Dear friends,

A transforming Meeting

It stayed in his memory, unforgettable: his first meeting with Jesus.  He knew the exact time of day: it was about four in the afternoon (about the tenth hour”). John was probably writing this as an old man, and the memory of it was as fresh as when it first happened.  For this meeting was decisive for his whole life.

There was a clear “before” and “after” about it.  What happened in these first hours spent with Jesus gave a whole new direction to his life. 

Unlike the other three Gospels, the Gospel of John does not depict Jesus calling the first disciples while walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

The Chain of Discipleship:

In the Fourth Gospel the call to discipleship comes through the witness of someone else. John the Baptist brings Andrew and another unnamed disciple to Jesus. Andrew then brings his brother, Simon Peter, to Jesus (notice that Peter is not the first follower in John’s Gospel). Later, Philip brings Nathanael to Jesus (1:45-51).

Who was instrumental in bringing you to Jesus? Pray in thanksgiving for them.

Are you bringing anyone  to Jesus?

The experience of John the Evangelist:

John recounts in this page of the Gospel his very first meeting with Jesus.  He is sharing, one of the secrets of his heart.
John, a fisherman by trade, as was Andrew, belonged to the group of disciples around John the Baptist.  Fascinated by this ascetic’s convincing lifestyle and by his teaching, which spoke directly to them, they had joined up with the Baptist to take part in his “school of life”. 

John the Baptist, however, had always made it clear to them that he was only preparing the way for someone. When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming, he shared his experience of Jesus and described Him as a Lamb. The image evokes the animals offered as sacrifices in the Jerusalem temple, the Passover lamb, and the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, who is led like a lamb to the slaughter.

“What do you seek?’ “Where are you staying?”

Those were the first words that passed between them.  Nothing exciting, and yet they were unforgettable, because it was Jesus who had looked at them and spoken to them and who from then on was the center of their lives; everything turned on him.

So they went with him and saw where he was staying and spent the rest of the day with him.  The verb "live," "stay," "remain," "abide," "dwell," "lodge," occurs 40 times in the Fourth Gospel. It is a verb that expresses concisely John's theology of the indwelling presence.

The disciples are not only concerned about where Jesus might sleep that night, but they are really asking where he has his life. Jesus responds to them: "Come and see" (verse 39). Two loaded words throughout John's Gospel -- to "come" to Jesus is used to describe faith in him (cf John 5:40; 6:35. 37.45; 7:37). For John, to "see" Jesus with real perception is to believe in him.

What can we learn from the call stories in today's readings? We are never called for our own sake, but for the sake of others.

God calls all Christians for the sake of the world in which we live.

To be called does not require perfection on our behalf, only fidelity and holy listening.

They were certainly not called because of their qualifications or achievements. Paul says that Jesus calls "the foolish," so that the wise will be shamed.

We will never be the same because he has called us, loved us, changed us and made us into his image. Because he has called us, we have no choice but to call others to follow him.

Strange, that there is not one word about what they saw or what they talked about.  This is all the more surprising, since John the Evangelist gives a fuller account than the other evangelists of Jesus’ conversations and speeches.

This first meeting remained his own secret.  It was so precious to him that he kept it to himself.  Yet his experience and that of Andrew, during those few hours, must have been quite decisive. 

For the next day, Andrew said to his brother Simon, who Jesus would thereafter call Cephas, Peter, which means “rock”: “We have found the Messiah!”

This expresses all the enthusiasm and the joy springing from that first meeting.
John and Andrew had found the one for whom many of their people had been waiting. 

Andrew did what is the most natural thing to do when anyone has been granted a meeting of decisive importance: he wants other people to share in this.  So he took his brother Simon to see Jesus.

And meeting Jesus was decisive for Simon’s life, too. Simon had his name changed into Chephas, “the Rock”, Peter. We know that in the Bible “name” stands for personality, for “destiny”. The short-tempered Simon, the coward who denied his master in the garden of Gethsemane, becomes the  foundation of Jesus’ Church. The fisherman becomes the “fisher-of-ma”

To finish, three questions:

Has there been a comparable moment of meeting in my own life?  With whom?
Do I remember It? Was this a turning other people to experience the same meeting?

It would fill many books if everyone were to tell us about his first meeting.

The journey continues:

We heard how  in response to their query, Jesus offers an invitation and a promise: “Come, and you will see.”

The prospective disciples will have to find out what kind of person Jesus is and what he stands for.

In this first encounter they discovered that Jesus is a wonderful teacher (rabbi). This is the first step, more will follow.

At the end of the meeting, Jesus is recognized as the promised “messiah”

This title expresses Israel’s hope for a perfect leader who might lead them to glory and bring about the fulfillment of God’s promises to his people.

The prospective disciples have begun their journey of the discovery of Jesus whom at the end of their lives they will proclaim as Son of God and Savior

Some questions:

What are you looking for in your spiritual journey?

What are you going to do about it?

What role does Jesus have in your spiritual journey?