Loving God, you call us to share your love with others and bear witness through the power of your Spirit. Fill us with that same Spirit today, that your presence and power might be seen among us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Some of you may remember a commercial from a few years ago that consisted of a whole series of people holding up signs. Based on today’s gospel, I can imagine John the Baptist doing exactly the same thing, with a whole series of shots of John holding up various signs. One sign would have an arrow pointing to Jesus and would say, “The Lamb of God.” Then there would be another sign with an arrow pointing to Jesus, saying “He takes away the sins of the world.” The next sign would have an arrow pointing to Jesus, saying “He’s been around since the beginning.” Then there would be another sign with an arrow pointing to Jesus, saying “He’s the one you’re looking for.” The next sign would have an arrow pointing to Jesus and would say, “The Holy Spirit remained on him!” The next sign would also have an arrow pointing to Jesus and would say, “He baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” The next sign would have an arrow pointing to Jesus and would say, “This is the Son of God.” And these are just the signs from today’s gospel reading! Not one of the signs held by John the Baptist would point to himself. Every single one would point to Jesus. Some might even say, “Don’t look at me, look at him!”

However, John the Baptist isn’t the only one in today’s gospel who could hold up signs pointing to Jesus. Andrew could easily hold a sign that says, “Come and see Jesus.” So could Philip, as in the verses following today’s gospel reading, Philip invites Nathanael to come and see Jesus. On the other hand, Simon is in fact given a sign by Jesus. He is given a new name: Cephas, or Peter. This new name means “a rock.” It says something about the person whom Simon Peter will become because of his association with Jesus. So Peter’s sign might say, “Jesus made me a rock.”

Now, you may have noticed that every single sign that I have mentioned points to Jesus. In fact, the whole gospel of John is a sign that points to Jesus. We read in John, chapter 20:

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. (Jn. 20:30-31)

In the gospel of John, all signs point to Jesus, who is the Son of God, the source of all life, the embodiment of God’s love, the light of the world, the way, the truth and the life. In the gospel, Jesus is in fact the only one who can hold up a sign pointing to himself, although even that sign would point to God. In fact, I could see Jesus holding a series of signs about love. “Love God with your entire being.” “Love your neighbour as yourself.” “Love one another as I have loved you.”

All of these signs are suggested in the gospels, but what about our signs? When other people look at our lives, what signs to they see? Does your sign say, “Look at me! Look at me!”? Or, how about “Work above all else”? Here are some other possibilities: Keep away. I’m in a perpetually bad mood. / I’ve got more problems than you do. / Money above all else. / Sports above all else. / If it feels good, do it! / Too busy to care about you. / Life sucks.

What message do people get when they see our lives – both what we say and what we do? Is there anything in our lives that says, “Come and see Jesus,” or “Jesus is the source of forgiveness, life and salvation”? I’m asking these questions assuming that many of us who are gathered here today believe in Jesus Christ. I’m also asking based on the Scriptures. In the Scriptures, whenever anybody comes to believe in Jesus, they simply can’t keep it to themselves. The news is simply too good not to be shared. “There is forgiveness. There is resurrection. There is new life and peace with God. There is a reason for living and a reason to love. There is an almighty and holy God who cares about you enough to save you from the power of sin.” If we truly believe in Jesus, how can we possibly live without anybody knowing about our faith?

With almost anything else, it seems that people are eager to tell others when they have found something good. People share information about good movies or restaurants or doctors or hair stylists or mechanics. So why wouldn’t you share with others a life-giving faith in Jesus Christ? On the other hand, why wouldn’t you invite people to come to church with you? Is there anything here that is worth inviting people to? If there isn’t, then we had better be asking ourselves some serious questions as a congregation.

When the gospel is being proclaimed in what we say and what we do -- when people can tell that we are disciples of Jesus because of the way that we love one another (Jn. 13:35) -- when people can see the presence of the Spirit and the power of God at work among us – then there is, indeed, something here worth inviting others to come and see. This is a good chance to ask ourselves, not only what signs we show to others as individuals, but what signs we show as a congregation.

There are, of course, the physical signs that people can see in and around the church. When you walk in, you can see a large cross at the front of the church. The cross is a sign that reminds us of the sacrifice that Jesus made in order to bring us back together with God. It also reminds us of love that is directed towards God and towards one another. We also have the bilum from Papua New Guinea which hangs on the cross as a reminder that Jesus carried all of our burdens with him to the cross, and that we can leave them there, too.

The altar in the church stands as a sign of God offering himself to us through the bread and wine of Holy Communion – a source of life and strength and forgiveness and healing. The baptismal font stands as a sign of new life in Christ, for we are promised that we will share not only in Christ’s death, but also in his resurrection. The font reminds us that God has put his mark upon us and has made us his own and has made a covenant with us. The paschal candle that stands beside the baptismal font is also a sign. It reminds us that the risen Jesus is present with us here and will fill us with his light if we are willing.

However, to have all of these signs means nothing if the people who are present do not give a similar witness. To have a cross as a sign of God’s love for us and the love that we share in response to Jesus Christ is meaningless if there are no signs of love among the members of the congregation. To have a baptismal font as a sign of new life doesn’t mean much if those who have been baptized don’t live as if they have been given new life. To have an altar as a sign of God giving himself to us doesn’t mean much if there are no signs of God’s presence and power at work here among us. To have a pulpit as a sign of God’s Word being proclaimed here doesn’t mean much if what is said from it has very little resemblance to God’s Word.

The signs that people see in this congregation are not just what the church looks like, but the ways in which the members worship together and work together and play together and pray together and treat one another and serve other people. So... is there anything here worth inviting others to come and see?

I mentioned earlier how, in the Scriptures, those who come to believe in Jesus Christ simply can’t keep the news to themselves. It’s interesting how, especially in North America, we have gotten the impression that Christian faith is really a private thing. “I’ll just believe in Jesus and keep it to myself and not bother anybody else with it and not bother with any church.” In the Scriptures, there is no such thing. Part of believing in Jesus is sharing it with others and gathering together with others to learn and to grow and to worship and to support one another.

We are not called to have our own little thing going with God, but to be part of the communion of saints, the body of Christ, the church, joining together in ministry to all the world. This is not just because we need interaction with other believers in order to grow in our faith, but also because the body of Christ needs each one of us fulfilling our roles and sharing our gifts in order for the body to function properly and be healthy.

So, what are the signs here today? What is it that we give witness to, both as individuals and as a congregation? May our signs include the invitation of the gospel: Come and see Jesus, the source of life and salvation. Amen.

Epiphany 2(A) John 1:29-42
January 20, 2008
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison Moore

© 2008 Lynne Hutchison Moore All Rights Reserved