Come and See

Christmas is over. The tree has come down; the gifts put away (or returned); the cookies eaten.

And yet, Christmas accompanies us into the New Year. The season of Epiphany – between January 6 and the beginning of Lent – is the time in the church calendar for the implications of Jesus’ birth to be made known. It’s a time for us to notice the gifts of healing and hope which God has given to us and our world in Jesus. But my question is: how do we do this?

The Gospel writer John gives us a clue. In this gospel, Jesus’ first question is: “What are you looking for?” His first invitation is: “Come and see.” Both the question and the invitation are spoken a couple days after Jesus’ baptism, to would-be disciples. Intrigued by Jesus, they follow for a day and then a week and then three years and then a lifetime.

As they walk with Jesus through towns and vineyards, in desert heat and the cool of mountain springs, they see the familiar landscape of their lives with new eyes. The longer they follow Jesus, the more they see.

We too are invited by Jesus to “come and see” - to glimpse the familiar territory of our lives with new eyes. As we do so, we see God’s dream for our world. We live more and more deeply into the mystery of Jesus’ incarnation – in this world, right here, right now. We become agents of God’s healing in ways both everyday and amazing.

Christmas isn’t over. It’s only just begun….

Sue Steiner,
Kitchener/Waterloo, ON