“Call me Ishmael.” “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” “It was a dark and stormy night.” Opening lines can set a tone for what is to follow. There is even a contest every year, in the spirit of “it was a dark and stormy night,” to write the most outrageous opening sentence. When we look at the gospels we see that each of them gives a different opening line to Jesus that captures in a phrase the portrait of Jesus that is to follow. In Matthew’s gospel the first words Jesus speaks are at his baptism when John the Baptist objects to Jesus undergoing the ritual. Jesus says, “It is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Right from the get-go, St. Matthew portrays Jesus as the fulfillment of the promises of God found in the prophets. In St. Mark’s gospel Jesus’ first words are his opening sermon. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark at the very beginning stresses that Jesus is about our need for a changed heart. In St. Luke it is the teen-aged Jesus who speaks after his mother chides him. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house? Jesus’ identity as Son of God is emphasized from the beginning. The gospel assigned for this Sunday is from St. John’s gospel and Jesus’ first words are a question – a question that we can take to heart as addressed, not just to the two followers, but also to us. “What are you looking for?” Followers of Jesus must answer that question.
What we are looking for can change over time. Growing up we look for a sense of our identity – who we are and how we fit into this thing called life. As we mature, we look for a partner, someone to share life with, someone who gets us. Students are looking for what to do in life that uses their gifts and gives a sense of doing something worthwhile. Refugees are looking for a safe place to raise their families. We all know people who are looking for the birth of a child, for a return to good health, for an end to strife. On a more cosmic level we are looking for a more just and peaceful world, for better care for planet earth, for a nation freed from racism. And from the wide to the deep maybe what we are ultimately looking for is an answer to the question: what’s it all about?
When Jesus asked the question in St. John’s gospel the response he got was not deep and wide but trivial, almost banal. “Where are you staying?” That’s what you’re looking for? A geography lesson? A real estate query? I suspect that this response from Andrew (we find out a bit later it was Andrew) and his companion was more of a place holder. They didn’t know how to answer the question so they asked something, almost stalling for time. They did go with Jesus and found, unbeknownst to them, that Jesus was what they were looking for. “We have found the Messiah,” Andrew tells his brother. All of which suggests that often in life we aren’t looking for that which matters most. We’re looking for some step along the way, something that will help us get to the big question. But like children playing “go fish” shouting “I got what I wanted” we find that getting what we wanted does not end the game. We always want something else. What Andrew and his companion found that what we’re looking for at the most fundamental level can only be found when we come and see Jesus.
When we come and see Jesus we find that, no matter what we thought we were seeking, what we were really looking for was love, the love we see in him. In other words, what we’re looking for is not what we can get but what we can give. Love is what we are made for. Love is the only thing that provides deep and lasting satisfaction since love is woven into the soul of existence. God spun the galaxies and stars and planets out of love. When God made the Rocky Mountains, the lodge pole pine trees and the azalea bushes he wove love in them. God created otters and orangutans, whales and wallabies with love. When God molded the clay of existence to form Adam and Eve he breathed love into his creatures. Nothing comes into existence without love. Nothing stays in existence unless it is loved.
All our responses to “what are you looking for?” must be re-examined under the lamp of love. We can only find our identity when we see ourselves as loved. Looking for a life companion is finding someone to love and be loved by. Whatever we do in life must be done with love for it to be meaningful. Our families will only be safe, wherever we are, if they are places of love. And the new and improved world we are hoping for will come about if we only have love. The task that we have as Church is to be like Samuel in the Old Testament lesson and say, “Here I am. You called me. You called me to love.” We come together with love for that is the only way we encounter God. We work to become a community out of love for the people God has placed into our lives. We reach out to our neighbors who are in need because we see in them the face of a beloved child of God. The only way to find what we are looking for is to look with the eyes of love. The old Beatle song was right: all you need is love.
