A sermon for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany January 15, 2023 The Rev. Mark Nabors, Vicar Readings: John 1:29-42 Today Jesus shows up, and John the Baptist points to him, saying, “Here is the Lamb of God.” Jesus shows up by the riverside, and John the Baptist sees him for who he is. I wonder how often Jesus has shown up on the riverside of our lives, and we have missed him? Thomas knew something about that. Thomas was a medical resident, constantly busy, helping people in their sickness. He was a young man, mid-20s. If you asked him, he would tell you his life was fulfilled. He was living his dream. Only a couple more years before he was out on his own. If you looked at his social media account, you would see that despite his busy schedule, he made time for fun, for friends and family. Picture after picture, you would see Thomas smiling back at you, happy.
But if you dug deeper, you would find something else. If you were able to see Thomas after his shift, alone in his apartment, when the cameras weren’t trained on his grin, you would see what we have all felt: sadness, loneliness. He didn’t get it. He was helping people professionally; he had a good social life; he was healthy. Why did he feel like something was missing? Jesus showed up on his riverside. The truth is, Jesus was always there. Always. But Thomas hadn’t seen him before. His John the Baptist was an event shared on Facebook. It pointed him to a quiet, Sunday night service at the Episcopal Church around the corner. It was a small service at a small church, only a handful of people gathered for quiet prayer. Thomas realized that the deeper desire within him was taking him to the Holy One. Here is the Lamb of God, Thomas. Here is what your soul has been longing for. Quiet. Prayer. Word. Sacrament. Come and see what Jesus has in store for you. You can turn off here. You don’t have to care for others; you can care for your own soul. You don’t have to always have that smile, that happy-go-lucky attitude we expect from you on social media; you can be real here. Here is the Lamb of God. In the same church there was a woman in her 70s, Anne. She had retired a few years earlier, but she had given up on life in a lot of ways decades earlier. Family strife had soured her on life. And while she was faithful in church, Sunday after Sunday, and while she said her prayers, night after night, she was also bitter. She held others at a distance, God most of all. But then Jesus showed up in a new way. He had always been there. Always. But sometimes grace has to get at us in a way we don’t expect. On the riverside of Anne’s life, Christ walked by, and John the Baptist pointed him out: Here is the Lamb of God, Anne. For her, John the Baptist was a relative newcomer to the church, a young mom. She was really involved in outreach ministry, spending time every Thursday evening feeding the hungry. She didn’t know Anne, but they sat on the same pew. So one day, she asked for help. They needed someone else to pitch in, just for a couple of weeks, while some volunteers were on vacation. Could Anne help? Anne wanted to say no, she really did. But she had a problem saying no, like many of us. As bitter as she was, she hated disappointing people. So she said sure, but only for two weeks, insisting she really was too busy for that sort of commitment long-term. That week, Anne showed up. As she was spooning green beans on to the plates of people she had never really seen, even though they had always been there, she had an epiphany. Her religious life had always been in the church, and only there. But here, at this feeding program, she felt close to God in a different way. Person after person passed by for green beans, and in the face of every person, she saw something of the face of Christ, smiling back at her. Here is the Lamb of God, Anne. Follow him. Come and see what he has in store for you. Sometimes we need folks to show up in our lives like John the Baptist, folks who can point us to Jesus, to tell us where he is active in our lives, where he is calling us to go. Left up to us, we can miss it. But thank God that John the Baptist shows up. Can I be John the Baptist for you all, for a moment? Will you allow me to point you to where Christ has been active here? Because he is active here. Like Thomas discovered, I have seen Christ active in this building. I see him when the children run forward to the altar and then off to Sunday school. They know this is their church just as much as it’s yours, and they love Jesus. I saw Jesus last Advent during our mid-week service and Bible study. I heard so many of you talk about him, about where he had shown up in your life and how you had grown closer to him at St. Alban’s. I have seen Christ show up in the form of a newcomer, a stranger. And you welcome them. You love them. You want them here, even if they aren’t like you or think like you or vote like you–you want them here! And as long as I live, I won’t forget last Good Friday. We had received Communion from the Reserved Sacrament and we knelt in silent prayer. Then, without the organ, we sang that spiritual, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord.” The power of your singing almost knocked me over. The Crucified and Risen One showed up that day, walking down this center aisle, calling us all to deeper and truer life. And like Anne discovered, I have seen Christ active as we walk out those red doors to do the work God is calling us to do. I saw Christ as so many of you brought gifts and groceries for our Christmas families. You may not ever know these people personally, but you have seen them. Like the single mother who was so worried she wouldn’t get here in time. You see, she had worked a 14-hour shift at Walmart that day. Tears streamed down her face as we loaded groceries and gifts for her four children in the trunk of her car. I have seen Christ at the Food Bank, as so many of you show up to volunteer. Christ is there, in car after car. For when we serve those in need, we serve Christ himself. And you see him. I have seen Christ in how you act in this community, as you reach out to the hurting, to those who need a friend, to those going through a trial. My friends, here is the Lamb of God. He is active in this place. He is active in your life. I know, because I have seen him there. And I just wonder where he's leading us next?
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