Word to the Wise
Friday, January 4, 2008 - St. Elizabeth Seton
[1 John 3:7-10 and John 1:35-42]Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come, and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day.
Our Southern Dominican Province sponsors weekends that are called, "Come and see" events. These are designed to acquaint men who are interested in our order with religious life as we Dominicans live it. Many dioceses have used a program called the "Andrew Program" in which a priest invites a prospective seminarian to come with him to dinner with the bishop, and also to serve as a mentor or guide in the discernment process. The passage from the Gospel of John for today is the model for those efforts. However, this scripture is not aimed at modern vocational promotion in quite the same sense as these programs use it! Discipleship is broader than the vocation to full time ministry. Full time ministry, however (lest I incur the wrath of our wonderful Promoter of Vocations) is definitely a form of discipleship! The experience of "Come, and you will see!" which Jesus offers to Andrew carries with it the deeper meaning of "seeing" which, in the Gospel of John, is equivalent to faith. Faith leads to "staying" with Jesus. The Gospel of John can be read as a series of "encounters" with Jesus in which he shows a "sign" that serves as a way of teaching about his identity and mission. Today's gospel scripture is one of those, but we can look at the encounters with Nicodemus (3:1-21), the Samaritan Woman (4:4-42), the Crippled Man (5:1-18) and others and see how those who "come and see" then "stay" or remain with Jesus. In the case of Andrew and the Samaritan woman, the new disciple invites others! One of the common problems that modern "cradle Catholics" have (those Catholic from birth) is the reluctance to invite others to "come and see." This extends to those in full time ministry who are reluctant to raise the question of a possible vocation with a promising prospect! (Ask any vocation director!). If the Good News is truly Good News, why is this reluctance so strong? Is faith such a personal and private thing that we are ashamed to share it? Surely it cannot be a "dirty little secret!" Christianity did not spread the way it has in the world because people just discovered it by accident! It requires those who "come and see" to do as Andrew did and go tell Peter and Philip, or go as the Samaritan woman did and tell the village. The results will speak for themselves! AMEN
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