RBWords

     "Hearing, following, looking, staying, seeing" are all words of significance in the Gospel According to John.  The two disciples hear what John the Baptist says and they "follow" Jesus.  Their initial curiosity is rewarded with the question, "What are you looking for?"  Their response includes the word "staying" which is not simply residing in this gospel, but a matter of being related in faith.  In some translations, the words "abide" and "remain" are used.  Jesus' last statement, "Come, and you will see" is not simply a place and a gazing at the place but a result of following him.  The disciples will, indeed, SEE.  One could go to the stories of the Samaritan woman (John 4) and the Man Born Blind (John 9) and see this process of coming to faith enacted.

     Those who participate either as sponsors or as candidates in the RCIA program in a parish will tell anyone that their journey of faith often begins with someone pointing in some way to Jesus.  Their initial curiosity leads to the question, "What are you looking for?"  Their response, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" is rewarded with "Come, and you will see."  We "cradle Catholics" can benefit from listening to these stories of faith and remember that our own faith may be the catalyst for someone following Jesus to see where he is staying and then seeing in a new way.  In this season it may be the simple act of displaying the manger scene in the home.  It may be saying a simple grace at a restaurant meal.  Perhaps we may hear someone else say, "Behold the Lamb of God," and follow Jesus in a new way.  AMEN