Scripture: John 1:35-42; Romans 7:15; Ecclesiastes 1:9 Series: 2021
Launching the ‘One Weird Trick’ series, this sermon takes the two-word command ‘Come and see’ from John 1:35-42 as the trick that can change your life. Building from the question Jesus asks the disciples (‘What are you seeking?’), Pastor explores trust and identity: we are not our intentions but what we actually do, and our restless hearts are ultimately seeking God whether we realize it or not. Preached on the 20th anniversary of 9/11, it weaves in his own memory of the attacks at UT and a candlelight vigil where Amazing Grace brought unexpected peace, arguing tragedy can clarify whom we seek. The invitation is to come and see where Jesus is, found in worship, prayer, service, and mentorship rather than in podcasts or social media, and to declutter the heart so God can be its center.
Illustrations: one-weird-trick-ads, hiking-shelter-trust, serious-musician-lightness, vonnegut-mother-night, doordash-satisfaction, nine-eleven-ut-vigil, cousin-kazakhstan, prayer-useless-time, hoarders-of-the-heart
September 12
Come and See
The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter). - John 1:35-42
Who do you trust? If they say something, will you believe them? Who do you trust in your life? People say trust is hard to earn and easy to lose. Who do you trust in your life? A few times in my life, in my experiences, I have had ways of trusting others. One example is when I was hiking every day and I was hiking more than anyone else, except for a few people in the world. During that time, I could easily tell someone who was with me and someone who was not, who could I trust to have my back, to always make room in a shelter for me. Music is another area where I’ve been able to trust pretty quickly because of my experience. I have different judgments of a real musician. What is it like to take the music seriously. For serious musicians, there’s a lightness to them and to the music because they’re not as concerned or anxious about the notes. The notes are already taken care of. They focus beyond the notes, the expression, the intention of it all. When you’re at the stage of music where you are more interested in expression than execution, because the execution is taken care of, you can sense that pretty quickly. Who do you trust? Who do you listen to? What podcasts do you trust? Or YouTube or TV shows. What is the source of that trust? About 10 years ago, there was a web advertising phenomenon called one weird trick. Use this one weird trick to lose 30 pounds or by using by this one, weird trick, you will sleep better at night or nail that interview. It was an advertising gimmick, the federal trade commission clamped down on it because the one weird trick didn’t do anything, but what if it could? What if there was one thing you could do that would radically change your life? That’s the name of the sermon series that I’m starting today, one weird trick. Each week, we’re going to look at one thing we can do to change our life. One moment in the life of Jesus that can transform where we are and who we are. Today, we are thinking about, come and see.
So first off, I’m not following my own rule because “come and see” is two things, not one thing. So today we have two weird tricks to change your life. When Jesus comes to the disciples of John the Baptist and they say, behold, the lamb of God, they come and follow Jesus. And Jesus turns and sees them and says, what are you seeking? And they say, rabbi, that’s the end of the answer. The word Rabbi is important. Today it is seen as equivalent to the word pastor, but that is not the case.
The root related to the word rabbi first occurs in the Hebrew Bible in chapter 1 of the Book of Genesis, in verbal form, Hebrew: פרו ורבו, romanized: peru u rebu, lit. ‘be fruitful and multiply’. This phrase is interpreted to mean “bear children, and raise them” (or “to make them great”). This mitzvah (commandment) of “raising” is given to fathers, but can be partially fulfilled through agency by appointing a mentor. “Rov” is a verb meaning “to raise” or to “make great”, and the “Rav” is one who consciously takes on the role of “raising” sons
They see a teacher, a master, one who can raise them up. To say Rabbi is to say my master. They then say, where are you staying? And Jesus says to them, come and see. Who are you seeking? In all the aspects of our life and the direction our life is going and what we need in our life begins with this. What are you seeking in your life? Where are you going? Who are you trying to be? This is such an important because we may think we are going one way in life and we come to find out we have been on a completely different path. There is a great Kurt Vonnegut novel that was turned into a pretty good movie with Nick Nolte, but it’s called mother night. And it’s about a GI, who is serving as a double agent during World War II. And he’s officially working for the Nazis as a radio broadcaster for the propaganda wing of the party, a cross between Hannoi Hannah and a shock jock. The secret, though, is that he is really working for the OSS, the predecessor organization to the CIA, and through his broadcasts, he is using a secret code to share Wehrmacht troop positions. But after the war, his handlers die and there’s no record of his working for the OSS. He was so confidential that all records were destroyed. And so the story ends in this situation where the only people who remember him were Nazis, who had escaped and thought what he said was true. And they agreed with his antisemitism and they agreed with his hate, and they are the only ones who care for him as he’s dying. The book has this line that I’ll never forget: be careful of who you pretend to be because in the end you are who you pretend to be. We are not our intentions. How we live shapes who we are. We can have the best of intentions and the most wonderful ideas of who we are, but it is so easy to lose sight of our true goal. We need to remember our why. We need to remember our destination. Just because we do it, doesn’t make it good. Just because something used to be good, doesn’t make it good today.
There is often a disconnect between how we think about ourselves and what we actually do in our lives. Paul points this out in Romans 7 when he says, “I do the things I don’t want to do, and I don’t do the things I want to do.”
Through all of this, we can’t know what we are doing unless we know where we are going. Who are you seeking? Who are you trying to be? Jesus has an answer for this. Are you seeking purpose in your life? Are you seeking a happy home? Are you seeking satisfaction with who you are and your place in the world? Maybe you are seeking this for your kids or your family. Who are you seeking?
What Jesus shows us is that we are ultimately seeking God, even when we don’t realize it. All that we desire that is good is good in its connection to God. As well, our hearts are restless until they find rest in God. We are restless spirits, restless in our soul until we find what we are looking for. The peace that passes understanding. Have you felt that peace? When you are content and satisfied. But often, we want that to come to us. We want to Doordash life satisfaction right to us. We don’t want to change or we want to be control of our change. We want four-hour work week change. We want a trick so that we can keep doing the same things but get different results. That’s not how it works. Change takes time and attention and remembering who we are seeking.
As well, change often takes place after tragedy. During good times, we don’t like to think about bad things that could happen. We can fall into the deception that the trajectory which we are on will last forever. Our life will keep getting better. Our kids lives will keep getting better. Maybe we have it seen all we need to see. Maybe as it says in Ecclesiastes, there is nothing new under the sun. We cannot avoid or hide from the brokenness of this world. Jesus never does.
The anniversary of 9/11 was yesterday. 20 years. I was a freshman at UT. I was in the gym for the first time, probably ever in my life. The small gym under DKR that normal students could use then (Gregory was too much for me). And I saw the first tower of the World Trade Center on fire. My world had already changed by leaving home, and then it changed again. It was a Tuesday because I had orchestra that night. There was a candlelight vigil on the mall. The tower was off. The only lights were from the candles.
We sang amazing grace. I felt a hand on my should but no one was there. I received a peace I hadn’t felt in a long time. A peace that God was God and even though this world is broken, God’s love is everlasting. Who are you seeking? It was a hard day for many. Some received their last call to go into those buildings. Some received new orders to go oversees. It has been a hard 20 years for those who have served and for those who know those who served. I know it was always scary when my cousin was stationed in Kazakhstan and flew over enemy airspace. Tragedy and trauma are not good in themselves. God does not like them or cause them but God can use them to clarify this question: Who are you seeking?
Jesus asks, who are you seeking? They say, Rabbi. We are seeking a master. We are seeking one to learn from. We’re seeking the lamb of God. He has responded to us: come and see. The one weird trick to change your life this Sunday is come and see. Come and see what the Lord is doing. Come and see where the Lord is living. If you want to change your life, you need to let go and come and see. You need to find where Jesus is. One of the places where Jesus is is worship, it is the Lord’s table. It is singing praises to God. One of the places where Jesus is is prayer and taking the time of prayer. One of my teachers talks about prayer as entirely useless time. There’s nothing productive about prayer. You don’t gain extra points on your heavenly resume and prayer and said prayer at its best is like lingering at the beach with someone you love longingly, spending time with them as if there’s no one else in the world. come and see.
Take a step of faith in service and giving of yourself and giving up your time, in taking time out of your day and out of your week for others, not for your own benefits. Time for serving in the church, time for serving in the community. Come and see. Take the time to talk. Come and see. Come talk to me and pastor Matt, find a time or find someone else you respect in the faith. Do you have a mentor in your faith? Do you have someone whom you respect, who you can with and listen to. Come and see? Do you want to know where God is going? Do you want to know who to trust in this world? Because ultimately, our trust is not in podcasts or YouTube or Facebook posts or Twitter. This is not where God is found. It may be a tool but it is not the point. God doesn’t say perform piety for others. Instead Jesus exposes the hypocrisy of it of performed piety. When Jesus talks about prayer, he mentions the Pharisees in the streets praying loudly, seeking acknowledgement from others. When he talks about fasting, Jesus mentions the Pharisees who complain about how hard their fasts are.
Jesus does not call us to seek praise from others but to seek God in our quiet place. Come and see. We don’t have to leave our house to find Jesus. The quiet room God calls us to is in our own hearts. Come and see Jesus here. (Point to chest). The problem is that we are hoarders of the heart. We fill our hearts with so many desires that that the space is cramped. We need to declutter our hearts so that we remember that God can be the center of our life, that love can be the center of our life. Memorials can be a chance to declutter our hearts, to remember what matters most in this world. To give thanks for those who have served others and those who have served us. To remember that we are not alone. God calls us to new life right where we are, but God does not leave us there. Let us pray…
Heavenly Father, you came to us in your Son Jesus, give us the strength to come to you. When we are happy or sad, when we are grieving or dancing, give us the courage to come and see, to seek the God who is love.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.