January 20, 2008: The 2nd Sunday after the Epiphany
Isaiah 49:1-7; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9; John 1:29-42; Psalm 40:1-12.

The Rev. Dr. Hilary B. Smith

God Looks For You

At the beginning of the service we prayed that Jesus might be known. This season of the church year, Epiphany, is a good time to focus on the ways we know God, how God is known, and how we help to make God known. We prayed that we would see the truth of our faith by being exposed to the light of Christ through God's Word and Sacraments. We then prayed that Jesus would be known through us as we experience God and shine with the light of Christ. To say that Jesus is the light of the world can mean a number of things; it does mean that Jesus helps us to see.

In our Gospel reading, we encounter a story of how Jesus helped two of John the Baptist's disciples to see. Jesus asks the two disciples who follow him, "What are you looking for?" They don't really know what to say. They heard John make some claims about Jesus and so they started to follow him. They ask "where are you staying." Who is Jesus; what are his concerns; what can we know about him? And Jesus says, "Come and see."

The life of the Spirit is one of movement and searching. "Come and see." See for yourself.

Many of us start on the Christian journey looking for something. What are you looking for from God, from Jesus, from the Spirit? Your search has brought you to St. Paul's on-the-Hill. For some, you came here years ago and some of you are new to our community. What are you looking for from the church? As we are holding our parish meeting today, I started to think about what it is people look for from the church.

These are in no particular order:

friends;

community;

connection with God;

structure for the spiritual life;

religious education;

moral grounding and instruction for their children;

sacraments;

answers;

a place for questions;

church music;

healing;

forgiveness;

help with a crisis;

a place to answer a call to ministry, lay or ordained;

a place to get married;

a place to baptize their children;

people who seek justice for all;

people who will welcome them;

handle their pain;

the promise of new life;

a place and people to celebrate their joy.

I'm sure you can add to this list.

When you first came here, what were you looking for? Were you surprised by what you found? Being part of a church is much like being in relationship with a person. You connect with someone for certain reasons but then things change. You change; your priorities change; the other person changes. In the relationships that continue for a long time, people grow together knowing that change is normal. As we grow older, we enter different phases of life, which have different concerns. Sometimes a new phase of life brings a person back into relationship with the church: they have a baby or they want to get married or they are facing a health crisis.

All of the reasons I mention for looking for a church are valid, buy why does the church actually exist? Because God is looking for you! All of those other things we look for from a church are secondary to our primary purpose, which is to worship our Creator, the One who has redeemed us, the One who sustains us.

If the main reason a person looks for a church is for a large church school or many different adult education programs, that person would not be coming here. There is a church in New Jersey whose mission statement is that they are the largest church in New Jersey - I don't find that very inspiring. We are here because we know that God is looking for us, and that God has brought us together for a reason; we are excited to be part of the Christian community, given the challenges—and there will always be challenges.

What are you looking for from God, and what are you looking for from the church?

Those are two different questions. People and churches get into trouble when they confuse the two. Sometimes people forget that they are ministers of the church and are here, not just to receive, but also to serve. If you are looking for something from the church that you are not getting, that may be God's call to you to help bring about the vision you have. Not every church is able to accept new thoughts. We are. St. Paul's on-the-Hill is growing and open to new ideas and new leadership; we are not stuck in the past; we seek to do the will of the living God, God who makes all things new.

The way that we build a strong church is by each of us seeking to deepen our relationship with God, who turns to you and to me and says, "what are you looking for?" Imagine Jesus turning to you and asking you that question. What would your response be? You might think, "well God already knows; why should I pray about that?" True, but you know? Do you know that depth of God's love for you and ways that God seeks to be part of your life? What do you seek from God? Are you not sure or not sure how God can help? Whatever your response, Jesus says, "come and see." Engage the journey of faith. Spend time with God and see what comes of it. Remember that God looked for you first. As Jesus says elsewhere in John's Gospel (15:16a): "You did not choose me but I chose you." Amen.