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Homilies by Rev. Andrew Collis unless indicated otherwise.

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Epiphany 2, Year A
South Sydney Uniting Church
January 15, 2017

Isaiah 49:7; Psalm 40; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9; John 1:29-42

‘Many will see and wonder’

Epiphany is about enlightenment or Christ-consciousness, an awareness of our share in the story of Jesus, for the sake of the world. When we sing together, "This little light of mine", we delight in encounters with Jesus and the meaning, fulfilment, freedom, happiness/blessing we find in company with Jesus and with others made bolder and wiser in light of love.

Last week I spoke of the promise that baptism brings -- the promise that even in the wilderness, and oftentimes because of it, our call to embody the kindom of heaven on earth is meant to be manifest to all. We are not only privy to personal epiphanies, and if/when we are, we will need to figure out how to share them or help make it possible for others to experience them.

As the psalmist sings, "You put a new song in my mouth .../ Many will see and wonder ...." God be with you ...

Today, Jesus speaks for the very first time in John's Gospel, asking disciples of John the Baptist a simple and direct question: "What are you looking for?"

What are you really looking for? What do you want out of life?

For those who enter upon the program of retreat contained in the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius Loyola, the question posed by Jesus is particularly pertinent. Jesus communicates fullness of life to those who sense their need for it; those who have gone beneath their surface desires to discover and own a more basic longing; those open to being led on a costly journey toward a life they/we really want (Brendan Byrne).

Humanity's light shines in the church, the mystical body of Christ, and beyond the church as institution, in the world which may be regarded a sacrament of Grace.

I recall the Solidarity Choir in Hyde Park last month, giving voice to a global longing for humane treatment of refugees. I imagine the community of protesters camped in Sydney Park, expressing dismay over plans to construct an expensive and polluting tollway; expressing hope for better public transport, for assurance of green space in our city; expressing love (in a context designed to make them look weak and foolish) for the trees and ecosystems without voice and without which humans cannot survive.

What are you/we really looking for? How might you/we answer?

The question elicits a question as to where Jesus is staying/abiding (the Gospel will reveal that Jesus abides both among the vulnerable and within the very Love of God [1:1,4,18]). And the question prefigures an invitation from Jesus that disciples "come and see" for themselves this abiding love, this kindom of epiphanies and light.

It's a dazzling text.

Andrew's epiphany -- ah, this abiding among the vulnerable and within the Love of God is everything I deeply want, it's who I really am -- inspires him to share an invitation with his brother Simon, who will be called Peter, the Rock.

Soon after, Philip's epiphany -- yes, the messianic promise in the scriptures is fulfilled not by military might or political power but by loving wisdom, by the overcoming of hatred and fear -- inspires him to share an invitation with his brother Nathanael.

And, a Samaritan woman's epiphany -- this Jesus is unlike so many uptight and divisive leaders of religion -- inspires her to share an invitation with villagers in whose presence she is no longer intimidated.

Come and see for yourself/yourselves this abiding love, this kindom of epiphanies and light.

Note the nature of the invitation. It is non-coercive; it bears no threat. It is radical trust born of radical enthusiasm. Come and see.

During the week, Miriam's epiphany -- Christian faith is a practice in hospitality -- inspired her to share an invitation with 80 young Aboriginal Congress delegates and leaders attending the Yurora Conference at Stanwell Tops, an invitation to a barbecue lunch here at the church.

In this kindom of epiphanies and light, Keith and Dale cleaned, cleared and cooked; John and Catherine welcomed guests; the Dusty Feet Mob dancers from Port Augusta performed to the amplified strains of Gurrumul and Paul Kelly's rendition of "Amazing Grace"; Geoff and Lyn led two busloads of delegates on a two-hour Redfern tour, taking in sites of sociological and historical significance -- sites of lamentation, resistance, community, hope ...

Come and see ...

One last thing. There's an intriguing line in our Gospel. John tells us that when Andrew and an unnamed disciple who may well be John himself first followed Jesus "it was about four in the afternoon" (v. 39b). The sense may be that, fascinated with their newly discovered Master and reluctant to leave, the disciples remained with Jesus as long as they could throughout the day (Brendan Byrne).

But it could also be a marker of John the Evangelist's own epiphany -- perhaps recalled in later life: "I remember the first time I met Jesus ..." Jean Vanier wonders: "Perhaps each of us should ask ourselves this question: When was the very first time I met Jesus, and that I felt my heart open to the universal and the infinite?" Marcus Borg reflects on “meeting Jesus again for the first time” (1994).

Marking such a time, remembering with reverence, can guard against our being distracted or seduced by agendas other than Christ-inspired -- self-important, anxious, defensive, busy, "professional", "efficient", "entrepreneurial" ... There is wisdom in the words of Pope Francis, who said in his first homily: "If we do not profess Jesus Christ, things go wrong.”

When was the first time you met Jesus -- the Jesus who invites us to "come and see", to share in a kindom of epiphanies and light? When was the first time you met Jesus, and felt your heart open to the universal and the infinite? … Amen.


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