What Did Andrew See In Jesus

We all hear things differently. We understand and look at things in our own way. We might think we fully get someone else’s point of view or that we can read their mind, but we never really know, you see, we do not really understand another person until we have spent some time with them. We don’t know if they are real until some time has passed.
In our gospel today we hear these words: "We have found the Messiah," Andrew told Peter after spending the better part of a day with Jesus. Wouldn’t it be great to know exactly how that conversation went? "What did Andrew see in Jesus; hear in Jesus; experience in Jesus; perceive in Jesus that would cause him to come to such a conclusion, to have such a perception? "We have found the Messiah."
We simply cannot know, but what we do know is just this: Andrew spent time
with Jesus. Andrew had a curiosity about Jesus. Andrew’s curiosity caused him to follow Jesus down the street. Jesus suddenly turned, caught Andrew off-guard and asked, "So what are you looking for?" Stumbling for words Andrew blurts out, "Where are you staying?" "Come and see," invited Jesus, and Andrew ended up spending the day with Jesus. At the end of the day he makes a confession of faith. He became so excited about Jesus he sought out his brother Simon Peter and brought him to meet Jesus.
Christianity is not merely something that we logically figure out and make total sense out of it ahead of time and then come to faith. Faith is always the result of being acted upon first. Faith is the result of spending time with Jesus.
The Good News is that God never stops taking the initiative with us: through prevenient grace, through the sacraments; through the proclaimed Word, through the scripture, through the witness of a faith community and faithful believers; through the Holy Spirit. Listening and Observation are a tricky and complex business.
Andrew spent the day with Jesus, and at the end of the day he made a confession of faith, "I have found the Messiah."
When was the last time we spent a day with Jesus? When was the last time we included the Lord Jesus in on every aspect of our day - allowed God to inform every decision, every conversation, every interaction? If we thought about it at all, all of us want that type of faith. We want our faith to hold that number one spot in our life. Faith is always kindled when we respond to the Lord’s invitation to "Come and see."
Jesus said some pretty amazing things, issued some incredible challenges and offended our conventional sensibilities. What if we had someone close to us ask us, "Why would anyone want to follow this man?"
Think of some of the things he told us to do: "Love your enemies" "Pray for those who persecute you." "Take up your cross and follow me." "Forgive your brother and sister and be reconciled." "Don’t worry about your life, what you eat and what you drink, or what you will wear." "Don’t worry about tomorrow." "Do not judge." "If you do it to the least… you do it to me."
Think about it! Practically every one of those things makes very little logical sense and runs counter to our conventional sensibilities.
"Love my enemies?" Who is Jesus kidding? Sometimes, We want to hang onto our hate!
"Pray for those who persecute me?" sometimes, we want to curse those who persecute us and find a way to even the score.
"Forgive my brother or sister and seek to be reconciled?" No way, our pride is at stake here.
"Take up my cross and follow." That sounds too tough.
"Don’t worry about tomorrow." My whole life is structured around planning and working to find security.
"Do not judge." But so and so deserves judgment! They wronged us!
"If you do it to the least of these… you do it to me." I actually had someone say to me recently.
“I always thought the least pretty much got what they deserve. I avoid them.”
If we try to figure this man out ahead of time, we never really will. He makes no logical sense. Our conventional sensibilities are outraged.
We use mainly our eyes and ears to perceive the world around us. If we only use our eyes and ears to perceive to Jesus he will remain merely as an object of curiosity; someone that interests us, an unusual character with whom we are intrigued, but nothing more than that. He invites us to step beyond our curiosity, step beyond casual interest and spend some time with him. "Come and see," he says to you and me. It’s an invitation to get to know Jesus.
"Love your enemies," he says. Not sure we can do that. But perhaps if we get to know the one who said it, the one who died on the cross for his enemies - for you and me - maybe something will happen to us. Perhaps we will begin to perceive with more than our eyes and ears, and our filters everything is processed through. Perhaps we will begin to see him with the eyes of the heart – the eyes of
faith.
"Pray for those who persecute you." "Take up your cross and follow me.""Forgive your brother and sister and be reconciled." "Don’t worry about your life, what you eat and what you drink, or what you will wear." "Don’t worry about tomorrow." "Do not judge." "If you do it to the least… you do it to me." As long as we keep our distance, none of this makes any real sense. But if we go and spend some time with him, we may begin to see and perceive with something other than our eyes and ears.
We may perceive he is the One for whom we have been waiting and looking all our life. He is the One who touches us at the places of our deepest longings and needs. He is the One who defies logic, but yet was more alive that anyone we have ever known. He is the One who has something to give that we have never found anywhere else.
If we do step beyond our curiosity, and "come and see," for sure Jesus will challenge all of our conventional sensibilities and ways of perceiving the world and others. He will remove many of our filters, and if we allow him we just may, with Andrew, finally run out to others, very excited, saying, "I have found the Messiah. Come and See!"