This is a sermon by the Rev. Guillermo A. Arboleda, written for and delivered at Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center, West Hartford, CT, on Friday, October 25, 2024, for the Metropolitan New York Synod of the ELCA at its annual Bishop's Retreat for Synodical Deacons.
Primary Bible Reading
John 1:35-50
35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). 42 He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
Look! The Lamb of God!
By the Rev. Guillermo A. Arboleda, Program Manager for New Starts, ELCA
When I lead Bible studies, I often use Kaleidoscope Bible Sharing. (You have instructions on how to lead a conversation in that format in your handouts.) Sometimes I lead people through a power analysis like we did with Acts 6:1-7 earlier this morning. But because KBS and power analyses take a substantial amount of time, sometimes I use other techniques. One of my favorite questions to ask after reading a Bible passage is: Where are you in this story? If this story were really happening and we were mystically transported back to its time and place, Who do you think you would be and where would you be?
This is a powerful question because it helps people to treat the Bible like it is real, like it matters in your daily life, like you belong in these spaces. So in these stories from the Gospel of John, you might be John the Baptist or Andrew or Simon Peter or Philip or Nathanael or Jesus (bold take). Or you might be one of John’s two disciples who are mentioned but don’t have any speaking lines. Or you might be some other bystander way over there not wanting to get involved with any of these happenings.
Who you are and where you are changes your perspective on this story. So sometimes I know who I wish I were in the story but also decide to step into someone else’s shoes and flip the story around. I would love to be Philip, boldly sharing with his friend how excited he was to meet Jesus and how he will bring about God’s “Kindom” and Realm on earth.
But a lot of times, I am much more like Nathanael. What? That guy? Jesus? From Nazareth? He’s from that “s-hole country?” He’s from Jamaica, Queens? He’s from Uniondale? He’s from Harlem? He’s from Tremont Ave? What good might come from there? Even though people have doubted me for my background, if I’m honest, I sometimes do the same thing to others. I let my biases, perceptions, and judgments get in the way of what God is trying to do and what God is trying to reveal. I find myself skeptical that God can really show up in places that I don’t expect or our society or church doesn’t expect. Like our brother, St. Paul, I sometimes walk around with scales on my eyes, and I might not have the good sense to ask someone to lead me by the hand into Damascus.
And so today, I want to invite us to place ourselves in the shoes of St. John the Baptizer. That wild man crying out from the wilderness was the forerunner to Jesus. From the day he was born, John was called a “prophet of the Most High to prepare the way of the Lord.” John may or may not have been a fun hang (“you brood of vipers” [Luke 3:7]). He might not have been a pleasant dinner guest (smelling like a camel, locusts in his teeth, hands all sticky with wild honey). But John had eyes to see.
Jesus of Nazareth was walking around, beginning his public ministry, assembling followers, beginning to preach the Good News, but he was still incognito. No one knew who he was just yet, that he was the Word of God who “became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood” (John 1:14, MSG). But John was called “to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. (He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.) The true light [Jesus], which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:7-9, NRSVue).
So John is the first one to look at his brown-skinned Palestinian Jewish cousin and proclaim, “Look! Here is the Lamb of God!” (John 1:35, NRSVue). He was able to spot Christ in the crowd. He was able to see God present in the world. And while we believe that the Incarnate Word, the Body of Jesus, is seated at the right hand of the Father until he comes again (Apostles’ Creed), we also believe that the Church is the Body of Christ on earth (1 Corinthians 12:27). We also believe that whenever you feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick, or visit the imprisoned, you are doing those works of mercy to Christ Jesus himself (Matthew 25:34-40). Christ Jesus is still present in the world among us.
We are called, like John, to look around and proclaim, “Look! Here is the Lamb of God!” Here and here and here and there and everywhere. I see the Lamb of God in the face of my neighbor and in the face of my enemy because all human beings are created in the Image and Likeness of God. We are called to resist the urge to judge, condemn, and reject because of how someone looks or how they dress or how they talk or how they move or how they smell. We are called to avoid imposing our biased perceptions and sticking our noses up because, Ew! He’s from Nazareth! We must resist the urge not to see the Lamb of God in our neighbor on the other side of a border or with the wrong citizenship paperwork or on the other side of a war. We must resist the urge not to see the Lamb of God in people whose suffering and death are merely considered unfortunate collateral damage (whether abroad or here at home).
I have heard many stories about your ministry and your churches, about how you are faithfully caring for the Lamb of God – that is, Jesus in your midst. But remember that the relationship cannot simply be a one-way street. It cannot just be about me giving from a position of power and privilege. If we really believe we are interacting with a living Image of God then we need to open our ears and our hearts to listen and learn what God might have to say to us. Everyone has something to give and something to contribute. Let no one be deceived and act like someone’s social position can ever strip them of their human dignity.
So in the midst of our servanthood, our diakonia, we must remember to slow down. We must remember not to become so busy that we miss out on seeing and hearing the voice of God in our midst. We may need to stop fussing in the kitchen like Martha did and sit down at Jesus’ feet like her sister Mary. Because when we look for the Lamb of God and we honor the dignity of our siblings, God can and will surprise us. If we are never surprised by God, our faith might be dead. None of us has it all figured out and God can always reform and transform us. Therefore God can reform and transform our communities. God can do greater things in our churches and our neighborhoods than we can ask or imagine. We have nothing to fear if our eyes are fixed on the Lamb of God in our midst. Amen.
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