January 15, 2917 - Second Sunday after the Epiphany - Come and See

Lincoln Hubbard gave an inspirational, hopeful message during today's worship.  What he said communicated a great hope for all the potential opportunities that could spring from this moment in history.

The vision he communicated was patient and profound.  He pointed to why Martin Luther King's words were so moving and inspired as well.  For example, Lincoln talked about MLK using words like ring and how important it was to understand once a bell is rung it cannot be unrung.  He echoed the hope that Obama voiced in his farewell speech.

There was a civil rights documentary where some people talked about not being able to aspire to what you can't imagine.  Once something is in your imagination then you can aspire to move that vision to reality.  A very eloquent way of revealing how the improvised "I have a dream" speech had roots in the active words Martin Luther King often used in the speeches he had made previous to the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom event.

The details in describing this vision fit, for me, with the gospel message today.  King's words about his dream were as invitational as the familiar Jesus quote, "Come and see"  

Come .and see. A simple statement containing open, and inviting words are quoted in today's gospel. This nicely sums up, not only the heart of the gospel message, but Christian life in general.

These three words continue to delineate the differences in the ministries and visions of John and Jesus that began last week with the Matthew reading.

Matthew's gospel recounts John's vision of the one who is more powerful and comes after John, as a mighty world figure whose appearance is a culminating historical event.

Contrast "Come and See" with the complexity of John's testimony "Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!".  Contrast John's testimony, not only with "Come and see", but also with the equally direct question Jesus asks, "What are you looking for?"

The Lamb of God title for Jesus can mean many things to many people.  For John's Jewish audience the lamb might have suggested Jesus was acting n the role of Passover lamb or he was a substitute for the lamb they believed God demanded as a daily sacrifice at the temple.  This sacrifice system described in the Bible sounds foreign to our modern sensibility. Imagining our God needing to be satisfied by a sacrifice system as a requisite to taking away the sins of the world becomes a theological hoop we need to jump through rather than something we naturally expect.

Some might suggest the slaying of the Passover lamb and the applying of the blood to doorposts of the houses is a beautiful portrayal of Christ’s atoning work on the cross. Those for whom He died are covered by His blood, protecting us from the angel of (spiritual) death.  I don't see the beauty or importance of that portrayal.

This may be personal to me, but a God who demands an animal-like sacrifice as a requisite to take away sin becomes smaller, meaner, and less powerful. I remember when I was in college I listened to a comedy album, National Lampoon's Radio Dinner with a small "outro" in the form of a question given by a young girl. This sound bite has haunted me for years, "What can you expect from a God who crucified his own son?" In all my subsequent evaluations of Christian atonement theories - that simple question, given in her voice, echoes in me and always demands to be taken into account.

John continues in verse 32-33 to describe the recent baptism,  "...He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit." John attributes the baptism to God's higher power rather than acknowledging his role in baptizing Jesus.  This is, in one way, appropriate since God is the root of our actions and what we have been given. Fortunately he followed Jesus and did not insist on using this as an excuse.