Come and See: The Joy of Sharing What We've Experienced

The Wonder That Can't Be Contained

In 2024, Lake Macquarie was lit up at night by the most stunning bioluminescent algae. Everyone I knew was talking about it. They would pull out their phones and show their videos and photos of the glowing water. They'd post about it on social media. They'd invite their friends to go and experience it for themselves.

"You have to come and see," they would say. "The photos don't do it justice. You have to actually stand in the water to really understand what it's like, how magical it is."

The people who had swum or skipped stones on or even stood on the shores of the phosphorescent lake had experienced something wonderful, and they couldn't help but talk about it. They couldn't help but invite others to come and see it too, and they couldn't help but testify to the life-giving, joy-bringing awe that had filled them up when they saw the water light up like fireworks.

Looking, Seeing, Experiencing, Testifying

Looking, seeing, experiencing, and testifying also lie at the center of our reading today. In John's Gospel, John the Baptist almost doesn't recognize Jesus for who he is until he sees the Spirit coming down from heaven as a dove and remaining on him. But once he sees, he cannot help but testify. He cannot help but invite others to see what he has seen.

"Look—the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

In John's Gospel, Jesus is recognized as the one who will bring healing to the whole cosmos—not just to the Church or to particular individual people, but to the whole of the created order. Where sin would bring death and destruction, Jesus will bring healing and life. Where sin would bring injustice and bondage, Jesus will bring freedom. Every holy metaphor that has ever been offered in the Scriptures will be fulfilled by Jesus, says John. And through him, all people will be drawn to God.

What Are You Seeking?

As a result of John's testimony, two of his disciples turn around and follow Jesus. They too go through the pattern of seeing, experiencing, and testifying.

Depending on the translation you use for today's reading, you might have heard Jesus ask the two disciples, "What do you want?" or "What are you looking for?" But the Greek is better translated as, "What are you seeking?" It's a question that invites the two new followers to look deep within themselves. Are they looking for a cause to follow or need answers to their questions? Are they looking for military might or a guerrilla warrior that will lead them out of the oppression of Roman rule? Or are they seeking to journey with Jesus, to be transformed by the very presence of God?

How would you answer this question? What do you long for? What gets you up in the morning? And do these things open you to life and awe, or do they close you off from freedom and healing?

Come and See

The two men hear this deeply insightful question and reply with a question of their own: "Where are you staying? Where is the path you're headed on leading to, Jesus? What will life look like if we follow you? How do we receive what you have to offer?"

And Jesus, instead of giving them a straightforward answer, offers them an invitation: "Come and see." It's an invitation to not only see God's goodness for themselves, but to experience it, to be part of it.

However you'd answer the question of seeking, whatever it is that you're longing for, Jesus offers the invitation:

• Are you looking for meaning and truth? Come and see.
• Are you looking for justice and reconciliation? Come and see.
• Are you looking for forgiveness and wholeness? Come and see.

Experience it for yourself. And when you do, you won't be able to help but share it with others.

A Chain of Testimony

Just as John the Baptist testifies about Jesus, leading two of his disciples to their own encounter, Andrew's response is to then testify to his brother Simon: "We have found the Messiah." And on and on and on it goes. In the next few verses, Philip meets Jesus and experiences light and life, leading him to invite Nathaniel to come and see Jesus for himself. In chapter four of John, we hear a similar story of the Samaritan woman at the well. Through her encounter with Jesus, she's able to see beyond her immediate need for physical water and has a mysterious experience of God's living water. This causes her to invite her local community to come and see Jesus, who she calls the Saving One.

Testifying Without Being a Jerk Face

I don't know about you, but in the circles I move in, the idea of testifying feels pretty uncomfortable. It puts us in mind of street corner preachers accosting passing pedestrians with questions about their belief in God, or shouting Bible verses and telling everyone to repent so they won't go to hell. Or at the very least, it feels like pushing our ideas and beliefs onto others.

We associate words like "testify" with other prickly words like "judgment" or "self-righteous" or "jerk face"—and we don't want to be judgy, self-righteous jerk faces. Or maybe we just feel like our faith is a private thing. Whatever our reasons, most of the people I come across in our churches feel much more comfortable living out their faith than they do talking to others about it.

But I can't help but think that maybe we're called to be more like my friends who saw the wonder of phosphorescence and were bubbling with excitement to share their experience.

I think we're called to share, to testify to the goodness and truth and beauty that we experience in God—not because we want everyone to think like we think or believe what we believe, but because it feels like something worth sharing.

Curious, Reciprocal, Relational

I wonder whether the clue to what this might look like can be found in the words of Jesus: "What are you looking for? Come and see."

This kind of posture is curious. It's reciprocal, and it's relational. The question "What are you seeking?" doesn't assume that I already know it all. It's a question that seeks to really know and understand the other person. The invitation to come and see is an invitation to journey together, to explore together, to marvel together.

And I don't think people feel judged by an invitation like that. They feel welcomed and seen.

I was reminded of this recently when an acquaintance of mine asked me to pray with her. She doesn't go to church, but we'd spoken about my work as a pastor, and she was feeling really overwhelmed and lost because someone she cared for deeply had just received some really bad news. What she needed in that moment was for somebody to ask her what she was longing for, what she was seeking—and what she needed was to experience the embrace of divine peace and love.

The people around us are longing to be seen much more than we realize. They are longing for peace and mystery and meaning and curiosity and depth and change. Why wouldn't we invite them to come and see?