Word and Witness: A Meditation on John 1 for the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany

Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;

 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

 

Then Jesus turned, and saw them following,

and saith unto them, What seek ye?

They said unto him, Rabbi,

(which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?

 He saith unto them, Come and see.

They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day:

for it was about the tenth hour.

One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him,

was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him,

We have found the Messias,

which is, being interpreted, the Christ.

And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said,

Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas,

which is by interpretation, A stone.

 

The first chapter of John’s Gospel sets forth Jesus as the only begotten Son of the Father, fully God and fully man, the very Word of God made flesh.  Through the baptismal account of Jesus by John, John the Baptist declared Jesus as the anointed one, the Messiah whom he was sent to prepare the way for, and that Jesus alone would be the Lamb of God whose sacrifice takes away the sins of the whole world.  All that God had spoken through His Prophets, from Adam and Eve, through Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, Malachi, and all the rest, He made present in Jesus for the salvation of mankind.  The work God began at Creation and preserved through the Fall, would now be present among men as the Incarnation, the Vicarious Atonement, and the Resurrection unto eternal life.  This Word of the Father, the Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ alone, by His grace alone, received by His gift of faith alone, and lived in the power of His Word and Spirit alone, is the Word which St. John says dwelt among them full of grace and truth.  This is the Word that John would later record of Jesus, who alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, apart from which no one may approach the Father.  And this Word, witnessed, confessed, and preached by John the Baptist, converted the hearts of those who heard it, and made of them disciples of Jesus.

 

God could have chosen any number of ways to enlighten mankind about Himself, but His primary means of doing so has been His Word.  By His Word, He created the universe, our world, and all that abides within it, together with all the natural laws by which it functions; by His Word, He gave His Law to show the distinction between the path of virtue leading to eternal life and the path of evil which leads to everlasting death; by His Word He established His covenant with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and His people in every age; by His Word He became flesh of the Virgin Mary, suffered and died on Calvary, and rose again the third day; by His Word He ascended into heaven, gave His Holy Spirit to enliven, enlighten, and empower His disciples, instituted His Sacraments, and began the missionary age of His Church; and by His Word He will come again to judge the living and the dead, ushering in the full presence of His Kingdom which has no end.  God’s Word has always been His primary means of grace in how He comes to man, and the primary means by which man is reconciled to God.  While we might dream in our fevered little minds that God should have or could have used better means, the inescapable reality is that God has already chosen His means, and His creatures are not free to establish any others.

 

Once we understand the fundamental nature of God’s Word as our revelation, our enlightenment, our preservation, and our eternal salvation, the evangelistic mission of the Church comes into full focus.  The Church is not an association of similarly persuaded fellow travelers, whose agreement over side dishes, carpet, structural design, liturgy, vestments, ceremony, or cultural distinctives make them holy.  Neither is the Church a political association made to lobby governments, promote legislative agendas, fund campaigns, or provide imprimatur to various politicians.  The Church is not a philosophical debate society, nor a daycare program, nor a youth, men’s, or women’s activity group.  The Church does not exist for the purpose of collecting money from its members, of giving or receiving accolades, or buying and selling anything.  The Church is not a business, not a political action group, not a common interest club, nor an experiment in self-aggrandizing professions.  The Church is, has always been, and shall always be, that gathering of people who live by faith in the Word of God.  While there are plenty of groups out there which call themselves churches, the only real Church is the one founded by Jesus on His Word like the rock upon which St. Peter was built, which abides in His Word, and for whom His Word is their very life in this world and the next.  That peculiar association is marked by the Word of God preached, taught, received, and lived in its purity and simplicity, and the Sacraments exercised as they were established by the Word.

In the end, this simplifies much for the Church in our very confused age.  While the Church may use all created things for the glory of God according to God’s created design, it is always His Word which Christians are called to believe, teach, and confess according to their individual vocations in this world.  The Word of God, Jesus Himself, will make His disciples, and all His sheep will hear His voice speaking through His Word—those who will not hear His Word, are not His sheep.  The Christian then becomes a witness to the Word (which is the old meaning of the term “martyr,”) and how that Word shaped, informed, enlightened, and enlivened them.  The Christian doesn’t have to worry about whether they have the right website, the right technology, or the right parish programs to lure people in the door and butts into seats.  Rather, the Christian need only point the people around him to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and thereby share the Living Word of Jesus with the world.  We share the truth of the Law, and the truth of the Gospel; the reality of who we are, the forgiveness we need, and the love of God which has come to absolve and save us all.  We may show the efficacy and surety of that Word as it comes into contact with science, philosophy, politics, economics, engineering, or any other field of human endeavor, but it is still the Word of God which saves the Christian, and the primary gift given to the Christian whereby he may be used to save others.

Hear the Eternal Word which comes to you this day, as it comes to the whole world to bring the light and life we so desperately need.  Remember again the Word which sought you, which saved you, which renewed your mind and quickened your soul.  Know the One who sets you free from sin, death, hell, and the power of the devil, and the One who speaks to you of grace, mercy, love, and faith.  Alive in that Saving Word, be formed into witnesses of that Word by the power of His Holy Spirit, that your whole lives may shine forth in the places He has sent you.  His Word is our life, just as it is the life of the whole world, and it is the inestimable dignity given to us by our Savior to bear His Saving Word to all.  So let it be for His Church in this, our day.  Soli Deo Gloria!  Amen.