John 1:38-39. [The disciples said], “Rabbi, where are you
staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.”
Humpback whales are back, giving birth out front. Lent evokes thanks for
their protection and for the loving sacrifices of missionaries who shared the
shores of Pacific islands where the whaling crews celebrated the harvest of the
ancestors of these whales. The church I attend on Maui is in the ruins of one
built by one of Hawaii’s earliest homegrown protestant ministers, David Malu.
It is an open air sanctuary shaded by old kiawe trees, a great place to give
thanks and praise.
JESUS CHRIST: Holy Word incarnate, chosen by God, son of a carpenter and
a young virgin from Nazareth, Lamb of God yet shepherd of mankind, foretold by
generations of prophets, open and accessible friend, and mentor and leader. He
was raised to work, fish, build, read, write, and question. He observed the
culture and rules of the community within which he lived, yet was recognized by
his family as the Son of God not yet ready until introduced by the Baptist. No
top-down me-first executive leader, our Lord chose to share a hospitality of
mentorship.
In John 1:35-51, Jesus draws to him apostles from a community so hungry
for a Messiah of hope and freedom from oppressions that they walk out into the
wilderness to hear the passionate and seemingly wild prophecies of “Nature Man”
John the Baptist. Would they find a new Moses to deliver them? Instead they
found a friend and mentor who first shared only hospitality: “Come and See.”
They followed Jesus to where he lived, and they stayed the entire afternoon.
And much longer.
How often and how far that hospitality has resonated. How many of our
heroes have shared those simple words, “Come and See.”
—Colin
Radford
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