2nd Sunday Year B - Homily 2

Homily 7 - 2024 

I find today’s short Gospel passage so rich, so stimulating. It comes from St John’s Gospel — so calls for a quite different approach on our part from the one we adopt towards the other three Gospel writers. They seek to give their readers more or less historical information about Jesus — his remembered deeds and his words. John’s objective is clearly spelt out by him towards the end of his Gospel: “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God, and so that, as you believe this, you may have life in his name.” John wants his readers to come alive through Jesus. For that to happen, he recognises that they need help to relate personally to Jesus; and that that relationship will flow only from their personal faith, their deepening personal trust in Jesus.

So John’s Gospel gives us a series of encounters with various characters, that are then followed and teased out by sometimes lengthy meditations, involving not so much the historical Jesus, as Jesus, risen now and in heaven, whom faithful believers can today engage with through prayerful meditation.

This Sunday’s passage is a case in point. The incident happened in a normally desolate area on the far side of the Jordan River where John the Baptist had been operating. When he was being questioned by officials from Jerusalem, John had made brief, but favourable, reference to Jesus, within earshot of two of his own disciples. Now, late afternoon the next day, Jesus himself happened to walk by. John recognised him, and pointed him out to the two disciples who were with him.

The Gospel passage went on: “The two disciples followed Jesus. Jesus turned round, saw them following him, and said, “What do you want?” They answered, “Rabbi, where do you live?” “Come and see”, he replied; so they came and saw where he lived, and stayed with him the rest of the day…”. Let’s replay the conversation: “What do you want?” “Where do you live?” “Come and see.” “So they went, and saw, and stayed …” Less than twenty words. And that is all we know.

Not long for their afternoon’s conversation. But what fruit for our meditation. Let’s tease it out.

“What do you want?” If Jesus were to ask you that now, what might you answer? And do not be satisfied with one quick answer. Give yourself time to go deeper — until you feel really satisfied with your answer. What are you really seeking now? Do you think Jesus might really be interested in what your answer means to you?

And when the Evangelist suggests an answer for you to give to Jesus, “Where do you live, Jesus?” what might he be driving at? Could your reply [your question of Jesus] be something like: What fills your mind, Jesus, some of the time? … most of the time? What is your deepest hope? your sense of God’s Kingdom? Or, what?? Tell me what matters to you, Jesus.

Then, if Jesus were to invite you, “Come and see”, how would you feel? are you at all interested in what is going on in his head all the time? most of the time? Listen to how he feels.

Wind up with how you feel about the Evangelist’s summing up your response, “They came, and saw, and stayed…”? It could be the start of an adventure!

There is the rest of the Gospel for you to work your way through meditatively.

John really wants to help you to believe in Jesus, the Son of God, really to relate to him, so that, to the extent that you believe in him, you may have life in his name”.