John was standing with two of his disciples,
\nand as he watched Jesus walk by, he said,
\n\u201cBehold, the Lamb of God.\u201d
\nThe two disciples<\/em><\/strong> heard what he said and followed<\/em><\/strong> Jesus.
\nJesus turned and saw them following him and said to them,
\n\u201cWhat are you looking for?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nWe have opened the New Year as disciples<\/em><\/strong> who are also following<\/em><\/strong> Jesus.\u00a0 The first thing he says to us for the year is, \u201cWhat are you looking for?\u201d<\/p>\nThen the two disciples in the Gospel asked him where he was staying. He responded as a commander<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\u201cCome, and you will see.\u201d
\nSo they went and saw where he was staying,
\nand they stayed with him that day.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Jesus did not say, \u201cI want to stay with you,\u201d nor, \u201cI\u2019m staying with so-and-so.\u201d Rather, he commanded<\/em><\/strong> his would-be disciples to follow him, to stay with him. They stayed with him that day, but later the Gospel shows they stayed with him until the eve of his death.<\/p>\nWe disciples can take Jesus\u2019 command as a plan for us as well, a plan for the year, a lifelong plan, a plan of going with him, being with him, staying with him.<\/p>\n
Of the two who were disciples of John but are now following Jesus, one was the brother of Simon.<\/p>\n
Andrew<\/em><\/strong>, the brother of Simon<\/em><\/strong> Peter,
\nwas one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.
\nHe first found his own brother Simon<\/em><\/strong> and told him,
\n\u201cWe have found the Messiah<\/em><\/strong>,\u201d which is translated Christ<\/em><\/strong>.
\nThen he brought him to Jesus.
\nJesus looked at him and said,
\n\u201cYou are Simon the son of John<\/em><\/strong>;
\nyou will be called Cephas<\/em><\/strong>,\u201d which is translated Peter<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nSimon the son of John comes before us for the first time in the Gospel, for the first time this year and for his first encounter with Jesus. Straightaway, Jesus changes the man\u2019s full Hebrew name, \u201cSimon the son of John,\u201d to one new name, \u201cPeter.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the Scriptures, only God, a king, or a person\u2019s father bestows or changes the names of others.<\/p>\n
In this Gospel reading, in this our first encounter with Jesus and his own words, he is already fulfilling the roles of commander, God, king and father.<\/p>\n
Two other titles of his appear in this Gospel reading: Messiah<\/em><\/strong> or Christ<\/em><\/strong> (both meaning \u201canointed one\u201d) and Lamb of God<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\nGod, Commander, the Anointed One, King, Father and Lamb of God<\/em><\/strong>.<\/strong> All but the last of those titles name privileged and powerful roles. The last one, Lamb of God<\/em><\/strong>, foretells undergoing slaughter.<\/p>\nIn the Gospel reading we are presently chewing on, John the Baptist said of Jesus, \u201cBehold the Lamb of God\u201d [Jn. 1:36]<\/em>. The day before the setting of this Gospel reading, John had seen Jesus approaching him at the Jordan River, and said \u201cBehold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world\u201d [Jn. 1:29]<\/em>.<\/p>\nJesus the Lamb of God will take onto himself the sin of the world, undergo slaughter to atone for the sin of the world and redeem the world from its sin.<\/p>\n
He is God, Commander, the Anointed One, King and Father<\/strong><\/em> to his disciples. Yet he is also the sacrificial victim animal willingly enslaved<\/strong> <\/em>to redeem all the world.<\/p>\nIn this our first encounter with the grown man Jesus this year in this Gospel, we already have both ends of the full span of his roles in our lives: God<\/strong> <\/em>and slave<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n
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