COME AND SEE
Introduction
“Come and see,” says Jesus to the two disciples of John who were curious about him. They came and saw their Savior and followed him. “Come and see.” With that, could we say the same to the people of today and show them that Christ is present in our midst? Would they find him among us? And do we ourselves recognize Christ passing among us?
1 Jn 3:7-10
So, my dear children, don’t let anyone divert you from the truth. It’s the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah. Those who make a practice of sin are straight from the Devil, the pioneer in the practice of sin. The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil’s ways.
People conceived and brought into life by God don’t make a practice of sin. How could they? God’s seed is deep within them, making them who they are. It’s not in the nature of the God-born to practice and parade sin. Here’s how you tell the difference between God’s children and the Devil’s children: The one who won’t practice righteous ways isn’t from God, nor is the one who won’t love brother or sister. A simple test.
Jn 1:35-42
The next day John was back at his post with two disciples, who were watching. He looked up, saw Jesus walking nearby, and said, “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb.” The two disciples heard him and went after Jesus. Jesus looked over his shoulder and said to them, “What are you after?”They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
He replied, “Come along and see for yourself.”
They came, saw where he was living, and ended up staying with him for the day. It was late afternoon when this happened.
Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s witness and followed Jesus. The first thing he did after finding where Jesus lived was find his own brother, Simon, telling him, “We’ve found the Messiah” (that is, “Christ”). He immediately led him to Jesus.
Jesus took one look up and said, “You’re John’s son, Simon? From now on your name is Cephas” (or Peter, which means “Rock”).
Prayer
Lord, our God,
your Son passes among us
as the saving Lamb,
and often, we are not aware of his presence.
Give us eyes of faith,
that we may see a glimpse of him
in the love and compassion of people around us,
in their encouragement and help,
in their concern for justice.
For in their goodness you show yourself
through your Son, Jesus Christ,
who lives with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Reflection:
1 John 3:7-10
It is through Jesus that we conquer sin
Today’s reading is a continuation of yesterday’s, which reminded us that we must ‘break with sin’ if we are ‘to live as God’s children’. “The one who acts in holiness is holy indeed.” John must have been rephrasing the teaching of Jesus that a tree can be known by its fruit. John repeats the teaching of Jesus to his community through the letter: “the one who sins belongs to the devil.”
This passage is directed against the false teachers, who produced more than one reason to justify sin. They said that the body was evil and therefore, there was no harm in satisfying its lusts, because what happened to it was of no importance.
John tells his readers what sin is. It is the deliberate breaking of a law. To sin is to obey oneself rather than to obey God. John understands the work of Christ. Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world ( John 1:29). To sin is to bring back what he came into the world to abolish.
Sin comes from our failure to remain in Christ. Abide or remain with Jesus is a favoured theme of John the evangelist. In his Gospel he would bring this most important teaching of Jesus… “Abide in me…” This call to remain with Jesus means that we remember the continual presence of Jesus in us and we will not sin. We fall into sinfulness when we forget Jesus’ presence with us.
Sin comes from the devil; In the world there is a power hostile to God; and to sin is to obey that power instead of God. But John reminds us that only through Jesus we conquer sin – because Jesus destroyed the works of the devil. He has broken the power of evil, and by his help that same victory can be ours.
Video available on youtube: It is through Jesus that we conquer sin