Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting Church
14th of January, 2024
John 1:43-51
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
We think that we have chosen to follow Jesus, but it is Jesus who has chosen us as his followers. We think that we made the decision to come to church today to worship God, but we arrived here at God’s initiative. Last week, when we celebrated the Epiphany, I said that what was true for the magi is still true for us; we believe that we are the ones seeking God, but all our lives God has been seeking us. We see this confirmed in today’s story from the Gospel according to John, in which Jesus calls some of his first disciples.
The lectionary splits this story across multiple years. On the Second Sunday of Epiphany last year the Gospel reading had John the Baptizer sending two of his own disciples to follow Jesus. Those two addressed Jesus as Rabbi, teacher, and asked him where he lived, to which he replied, ‘Come and see’. After spending time with Jesus one of those disciples, Andrew, found his brother Simon and told him that they had found the Messiah. Jesus then named Simon ‘Cephas,’ Peter, the rock on whom Jesus would later build his Church. (John 1:35-42) Continue reading →