very fact that the Word became Flesh, that great mystery of Christianity which we long to celebrate at Christmas, the very fact that Jesus had a place to unroll His sleeping bag, means that we need to be together as the Body of Christ. This is where He remains and how we remain in Him.
Jesus takes up a human voice. He has human hands. He touches the sick, the dying, the dead with those hands. He spits on them and jabs them into ears! The Baptizer points to His body when He says, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
It is in that Body that He bears your sins. It is those hands that are stretched out upon the Cross and driven through with nails. It is His voice that strains to pardon those who crucify Him, saying, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (Lk 23:34).
And it is in that Body that He is raised from the dead never to die again. In that Body, that He physically appears to His frightened disciples, inviting them to touch Him. And with His breath He breathes on them. And with His voice He commissions them to be sent out even as He was sent out by the Father.
And so Andrew goes. He bore witness because he was with Jesus from the beginning. He was an Apostle. A sent one. An emissary. According to tradition he went to Scythia, that is, the region north of the Caspian Sea. He was killed by the Greeks in Patrae, a city in Achaia. Like his brother, Simon Peter, he was crucified. But he didn’t consider himself worthy to die in the same manner as his Teacher, so he was bound, not nailed, to a cross hung in the shape of an X. For the three days that it took him to die, he preached from that pulpit. When some of his catechumens desired to take him down he forbade it, saying that to do so would deny the very Gospel of Christ. As Job rightly asked, Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive disaster? (Job 2:10).
My friends, this is the Christ, which means Anointed, for whom Andrew waited. The Christian life of faith and love is one of waiting. Searching Moses and the Prophets, Jesus found them. And then, having been found, they found Him. That’s what Andrew told Peter. That’s often what it feels like. The Gospel comes a surprise. An amazing discovery for which we didn’t even know we were looking. Didn’t even know how desperately we needed it.
Having been found by Christ, Andrew found Peter and brought him to Jesus. So it is that someone else brought you. Not only at your Holy Baptism or your Confirmation, but even now. For even now you have been brought to Jesus who comes to you. He invites you to come. He wants you to see where He is abiding and encourages you to stay. Abide in Him and He in you. Again tonight He brings you to His Table and through the human hands and human voice of His ordained men He gives to you His Word, by which faith comes and is sustained, and He gives you His Body and Blood, with the Bread and Wine, for the forgiveness of your sins, the strengthening of your faith and love, and the bestowal of a real and eternal life in Him.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
He was a disciple of John. From him he learned to pray. From him he was instructed how to fast. From him he received a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. With him he waited for the Coming One. The Messiah. The Christ. The Baptizer was a Rabbi in his own right. He had disciples; catechumens; among whom was Andrew. But his chief function, especially in the Gospel according to St John, the Baptizer was a witness. He was a finger and a voice. He testified of the Christ and pointed to Him.
Andrew heard that proclamation of his rabbi. Behold, the Lamb of God! He had said it the previous day as well. But as it is with all catechumens, repetition is essential. And on top of that, this day, he not only said it, John looked intently at Jesus as He walked. He fixed his gaze on Him. He bears witness not only with his voice and his gestures, but also with his eyes. The preacher to the Hebrews exhorts similarly: Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:1-2).
But Andrew has to learn to walk before he can run. And so he, along with another disciple of John, followed Jesus. He’s the first disciple mentioned in John’s Gospel. He’s the first follower of Rabbi Jesus. He’s the first “home missionary,” as we’ll hear, when he brings his brother, Simon, to Jesus. He’s the first “foreign missionary,” as noted in John 12, when he brings some Greeks to Jesus. He’s one of the first apostles to be martyred. All these firsts, it’s no wonder that St Andrew’s Feast Day is the first one of the Church Year. Always associated with the start of Advent.
But there’s another first that we should note. We make a big deal about the last words of the Blessed Virgin Mary in John’s Gospel, Do whatever Jesus tells you (Jn 2:5). But what about the first words of Jesus? Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, What do you seek? These are the first words of Jesus in the Gospel of John. They are Jesus’ question for His followers, thus they are the Church’s question for catechumens. “What do you seek?”
It’s hardly an opened ended question. The Evangelist answers it for us. These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name (Jn 20:31). The entirety of the Gospel narrative, then, presents what the disciple seeks. It is as though Jesus asks Andrew, “Do you seek what this story tells of Me?” “Are you searching the Scriptures, waiting and watching for the Messiah?” “Is this the way that you desire to walk?” Its a little early, but He’s getting them ready for that big question to the Sons of Thunder, Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? (Mk 10:38)
And their response, Rabbi, is not mere politeness. They are indicating that they do, in fact, wish to assume the life that Jesus lives. That is why they ask, Where are you staying? It is not a question of, “Where do You unroll Your sleeping bag?” Its a question of conversion. Where are You remaining? “Where do You abide?” As in, The slave does not remain in the house forever; the Son remains forever (Jn 8:35). The slave of sin does not remain in the house of the Father. The Son remains forever. He is the Christ. The Lamb of God. And if He sets you free from sin you will truly be free. And this freedom is the gift given to those who are truly Jesus’ disciples. Those who remain in My Word (Jn 8:31).
What about you? Are you politely following after Jesus? Sort of going through the motions, not really committed to “delight in His will and walk in His ways to the glory of His holy name”? What are you seeking? It is life with Christ? Or is it something else? Is it to be where He is? For Jesus is nowhere other than His Cross. For the disciple to remain with Jesus is for the disciple to share the sufferings of His Teacher.
And without doubt that’s a hard thing to do. And it’s only going to get tougher. After the 5,000 filled their bellies with bread, they didn’t want to hear the hard sayings of Jesus. They all walked away. Every one of them. That’s why Paul quotes Isaiah, Lord, who has believe what he heard from us? They have not all obeyed the Gospel. That is, not everyone who heard has ears to hear. The Word goes forth, for that is what our Lord Christ has given us to do, but “some be snatched and some be scorched and some be choked and matted flat” (LSB 586:4). The preacher’s heart breaks for those who hear, but in time of testing fall away.
But that is what out Lord Jesus gives His preachers to do. That is what He gave Andrew to do. To be a watchman for the house of Israel. To preach His Word of Law and Gospel. To warn the righteous as well as the wicked. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? And how is they to preach unless they are sent?
My friends, this is the way Christ has given for the creating and sustaining of saving faith. He ordains men. Men with human voices. Men with human hands. To proclaim His Word and distribute His gifts.
And it can be no other way. A virtual Christianity is a phantom. We must be gathered together by our Lord by and around His Word and Sacraments. The very fact that the Word became Flesh, that great mystery of Christianity which we long to celebrate at Christmas, the very fact that Jesus had a place to unroll His sleeping bag, means that we need to be together as the Body of Christ. This is where He remains and how we remain in Him.
Jesus takes up a human voice. He has human hands. He touches the sick, the dying, the dead with those hands. He spits on them and jabs them into ears! The Baptizer points to His body when He says, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
It is in that Body that He bears your sins. It is those hands that are stretched out upon the Cross and driven through with nails. It is His voice that strains to pardon those who crucify Him, saying, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (Lk 23:34).
And it is in that Body that He is raised from the dead never to die again. In that Body, that He physically appears to His frightened disciples, inviting them to touch Him. And with His breath He breathes on them. And with His voice He commissions them to be sent out even as He was sent out by the Father.
And so Andrew goes. He bore witness because he was with Jesus from the beginning. He was an Apostle. A sent one. An emissary. According to tradition he went to Scythia, that is, the region north of the Caspian Sea. He was killed by the Greeks in Patrae, a city in Achaia. Like his brother, Simon Peter, he was crucified. But he didn’t consider himself worthy to die in the same manner as his Teacher, so he was bound, not nailed, to a cross hung in the shape of an X. For the three days that it took him to die, he preached from that pulpit. When some of his catechumens desired to take him down he forbade it, saying that to do so would deny the very Gospel of Christ. As Job rightly asked, Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive disaster? (Job 2:10).
My friends, this is the Christ, which means Anointed, for whom Andrew waited. The Christian life of faith and love is one of waiting. Searching Moses and the Prophets, Jesus found them. And then, having been found, they found Him. That’s what Andrew told Peter. That’s often what it feels like. The Gospel comes a surprise. An amazing discovery for which we didn’t even know we were looking. Didn’t even know how desperately we needed it.
Having been found by Christ, Andrew found Peter and brought him to Jesus. So it is that someone else brought you. Not only at your Holy Baptism or your Confirmation, but even now. For even now you have been brought to Jesus who comes to you. He invites you to come. He wants you to see where He is abiding and encourages you to stay. Abide in Him and He in you. Again tonight He brings you to His Table and through the human hands and human voice of His ordained men He gives to you His Word, by which faith comes and is sustained, and He gives you His Body and Blood, with the Bread and Wine, for the forgiveness of your sins, the strengthening of your faith and love, and the bestowal of a real and eternal life in Him.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
RSS Feed