John 1:29-42
John the Baptizer is remembered in scripture for the way he dedicated his entire life to his one true purpose, pointing toward the Messiah. Even before his birth, John was already acting instinctively to fulfill this vocation, pointing his mother’s eyes toward Mary and the salvation promise she carried within her. As a young man, John left behind a birthright, a comfortable life in temple priesthood, to dedicate himself fully to his purpose, to pointing toward the salvation that was coming and had already come into the world. Ultimately, he lost his life in his fidelity to that purpose. Our artistic renderings of John throughout history have carried this same purpose forward, depicting John often pointing with a hand or a finger outstretched toward Jesus. We remember John for who he was, but more specifically we remember how he allowed who he was to be shaped by the anticipation of someone greater than himself. We remember John because John introduces us to Jesus.
Because John was pointing his heart, his life, his very body in the right direction, his disciples knew the next step of their journey when Jesus came among them. Andrew looked where John was pointing, and in turn he pointed to Jesus for his brother’s sake. Simon Peter met Jesus because he was the next link in a chain of faithful people watching the horizon for the messiah’s advent. Simon Peter saw Jesus because Andrew pointed him out, and Andrew saw Jesus because John pointed the way. Simon Peter and Andrew would go on to point toward Jesus with varying degrees of success for the rest of their lives. And because of their insistence, the church grew, and more and more people were pointing toward the Light of Christ, and so it has been for two thousand years. We are the inheritors of that faithful chain, that lineage of people pointing toward the living God.
It does not take long when talking with members of this church for the names of saints who have gone ahead to glory to enter the conversation. Lively wits and beautiful voices as well as quiet stability and simple dedication are remembered with love and good humor by those of us who carry their memories with us. Our buildings are full of plaques and memorials to our beloved foremothers and forefathers who made this place and the people in it what and who they are today. Even those things which are not marked with engravings or plaques are often recognized by those among us with the longest memories- the faithful altar guild member who spent hours polishing that silver or getting the wax out of that linen; the shelf that was placed just so by a handy junior warden of years past; the agonizing care with which each paint color, choral anthem, and cushion was chosen by an artistic eye and ear.
They are remembered not just for who they were, but for who they lifted up. For how their work was given faithfully to the glory of God in the service of the church. For how they planted trees they would never sit under and tended vines whose fruit they would never taste. Their legacies point to the Lord they loved and who they now see face to face. Their memories bid us pause and remember what brought them into our lives- the family of God, the love of Jesus.
All of us are here because someone in our lives, or more than one someone, pointed us in the right direction, toward Jesus. This church building and every object down to the nails in the floorboards and the prayerbooks in the pews exists in this configuration because of faithful people who dedicated their time, their talents, and their resources to pointing the world in God’s direction. There might be someone in this room today who is only here because you pointed them toward Jesus’s presence in this particular community just as Andrew brought his brother into the presence of Jesus all those years ago. This is what we are called to do- bring others to Jesus. Point to him any time we find our lives or our work drawing the attention of the hungry, lonely, beautiful world. John gives us our example, as does Andrew. They were not remembered for their perfect pitch, or their eloquent speaking styles, or the funds they contributed to supporting Jesus’s ministry. John was more than a bit weird, and had harsh words for many who heard him. Andrew, like the other disciples, often misunderstood and misinterpreted Jesus’s words and needed correcting from time to time. Neither of these men even had a building to invite anyone to, no fellowship hall or fun activities to entice the skeptical. What they had was a purpose, an understanding that God was at work in their own lives and in the life of the world and that nothing mattered more than sharing that Good News with anyone who might listen. I think we’ve all known at least one person in our lives who knew that purpose and lived it in every corner of their lives. I know I have known many, and they have taught me what Jesus meant about putting a light on a lampstand instead of covering it up. When we know our purpose, it radiates through our entire being, and lights up everything we touch. When we know our purpose, it deepens our friendships and strengthens our leadership and makes us brave in a world intent on making us afraid.
As baptized Christians, our purpose is the same as John’s, the same as Andrew’s, the same as Mary’s. Our purpose is to point toward Jesus in all that we do and all that we are. It will look different from person to person, because the Holy Spirit has equipped us all with different gifts. But if the biblical witness is to be believed, the first and most straightforward way is one that is painfully ordinary and unbearably scary for many of us. The first and best way to fulfill the purpose passed down to us from our spiritual ancestors is as simple as pointing Jesus out when we see him, and inviting someone to come and see. Ask yourself- when was the last time I looked to a friend or a family member and said “this is where I am seeing God at work in my life right now”? Have you ever shared something like that with anyone? Have you gone so far as to invite someone to share the same with you?
Sharing the Good News is as simple, and for some of us as challenging, as that. Pointing to Jesus is sometimes, literally, pointing at a beautiful vista, or a passage of scripture, or a song, or a building and telling someone “Look, I see Jesus here. What do you see?” Our hearts might thunder and we might stumble over our words sometimes, but we are not alone even in that. It takes bravery, and practice, and dare I say faith, to step into our purpose alongside John and Andrew and all the beloved saints of our memories. They have pointed the way for us, and it is our life’s work to point the way for one another and for those who will follow after us. May we all be remembered for the ways we point toward Jesus, in all the big and small ways we live our lives. There is no greater legacy.
Mother A Writes 