Kahu's Mana‘o
Keawala‘i Congregational Church
United Church of Christ (USA)
Second Sunday After Epiphany
Sunday, January 20, 2008
The Rev. Kealahou C. Alika
“Meeting Jesus”
John 1:29-42
At the heart of our reading from The Gospel According to John this morning is the affirmation that when Andrew and Peter meet Jesus, their lives change. They choose a new direction for their lives; they choose a different path.
The story of Andrew and Peter grows out of the account in which Jesus was baptized by John. John announces that Jesus is the “Lamb of God,” the one who “will take away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) But the writer also uses several other names for Jesus, each revealing something of Jesus’ identity and mission.
John confesses, “I myself did not know him but I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him . . . he is the Son of God. He is God’s chosen one.” (John 1:31, 34) When two of John’s disciples encounter Jesus, they address him as “Rabbi” which means “teacher.” (John 1:38)
When Andrew goes to his brother Simon he tells him, “We have found” – not the Lamb of God or the Son of God or Rabbi – but the Messiah, which means the “anointed.” When the angel comes to Joseph in a dream to announce the birth of a child, he is told you shall name him Jesus (Matthew 1:21) which means “savior.” Others will call him “Emmanuel” which means “God with us.”
So many names. Yet each one again reveals something of his identity and his mission. He is the chosen one. He is teacher. He is anointed. He is savior. He is “God with us.” He is the Lamb of God, the Son of God, Rabbi, Messiah, Emmanuel. He is Jesus.
And it is this Jesus who will change the lives of all who meet him. But how do we meet him today? How do we meet this Risen Christ who has ascended into heaven?
What we have been given is the gift of God’s Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit that continues to bring us into life-changing encounters with Jesus, not the Jesus that Andrew and Peter knew, but the Jesus who now lives in the hearts of men and women, boys and girls, young and old.
Where do we find this Jesus? We will find him wherever the fruit of the Spirit abide and we know that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians5:22-23)
Such words from the Apostle Paul come to us in his letter to the church in Galatia. They are more easily said than done. Paul recognizes that there is a battle within all of us that seeks to draw us away from the Spirit’s presence.
Earlier in the week I received an email from Carol Burdick, one of our members, reminding me of a story I had read sometime ago. It’s found its way on to the internet and it’s a story I know some of you have heard but it bears repeating.
“One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, ‘My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.’
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: ‘Which wolf wins?’
The old Cherokee simply replied, ‘The one you feed.’”
It may seem a little odd at this moment to juxtapose the story of two wolves with lambs and sheep but if you will indulge me for a moment. After his death and resurrection Jesus appeared to seven of the disciples near the Sea of Tiberias. Peter was among them. (John 21:1-19)
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Peter, “Do you love me?” Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He asked Peter a second time, “Do you love me?”
Peter responded, “Yes, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
Then he asked him a third time, “Peter, do you love me?”
By this point I imagine Peter is a bit exasperated.
He answered, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”
After this he said to Peter, “Follow me.”
Like Peter, we are also invited to follow Jesus and to feed one another the fruit of the Spirit which is ke aloha, ka ‘oli‘oli, ke ku‘ikahi, ke ahonui, ka lokomaika‘i, ka maika‘i, ka mana‘o‘i‘o, ke akahai, ka pākiko. (Galatians 5:22-23) We could say love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control but for some reason saying it in Hawaiian sounds more ‘ono loa – more delicious!
If we live by the Spirit and are guided by the Spirit then we will see and we will meet the Risen Christ again and again (Galatians 5:22-23, 25) and our lives will change again and again.
Thanks be to God. Amen.