We return to the Sundays of Ordinary time in a time that is anything but ordinary. The gold of Christmas and Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord now gives way to the green for a short time before we will take up the purple of Lent. In this ordinary time which is anything but ordinary, we take the time to walk with Jesus and those first disciples.
Words are ordinary. We use words all of the time. We speak them. We write them. We read them. Words are an ordinary part of our days and of our lives. But first words are special. The first words of a child are eagerly awaited and always remembered. The first words of a book and the first words of a song are carefully chosen so that they hold the interest of the reader and the listener. First words are important.
And today, we hear the first words of Jesus in the Gospel of John. Is it a call to repentance? No, that is in Mark. Is it a request to be baptized in the Jordan river? No, that is in Matthew. Perhaps it is the 12-year-old Jesus asking his parents a question in the Temple? No, that is in Luke. The first words of Jesus in the Gospel of John are a question to two people who were following him. And what is the question? What are the first words of Jesus in the Gospel of John?
What are you looking for? These are the first words. What are you looking for? The ultimate answer to this first question is, in fact, the person who is asking the question. What are you looking for? We are looking for you.
We are looking for you, Lord Jesus, in an ordinary time that is anything but ordinary. We are looking for you, O Divine Physician, in a time of sickness and pandemic. We are looking for you, O Prince of Peace, as violence breaks out in our nation and threatens our world. We are looking for you, O Lord of Life, to give us a word of hope and a word of grace and a word of life. What are you looking for? We are looking for you.
We are looking for the Lord Jesus and we have come where he has promised to be. In the Word proclaimed, in the holy people gathered, in the ministry of his apostles, in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood, Jesus has promised to meet us. Here we meet him. Here we find him. For a moment, and just for a moment, we do not need to search. We do not need to look for another.
On Easter morning, in the Gospel of John, Jesus will ask a question of Mary Magdalene. It is similar, but not the same. He does not ask her, “What are you looking for?” Jesus askes Mary Magdalene, “Whom are you looking for?” We have come here not because we are looking for something, but because here we have found someone. Amen.
