Come and See (an Invitation to Prayer)

Sermon preached at Trinity by the Sea, Jan 19, 2020 (the second sunday after Epiphany; John 1.29-40)

John the Baptist was a pretty big deal; I hope you've picked up on that. We don't have his whole story from the Gospel accounts, but he shows up at the beginning of all four of the Gospels: 

• In Luke, he leaps in his mother's womb when she meets the pregnant Mary
• In Matthew, John recognizes Jesus' divinity before he is baptized
• In Mark, his name shows up early: in the 1st chapter in the 4th verse and he proclaims, "One who is more powerful than I is coming after me...and he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
• And here in John's Gospel (after being mentioned in the opening verses) he is sending his own disciples to follow Jesus; one of them he sends turns out to be Andrew, who brings along is brother Simon Peter. 

John the Baptist was a big deal, and he was in the middle of something big: working to reform his religion; to call out those religious leaders who were putting wealth, and power above the purpose of their profession (to nurture the relationship between their congregation and God to project my own understanding of religious leaders' purpose onto them.) 

John the Baptist probably could have followed in his father's footsteps, and become a perhaps become a priest in the Temple; he could have baptized people there where it was supposed to happen. he could have kept things moving along as they were, and kept up the order of the arrangement between the Romans and their king. 

We don't find John in the Temple, though. He walked away from that, but not too far away. He was close enough to call the attention of people, and close enough for his criticism to be heard and felt. He baptized people into a journey with God. He had clarity about what God called him to, and was willing to put his life on the line to help people connect wiht God. 

Then Jesus showed up, and he said, "This is the one." He pointed Jesus out as the Messiah, the "Lamb of God," and two of his disciples leave to follow. 

They want to follow Jesus, they want to be where he is, they want to be with God, to experience living with God. That "staying" word they use is an important in John's Gospel, and carries more weight than just asking where he's sleeping for the night. Stay comes from the Greek word meno and is also translated "abide, remain, and dwell." They want to abide where he abides. They want to dwell in God's presence. 

Jesus simple answer is, "Come and see." 

That may be the most honest answer we can tell people about what it is like to follow God. It is not something we can easily quantify, though scientists who study our brains and our chemistry are more and more supporting the importance of a spiritual life. (Not necessarily a religious life, but a spiritual life. I advocate for both...)

Scientists studying people are studied who meditate, and have belief in a higher power of some sort, find that their brains operate differently; they have the ability to think differently. 

I listened to a TED Talk recently by a neurobiologist who had a stroke, and temporarily lost her ability to use the left hemisphere of her brain. That's the linear, analytical, time and space orientation, survival side of the brain. With only access to the right side of her brain she experienced unity, connectedness, love, compassion for the world and for people; she experienced peace. It so transformed her that her mission now is to to teach people to meditate and quiet this left half of our brains so that the right side can balance out the way we understand the world and our lives. 

When the founders of the 12 step recovery process were getting started, in conversation with not only an Episcopal priest (I'm proud to say), but also the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, they became aware that stoppin ghte cycles of addiction was not an act of will, but an act of God (of our understanding.) I've heard that Carl Jung said to cure the spirits, you need the Spirit. (it's easy for me to remember.) Jung taught that about other aspects of life, too; we have to access something beyond ourselves to heal ourselves. 

Even Russell Brand, a brash movie star celebrity (he played the new Author and starred in Get Him to the Greek) yes, even such a one-time playboy as Russell Brand is walking the path of Recovery, and has discovered that there is something more important in life than the material world, and the material world will not bring fulfillment, no matter how much we seek to consume; it's the spiritual life that brings fulfillment, meaning, and peace. 

I'm re-reaching the book, West of Jesus, in which an atheistic-leaning agnostic sport journalist sets off on a quest to discover the roots of a surf myth about the Conductor who has the ability to control the waves from far outside the break using a for a wand a femur bone. (not really my style) I won't give away the end, but on his journey, he discovers the spiritual life, and explores how people connect wiht the spiritual dimension of life. 

In all these examples and stories, I hear voices crying out in the wilderness: preparing the way...this is a big deal, and it's happening outside the temple!

I hope you are here, in this temple, in this Holy Church seeking to deepen your relationship with God, to develop yoru spiritual side. I hop you are here to come and see what it is like to abide with God, to find out where Jesus is staying. I hope you are here to wade into these spiritual waters; what is pointed out by these spiritual researchers, 12 steppers, teachers, and journalists is what we are called to proclaim and practice as a church; as the Body of Christ.

We are to be an example of what it means to live a spiritual life, to stay with Jesus. We are all about using the right side of the brain, about entrusting our lives to a higher power, about recognizing that meaning and fulfillment will not com from the material world, but from the spiritual; our mission is to "be a spiritual resource of God's love in our community."

I'd like to invite you to come and see what this is like.
If you do not have a daily morning prayer practice, let me assign one to you:
Just for a month, January 20-February 20
Wake up 30 minutes early, start reading Matthew's Gospel one chapter (or a half a chapter) each day.
Then sit in silence or just 10 minutes; set a timer so you don't have to peek.
When thoughts arise in your mind, lightly recognize them, and return to silence
To help hold the silence, pray Jesus' invitation, "...come and see...come and see..."
You can repeat it in rhythm with your breath...
Allow Jesus to lead you into new life and a new discovery of who you are called to become
At the end of 10 minutes, write down what it was like (difficult? easy? fast? slow?)
Keep a daily journal (but don't wait to buy a journal, scratch paper works)
Note anything else you want to remember from your time.
End with the Lord's Prayer

This will not be easy. You will forget, or come up wiht an excuse one morning not to do it. The next day, set your alarm 30 minutes over, and start over. (maybe go to bed 30 minutes, too.)
You will not see the results during your morning prayer time. It will feel tedious, and maybe the left side of your brain will tell you you are wasting precious time. Say thank you, let's just come and see.
You will see the results in the rest of your life, and other people may also notice the difference, too. I can't tell you what it will be like. You'll have to come and see.

Andrew was already following John the Baptist, trying to prepare for Christ's coming; when Jesus arrived, he followed, then he brought his brother Peter. You and I would not be here if they hadn't trusted Jesus' invitation. So, come and see. Come discover or re-discover the spiritual dimension of this blessed life we've been given.