By virtue of our baptism, our Lord Jesus gives us both an invitation and a commission, just as he did to the original twelve disciples. In John 1:39, Jesus invited two of John the Baptist’s disciples to “come and see.” It was an invitation to spend time with him and get to know him. And they did. They stayed with him the entire day. And that day turned into three years of living near Jesus and “seeing” who he was and what he was doing. “One of the two who…followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus” (John 1:40–42).
After the initial meeting and three years of living together and watching Jesus up close, catastrophe struck. Jesus was arrested, put on trial, and sentenced to death. Jesus is crucified, but on the third day after death, he rose from the dead. In all this the disciples were confused, frightened, and scattered. It became necessary to return to the “come and see” stage. They came to the tomb. They saw the tomb was empty. Jesus came to them in the upper room, and they saw his resurrected body and they touched his wounds. It was then that they were able to put their faith in the resurrected Lord.
Three years after the invitation to “come and see,” we find the commission: “go and tell.” It is recorded in Matthew 28:18–20. After that the disciples didn’t go back to the fishing boats or to the tax collector’s booth. They returned to the Upper Room, the place where Jesus had originally called them to ministry and where he appeared to them after the resurrection. On Pentecost, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and given the power for their commission to “go and tell.” The book of Acts relates their obedience to do so. From Jerusalem, into Judea and Samaria, they took the message of the gospel of Christ, even to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8).
Our bishop, Donald J. Hying, in the diocese’s initiative to “Go Make Disciples,” echoes Christ’s words as he calls us to “come and see.” How do we respond? Some of us recently participated in the parish mission with our bishop. There we received a clear explanation of God’s creation, our sin, Christ’s redemption, and how we respond to this great gift of salvation. Our response is not something that ends with receiving our Sacraments, but also our willingness to daily surrender and make Christ our King. As his followers, his friends, and his ambassadors, we “go and tell.” We take Jesus everywhere we go. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we share our faith with everyone who asks us for a reason for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15).
We respond to them “come and see!”