Weekly Reflection: Set A Course for Adventure!
This is an invitation to learn more to join Jesus on the journey.
“Set a Course for Adventure!” That’s a line from the theme song of the 1970s sitcom The Love Boat. I can remember as the guests arrived on the ship, they would carry with them not just their luggage, but their stories and they would play out during the journey. “Set A Course for Adventure” could also sum up what is going on in today’s text. It’s an invitation to enter a journey with the Savior, Jesus Christ. He walks by John the Baptist one day and tells his two disciples, “Look, here is the lamb of God!” That piqued their imagination and they went after Jesus. They ask Jesus some questions and finally, he responds by telling them to “Come and see.”
“Come and see.” This is an invitation to learn more to join Jesus on the journey. Jesus invites these two disciples to come and follow him. Then Philip, one of those two disciples goes to his brother, Nathaniel. His brother can see the smile on Philip’s face and he can hear the excitement in his voice. “We have found the Messiah.” Nathaniel is skeptical. Didn’t his brother just say this guy is from Nazareth? Nazareth? The Messiah comes from Nazareth? That backwater town? How does anyone claiming to be the Messiah come from that town?
All that Philip says is what Jesus told him 24 hours before. “Come and see.”
Come and see. If you read the gospel of John, throughout that book Jesus is always inviting people to a “set course for adventure.” He invites them to come and follow him in way that leaves them wanting more. Jesus invites the Pharisee Nicodemus, the woman at the well and the man born blind. Every one of them is invited to follow Jesus because they had an encounter with the Messiah and want more.
Come and see is like inviting someone over for coffee. It’s not about shoving our faith in front of our friends or asking people where they would spend eternity if they died tonight. It is about inviting people into the conversation and sharing our lives.
When we hear Jesus say “Come and see” we might think that this means God is going to do big flashy things in our lives and as Jesus says in the passage the disciples did see greater things. But, “Come and See,” is also about doing the small things about inviting our friends and family to join us in the journey of following Jesus. The future of our faith communities depends on the people who gather the courage to invite a friend or relative to “come and see” what God has done in their lives and what God can do in the life of others.