"Starting Over" - John 1:29-42 - January 16, 2005

As many of you know one of my hobbies is sailing. Being on the water is something I have enjoyed since I was a young man. Sailing is more complicated than rowing a small boat. You have to understand the wind, currents, tides and the rules of navigation. Although I have many books about sailing you can’t learn it from books. You have to experience it. More importantly you need a mentor to "show you the ropes."

I have good friend who taught me the fundamentals of sailing. Until a few years ago he was always the captain when we would go sailing in the Chesapeake Bay. Now I have enough skills to be a captain myself. But, I couldn’t have made that transition without someone to teach me.

This was also true for the disciples of Jesus. They needed a mentor to show them the ropes when it came to discipleship. They had a passion for the faith and a desire to know more about Jesus. They had the scriptures but to learn from Jesus first hand would be the best way to become his followers.

Last summer I took a course in Distance Learning. Colleges and universities are now teaching courses on-line. This gives students the opportunity to take instruction by using their computers at home. They don’t have to travel and they don’t have to attend classes. They can also do the work at their leisure. My course lasted twelve weeks. I usually stayed up late at night since that was the only time I had available. But as sophisticated as Distance Learning is I still had to make several trips to the college for face-to-face instruction. I have an excellent mentor who is extremely knowledgeable and skilled in computers.

There are times when we all need teachers. We have a tendency to do things ourselves rather than ask for help. Unfortunately our stubbornness and pride keep us from seeking the help we so desperately need.

When the disciples approached Jesus he said, "Who are you looking for?" We aren’t always certain what it is we need or what we want to be when we grow up. It is times like those when we need someone much wiser than ourselves, someone who knows more about life, someone who is closer to God.

What are you looking for? Peace, love, forgiveness, wholeness, happiness, perhaps? And just where are you looking? I believe that many of us spend much of our energy chasing rainbows. We think that money will solve all our problems or that we need to be smarter, faster or work harder.

I was watching an ad on television this past week. They were selling a body creme that helps you lose weight. They guarantee that you will lose fifty pounds in six weeks. Our culture is filled with quick-fix programs and get-rich ideas that will guarantee us happiness. Jesus, however offers something quite different.

He tells John, Andrew and Simon to come to where he is staying. Since Jesus had no home of his own he was most likely staying with Mary and Martha in Bethany. This was a small village on the East side of the Sea of Galilee. In Hebrew, Bethany, means "house of the poor and/or afflicted."

Jesus was not staying at the Hilton, nor was he a border of the elite. He was with some very humble, but faithful folks. Behtany was the setting for the story of Simon the Leper and Lazarus, who Jesus raised from the dead. It was also the site of Jesus’ final departure from his disciples.

Imagine the lessons his disciples must have learned as Jesus lived among these humble villagers. What an education they must have received as they observed him interacting with the sick and the poor. What fellowship they must have witnessed in the home of Mary and Martha, two of Jesus’ closest female followers. I believe they had to have been influenced by his passion, love and mercy.

One of the interesting dynamics of this story is the number of different names that describe Jesus. He is called Rabii, the Lamb of God, Son of God and Messiah. It illustrates the fact that different people seek Jesus for different reasons. Each disciple sees something different in Jesus and has different expectations. One needs a teacher. Another needs a savior and yet another needs to see a connection to God. Jesus is not limited to a single pre-conceived identity. He has many, just as people have many needs.

This is no less true for the church. Some need fellowship. Others need instruction and guidance. Some need forgiveness, while others need assurance and hope. Our understandings of Jesus are not absolute. They change with time. Perhaps in our time Jesus will be known as liberator, counselor, or someone "who is there for us."

What are you looking for? How will you know unless you "come and see?" Jesus is to be sought after, walked with and observed. He is to be listened to, blessed by and touched. But, this we know for sure, should we dare to engage Jesus in any way we will risk the possibility of change.

Simon was changed. In the future he will be Peter, the rock of the church. His life would never be the same. His desire to know Jesus in a more intimate way had totally transformed him. We know little about Simon Peter’s background. But, from the story we know this; his life changed because of his encounter with Jesus. When you consider the fact that Jesus was introduced by John as "the Lamb of God," that title implies the forgiveness of sins. Perhaps what Simon Peter experienced was forgiveness for the first time in his life. Consequently, he could start over, thus the new name.

The great Methodist pastor Charles Allen wrote that when he was in the fourth grade, the superintendent of the school mistreated him. There was no doubt about it. It was a deliberate wrong which the man committed because he had fallen out with Charles’ dad. The Allens then moved from that town, and the years passed.

One day during Charles’ first pastorate, he heard that his old antagonist was seeking a job with the schools in the area. Charles knew that as soon as he told his friends on the school board about the man, they would not hire him.

"I went out to get in my car to go see some of the board members, and suddenly it came over me what I had done. Here I was, representing Jesus (the Lamb of God) and I was carrying a grudge. That realization was a humiliating experience. I went back into my house, knelt on my knees and asked for forgiveness. ‘Lord, if you will forgive me of this, I will never be guilty of it anymore.’ That experience and making that promise was the best thing that ever happened to me." (from More Real Stories for the Soul, Robert J. Morgan, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

Being a person of faith is about being transformed through forgiveness. Now that we are in a new year, it is a great opportunity for us to realize that we too are forgiven. We can put our sins of the past behind us. We can close the door on last year and begin again.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio