Seeking the Lamb of God

+ THE SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Today’s Readings: 1 Sam 3: 3–10, 19; Ps 40; 1 Cor 6: 13–20; Jn 1: 35–42


When I was in college in New York, my roommate, Frank, was a Hungarian. He was born there and his family emigrated to America when the communist revolution broke out in 1956. Frank was just a child.

Whenever Frank’s dad called him on the phone, they’d jabber away in Hungarian—and I thought it was really a fascinating-sounding language… so interesting, in fact, that I thought I’d try to learn a little bit of it. I found an old lady who was willing to give me lessons, and for a while I used to take the subway uptown to her musty Upper East Side apartment where she taught me the basics of magyarul—Hungarian. I would come back and practice on Frank, and he would roll on the floor laughing.

“What’s so funny?” I’d ask him. He said, “You sound like an old lady!”

Be that as it may, I think lots of us take things up because we’re intrigued by some influential person that we know. For instance, lots of kids wanted to learn guitar because they were under the spell of a rock star or a folk singer or a friend of theirs who played really well. Some people try to take on a new style of dress because they want to be cool like someone they know. Others might get involved in new and different activities—anything from volunteering, to trying out for a part in a play, to learning to cook Japanese food, to skydiving—because they’ve been influenced by someone they admire.

We human beings are very social. We want to fit in. We want to belong to something that stretches us and fulfills us and brings us a lot of enjoyment.

That’s why today’s gospel is so fantastic. Here was Andrew and another unnamed fellow—both disciples of John the Baptist. John sees Jesus and just like the day before (Jn 1: 29-34) he says, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”

Can’t you just see Andrew’s head turn as he sizes up Jesus for the first time. Something about this man must have intrigued Andrew and his friend, because we hear that the two of them got up and started to follow the Lord. Before long, Jesus turned around and spotted them tailing him. “What are you guys looking for?” he asked. The Lord is always trying to make us ask ourselves this question.

They answered with a question: “Where are you staying?” And Jesus must have smiled and winked. “Come on with me and you’ll see.” So off they went with their new friend. I’ll bet they had no idea what they were getting into that day!

Where was Jesus staying? Remember the Lord’s famous line: “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Lk 9: 58). In other words, Andrew and friend got to see Christ up close for the first time doing his holy work among the good people of Judea.

And guess what? By 4 o’clock in the afternoon, according to the gospel, Andrew found his brother Simon and exclaimed, “We have found the Messiah!”

Andrew, his fellow disciple, and Simon were all hooked! They found the Messiah and made up their minds to give him their very lives. So long, John the Baptist… hello, Jesus Christ. They found their true vocation… and it was a vocation based on zeal and passion.

I wonder what these simple men wanted from the Lord. Personal growth and holiness, I’m sure. Maybe they were attracted by Jesus’ incredible magnetism and wanted to be like him. Maybe they wanted to learn how to practice faith-healing or work miracles. Or maybe they sensed that in some unknown way they could become instruments in God’s hands or even prophets. Who knows? It’s all very mysterious, and we’ll never know for sure what went through their minds.

But the important lesson here is that each and every one of us also has a God-given vocation, and it’s so important for us to find it and do it… first, because it’s God’s gift to us… second, because it’s God’s will for us… and third, because it is guaranteed to bring us joy and unlock the passion that’s inside us.

Lucky Andrew had John the Baptist to say, “Hey, Andy! There’s the Lamb of God! Go!”

But what about you? Is there someone or something that can grab your attention and focus it on the Lamb of God so you can find him, too?

We live busy lives. Very busy lives. So many of us try to fill in all the spaces with activities and projects and a million things to do. But where’s Jesus? If you sense an emptiness or a barrenness in your soul—perhaps a nagging feeling that there should be something more or that God has better plans for you—then just maybe it’s time you carve out a little space for yourself and go hunting for him. Some quiet time with your bible… a little time before the Blessed Sacrament… a walk alone with your dog through the fields… these are all wonderful and simple ways to block out the usual noise of the world and seek out the Son of God.

The holidays are now behind us—and we’ve still got 6½ weeks before we have to start thinking about Lent—so this is a perfect time to get reconnected. May the Lamb of God touch your heart and start to draw you to himself.