Feast of St. Andrew

(St. Andrews, Carbondale. Evensong)

God was silent.

In fact, he’d been silent for a long time. It had been about 400 years since the last of the prophets. And Israel, the Jews, were still waiting. Waiting and watching. Wondering when God would send the messiah. When Israel would once again be a kingdom, a nation. How long will you tarry, o Lord? How long?

Sure there had been a few uprisings, but the Jews were tired of living under foreign domination, foreign oppression. First the Greeks and their successors, and now the Romans. Pax Romana—hah!! Peace as long as you don’t ruffle any feathers. Peace as long as you pay your taxes. Peace, what kind of peace was that. Obey Caesar. Obey Herod. Herod that Jewish pretender, he wasn’t any better. They all wanted to be worshipped. But the Jews were called to worship only God. The one God. The God of their forefathers, of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. The Creator God.

There’s been a few Jewish revolts and uprisings, but they didn’t have any kind of lasting impact. And lately it seemed that every few years someone would rise out of obscurity, claiming to be the messiah. But they didn’t last either. Rumors of messiah flew faster than gossip, faster than the wind. They seemed to be looking for the Messiah under every rock almost.

And then, a new voice. A voice in the wilderness. They called him John the Baptizer. He certainly looked like a prophet, wearing clothes made from camel hair and a rough leather belt around his waist. And he ate locusts and wild honey. But he was popular in a way I suppose. Popular as a spectacle. Popular because perhaps he’s the one. He’s out there at the Jordan River, saying “Repent!! The Kingdom of God is near1” Thousand flocked to him to be washed in that great muddy river, washed as they repented from their sins.

There was a man named Andrew and his young friend John, a fellow fisherman from his village. They thought that maybe this guy was the Messiah. They became followers, disciples. They lived with him, followed him. And he was pretty strict about his religion. No soft pillows, no testing the limits of the law. They spent a lot of time in prayer. I mean, a lot. And to hear him preach sounded like thunder and lightning. But when the Pharisees came out to see what was going on, they asked the Baptizer point blank: Who are you? And his response? I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord. Then they asked: Why are you baptizing if you are not the Messiah, not Elijah? And he said, one is coming. One is coming after me and I’m not worthy even to untie his sandals.

It was just a few days later that Andrew and his friend John were standing around with the Baptizer. A man walked by—a man who had been baptized a day or two earlier. Yeshua, they called him. Jesus. And the baptizer pointed him out to his disciples: look, there goes the Lamb of God.

The Lamb of God? They began searching their minds for the scriptures. Even Jewish fishermen knew more about the scriptures than we do. The Lamb of God. Isaiah spoke of one who is “like a lamb led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent . . . [and who] bore the sin of many.” The Lamb of God—perhaps it’s the paschal lamb, whose blood on their doorposts saved the Israelites from death back in Exodus, before they were delivered from Egypt.

Andrew and his friend were curious. After all, the Baptizer wouldn’t have pointed him out if he wasn’t important, would he? And so they began to follow him. They had only gone a few steps when the man, Jesus, turned to them and asked, “What are you seeking?” Andrew was caught of guard by this question. All he could think was to ask the rabbi, the teacher, “Where are you staying.” And he said, “Come and see.” And so they followed him to where he was staying, and remained with him all day. They came to see where he lived, and they found that he had life in himself. They went to see where he lived, and they found life. They listened to him, and knew that he was something special. He wasn’t like the other teachers and religious leaders. There was something else . . . something deeper. And his manner, his eyes. Maybe, maybe, this one is the hope of Israel.

Andrew went looking for his brother. He had special news to share, and the one he wanted to share it with was Simon. Simon the bold one. Simon the older brother. Simon who was always first. But now Andrew was first. Andrew had news, and he found his brother—and told his brother, “We have found the Messiah!” Andrew the younger brother took Simon by the hand and almost dragged him – to meet the Rabbi. Strangest thing! Jesus took one look at him and said. You are Simon, son of John. But now you will be Peter. You are Rock.

But it was Andrew who brought him. Andrew who was first. Andrew who was the first witness, the first missionary, the first evangelist. Andrew probably repeated Jesus’ words, “come and see.” We have found the Messiah—come and see. The Greek word for found is the word heurisko – the source of our word “Eureka.” It’s an astounding discovery, more of an awareness really. Something is there and you learn something previously unknown. There’s an element of surprise. Finding the Messiah really was an unexpected surprise, the surprise of Jesus breaking into their minds and their lives in a way that they knew things would never be the same. Eureka!!

Jesus should have that effect on people. When he enters into our minds and hearts and lives, we are changed, and we will never be the same. And like Andrew, we are called to come and see, and then to ask our friends and brothers and sisters to come and see.

What is the best form of advertising? No, it’s not a multi-million dollar 30 second spot during the Superbowl. It’s word of mouth. Friends telling friends. The best form of advertising is when a friend tells you about a new restaurant, or their doctor, or their hairstylist. Friends invite friends to join the Lion’s Club, or Rotary. Friends invite friends to hear about new products in home parties or marketing schemes. So why is it so hard for us to invite people to church?

For one thing, our culture really doesn’t like to talk about religion, about Christianity. And Maybe we think that religion is a private matter, and we don’t want to force our beliefs on anyone. Not good enough. Jesus came to save the whole world—and if we don’t tell them, how will they know. Maybe we are shy and don’t like to talk to people—but even the shyest probably speak to dozens of people a week. Maybe we don’t feel confident enough in our faith—but we need to be prepared and confident. We don’t have to have all the theology and the doctrine, but we need to be able to tell someone what a difference Jesus has made in our lives.

And maybe we have concerns about our church. Maybe we don’t think there’s much worth inviting others to? Do we think our services are boring, or predictable, or perhaps confusing? What can we do to make our church more positive, so that we are more comfortable inviting people. In everything we do, we should think about how it would be perceived by an outsider, a visitor.

And it’s certainly not just about gimmicks and the right kind of worship—none of this is meaningful if we don’t point to Jesus. There must be something substantial for visitors to receive. And I think the Episcopal or Anglican Church has a lot to offer, even—and especially--to this postmodern world.

What will people ‘come and see’ in our congregations? Will they see that we are Jesus’ disciples by the way we love one another (13:35)? Will they see that we have heard Jesus’ word so that his joy is in us and our joy is complete (15:11)? Will they see us pointing to ourselves, to our own achievements and hard work or will they see us being proper symbols and witnesses, pointing to Christ? Will they see us as sinners who confess our imperfections and unholiness and receive new life from Christ?[1]

When we say, come and see, I pray that those who come will say “Eureka!” We have found the Messiah. We have found Jesus. We have found his Church—and it’s St. Andrew’s.”

[1] http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/john1x29.htm