What Are You Looking For?
A Sermon by Brent J. Eelman
Abington Presbyterian Church
January 20, 2008

John 1: 24-42
    Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, ‘Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’ John answered them, ‘I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.’ This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
    The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’
    The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he 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 see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).* 

Right after Christmas, I went into the sanctuary, (here) to pick up some papers from the Christmas Eve services and I noticed a couple walking up and down the pews, searching the floors around them. I approached and asked, “What are you looking for?” They looked up and explained that they were looking for an earring that the woman wore to the Christmas Eve services. They were pretty sure that they lost it somewhere in the church sanctuary. “What are you looking for?” It is a question we could well ask of any one of us in this room. No we are not combing the pews and looking up and down the aisles for something that we lost, but most of us are here looking for something. We are seeking something in our life. Something is missing.

In the gospel of John, Jesus turned and looked at two potential disciples and asked them, “What are you looking for?” Today, I want to ask that same question in terms of modern discipleship. “What are you looking for?” First, I will look at the contemporary human condition that makes us all seekers. Second, I want to examine the expectations that we often bring to our religious encounters. Third, I will conclude by restating Jesus’ call to discipleship for our day and age, but reversing the question, “What is Christ looking for in us?”

I

The Human Condition: Are you familiar with “the munchies”? The munchies is that nagging hunger that often comes over us later in the evening. It is a strange hunger, because usually the person has eaten only a few hours before. It is strange also, because the person stricken with the munchies often doesn’t know what taste she or he is seeking to satisfy. Is it for sweets? Something savory? Something substantial? That is the munchies. Our generation has the spiritual munchies. There is a hunger, deep down: a strange unfamiliar hunger and many are looking for some type of spiritual snack that will satisfy it. We are not sure what it is that will touch this hunger.

There has been a great deal of study of this hunger. Ironically, not by religious groups, but by Madison Avenue. Advertising plays upon our longings and positions products to fill the void that many people feel in their lives. It is the rare commercial that states that the product is superior. More often than not, the product is associated with some type of scene or situation that we long for. So a beverage might be shown in the hands of a number of different friends who are enjoying their time together. A certain car model becomes associated with youth, daring or class. Advertising is intimate with the hunger and longing of our society and implies that its product will fill the void that we feel. But the truth is, it is junk food. We soon realize it and the hunger begins to stir again.

What are you looking for? One of the great Saints of the church, Augustine, lived a pretty wild life as a young man. You can use your imagination. As a youth he would pray for his soul, but did not want to experience conversion quite yet.. He was having too much fun. Later, as he was pursuing Christian discipleship, he continued to struggle with the hunger deep in his soul that he formerly tried to fill with licentious behavior and wild experiences. He called this hunger “restlessness” and finally concluded, “my heart is restless, Lord, until it finds its rest in you.” Augustine nailed it… his longing, his hunger, and his restlessness were a deep desire to be in the presence of God: “to find his rest in God.”

The psychologist, David Myers, states that this same hunger and restlessness is with us today. He calls it “the American Paradox”. We live in a land of plenty. We have more food than we can stuff in our bodies, and yet we are hungry. It is a spiritual hunger. It is a hunger for the meaning of life. It is a hunger for a sense of purpose. It is a hunger that longs to be free from the absurdities that crowd our days. It is a hunger for something greater than ourselves. Something to believe in. Something that offers hope. We are searching for something and Jesus asks: “What are you looking for?”

II

This spiritual hunger often leads us down a number of different paths. Sometimes those paths lead to a pew in the church. What are we looking for? We are looking for God… but often we practice approach/avoidance behavior in our searching. When I speak with people who first start coming to worship, and ask them what they are looking for, I am hear a number of different things. “I am looking for a church with lots of people my age.” “I am looking for a church that has a good music program.” “I am looking for a church that is close to my home.” “I am looking for a place where I can get involved.” “I am looking for a place where I won’t have to get involved.” (Get the picture?) Those are important things, and we hope that they will satisfy our spiritual longings. But will they?

A number of years ago, I served a church in Northern New York. It was adjacent to a new military base and we had a large influx of soldiers and their families. This community was quite staid and settled, and both the community and the church had some difficulty accepting these new military families. We decided to have a “story night”. We identified members of the church who were in the church for 50 years, 30 years, 15 years, and 5 years, and had them tell stories about what the church was like and why they were there. The last speaker of the evening was a new member who had only been there a year. He was colonel and commanded one of the brigades at the fort. He stood up and said, “the reason that I am here, is because I found Christ in this place.” His name was Don and it was one of the most powerful moments in my ministry. He managed to cut to the heart of his search and state exactly what he was looking for.

In some ways, I think that all of our longing, whether it be for friendship, for excitement, for hope, for meaning, for purpose, for quiet, for freedom… is a longing for an experience of the Divine… That is what those first disciples were seeking… and if we look deep into our own hearts.. we seek it also. What are you looking for? A genuine experience of God in Jesus Christ.

III

To find what we are looking for, we need to reverse the question…. What is Christ looking for in us? This is the rich irony of the Gospel. We find what we are seeking, not by looking, but through discipleship, service, and sacrifice. One of my favorite Christmas stories is Henry Van Dyke’s The Other Wiseman. He tells the story of a fourth magi, Artaban, who is separated from other three. He, too, is seeking the Christ-child, but his journey is long and takes him through many different encounters over a period of thirty years. In these encounters he helps and serves the needs of others. Than at the end of the story, he bemoans the fact that he never did find the Christ child, and then we hear the voice of God declaring that indeed Artaban found Christ in the selfless service and sacrifices that he made for others. He found Christ in “the least of these” He found what he was looking for.

What are you looking for? The message of the gospel is that we find the object of our ancient search through discipleship. We find what we are looking for by reaching out in the name of Christ to feed the hungry, visit the prisoners, heal the sick, share our treasure with the poor. This is the essence of discipleship, and the promise that Jesus makes to us is that as we have done it to the “least of these.” We have done it to him…. The search for God is fulfilled in totally giving ourselves to others as disciples of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “What profit a person to gain the world and lose his soul.” Then he revealed the truth: If you wish to gain your life, you must lose it.

One of the most exciting things here at APC is that forty five members of our congregation will be traveling to Guatemala, to work in a clinic built by our funds, and minister to the needs of the people there. I am sure that the people of Guatemala will be richly blessed by this ministry. But I am absolutely positive, that those who go, who give of there time, who serve the needs of others, will find what their heart desires. Christ is there in the least of the people they serve.

What are you looking for? We are all searchers and are hungry. We look in different places and often find ourselves disappointed. Christ tells us that we will find what we are looking for, by following him, serving in his name, continuing his mission. This is the challenge of the gospel, and it is good news. Amen.
 

*The New Revised Standard Version Bible, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1989.

Abington Presbyterian Church, Abington, Pennsylvania,  www.apcusa.org