Come and Stay

While living in Cambridge, a friend and I used to go to a bible study at the church where she was on placement. Now I have experienced bible studies that were engaging and some that were horribly boring, but a couple of things stand out in my memory about this one. Firstly, that my friend and I would have a secret ongoing game of bible study bingo. If Robert quoted C.S Lewis like he always did - bingo! If Molly ate the last chocolate biscuit as usual - bingo! If we ran out of chairs in the small living room and one of us ‘young ones’ had to sit on the floor - bingo!

But our favourite, and most reliable, bingo win was that the vicar would make reference to Bishop Stephen Cottrell. It didn’t matter what the conversation was about or what bible passage we were studying, somehow Bishop Stephen would be worked into the discussion. To be fair, he is a very good writer, and is now Archbishop of York, but we found it amusing how much the vicar referenced him.

But the other thing I remember about this bible study was one of the books we used. It was called ‘Come and See’, written by Bishop Stephen Cottrell… But that phrase, ‘come and see’, became for me an invitation to explore the call to ordination. It was an invitation to see who God was calling me to be, and an invitation to follow that nudge, that desire for something deeper.

In John’s gospel, these are the first words that we hear Jesus speak. Not a miracle, not a command, or a sermon, but a question and invitation. ‘What are you looking for? Come and see’. Now, translated into English, to us this conversation reads like a slightly odd interaction. Jesus’ initial question is not answered, and instead is met with another question. ‘What are you looking for?’ ‘Where are you staying?’

But the language John uses here points to a profound spiritual seeking which underlies this interaction. The verb ‘meno’, translated here as ‘staying’, has multiple meanings. It does refer to physical location, but also means a place of abiding, or dwelling, of establishing oneself. So these two disciples are asking where Jesus can truly be found - where his life is rooted - where they might go in order to be with him in a meaningful and lasting way. They are asking how to be his disciples. Understood in this way, it makes sense as a response to the question, ‘what are you looking for?’. They are looking for connection.

Jesus’ response then also acquires a deeper layer of meaning. He invites them to follow him to a physical location, but it is also an invitation to participate with him in his ministry, to abide with him, to be rooted in him and with him. Jesus offers them the relationship and connection they are looking for. All they have to do is come and see.

We don’t know what happened or what was said that afternoon and evening, but we do know that the end result for these former disciples of John the Baptist is that from the simple act of remaining with Jesus, a larger picture begins to unfold. Andrew sees enough that he goes to find his brother and tell him ‘We have found the Messiah.’ His life has been changed because he has found what he was looking for. From that simple afternoon of staying with Jesus, a pattern begins to emerge — that seeking leads to abiding, and abiding leads to inviting others. Did you know that when clergy are ordained, there is a tradition of them taking another middle name? Throughout the bible, a new or changed name is a sign of a new calling or identity given by God. Abram becomes Abraham, Jacob becomes Israel, and the Simon we meet today becomes Peter. It signals a new relationship. You might also remember that the Pope takes a new name when they become pope, or that monks take new names when they enter the monastery. In a similar way, clergy often adopt a new name, often of a saint who is meaningful to them, at the beginning of their ordained ministry.

Today’s gospel reading ends with Simon being renamed Peter, as he meets Jesus and begins his own journey of following the invitation to come and see. The new name points to who Peter will become in faith and in the church. The new name highlights what happens when we abide in Christ - not only do we discover who Christ is, but we discover who we ourselves are within that relationship.

I think our current political and social environment challenges us deeply about who we are. We may have to make hard choices, to decide how firmly we hold onto certain values, or to consider where we might be flexible. But within all that, within the chaos and confusion and division, Jesus still invites us to come and see. Come and see where the love of God abides, where neighbours are loved, where our opposite is loved, where ourselves are loved, and where God is loved above all. When we find that place, we will find the center of who God calls us to be.

‘What are you looking for?’ Jesus asks. It’s an invitation to honesty. What longing, what desire, what hunger do you carry? Does it belong in the same space as the place where Jesus stays?

Later in John’s gospel Jesus will say to his disciples, ‘Abide in me as I abide in you… those who abide in me bear much fruit.’ That’s what our faith is. That’s what makes it so rich. It isn’t about ticking boxes, believing the right things, having the orthodox theology, or worshipping in the right way. It’s the simple richness of a sustained relationship of being present with God in Jesus. Staying with Christ, returning again and again, and being shaped through entering into that invitation to come and see.

So perhaps the invitation this morning is not to do more, or try to be more, but simply to stay. To stay with the question Jesus asks, ‘what are you looking for?’ and to trust that it is safe to answer it honestly. Not with the answers we think we should give, but with the longings we actually carry.

May we too answer by seeking where Jesus stays, because when we abide in Christ, we discover a steadiness that can hold us firm through anything. We find a place where love is rooted, where truth is held with grace, and where our lives are shaped by God’s faithfulness. So come and see. Stay long enough to be shaped. Stay long enough to become. Abide.

Amen.

John 1:29-42