January 18, 2026 Ordination/Install St. Andrew Church Rev. Anne McAnelly
As we journey through Epiphany – the season of God’s revelation of who Jesus is, of God made
manifest in the person of Jesus, we are exploring the wonder of this season through the five senses:
touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste. So far, we have looked at the sense of touch through the Baptism
of Jesus. Today we will illumine the sense of sight. John sees the Spirit descending upon Jesus. Sees the
Spirit remaining on Jesus revealing him as the Son of God. As I read, listen for all the times “sight,”
“seeing” and “revealing” are mentioned. READ John 1:29-42
Did you notice that eight times we heard “see, saw, or reveal” in our passage? Three more times we
were told “to look.” Sight plays a major role in how Jesus is made known to John and his first two
disciples. John saw the Spirit descending upon Jesus and testifies to the two disciples he has seen the
Son of God. Then when the disciples are following at a distance, Jesus asked them “What are you
looking for?”
“William Willimon, professor at Duke Divinity School, notes that in many churches there is a little brass
plaque attached to the preacher’s side of the pulpit. It is not something the people in the pew can see, but
something that no pastor can miss as he or she prepares to speak. It is a reminder of why people have
come to church that morning. It simply reads: “We would see Jesus.”
And it’s true, isn’t it? Isn’t that why people come to worship?
Take Oscar for example. He had been in the church most of his life. Like many, he attended more or less
regularly, gave as he could, and enjoyed the company of a few friends he had there. But when his wife
was diagnosed with MS, his presence in worship took on a different (purpose). He came wanting
answers for his questions, peace amid life’s uncertainty, healing for his wife’s brokenness. He came
wanting to see Jesus.
And we know how that is, don’t we? We too want to see Jesus. But you know what I’ve noticed? A lot
of the time we want to see Jesus, but we prefer to do it from a distance.
Take the two followers of John the Baptist in our lesson this morning. They are standing with their
teacher when Jesus walks by. John recognizes Jesus, points him out to them, and announces that Jesus is
the Lamb of God. Now one would think they would do exactly what they did—that they would drop
everything, leave John and follow Jesus. But they do so at a distance. They hang back. They seem to
want to watch from afar–to get close, but not too close. That’s the way a lot of us may look for Jesus”
(Sermons.com, Donald M. Tuttle). Yet if the plaque on the pulpit is true, they, like we, would love to
see Jesus. Would love to discover, explore, get to know Jesus, the Son of God.
When I was in High School my church youth group put on the play Godspell. I got to be Gomer. One
of my favorite songs in that show was Day by Day. It reminds us of the three things we get to do each
day in our walk, our faith with Jesus. The chorus goes, “See thee more clearly, love thee more dearly,
follow thee more nearly, day by day.” The first one is to see Jesus more clearly. John was helping his
followers to see Jesus as the Son of God, as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Jesus even invites Andrew to “Come and see” who Jesus is. Jesus says that to us as well. Come and see
me clearly by all the way I break down barriers, stand in solidarity, honor everyone as a precious person
and a valuable life. Jesus asks us to see those around us with the same compassion and care. But
sometimes seeing clearly is difficult.
This week I was called in for jury duty. Usually, I just call after 5:00 and then I’m told my service is
complete. This time I forgot to call on Wed night so called on Thursday morning only to be told that I
needed to report at 12:30. I now have been sworn in, and I go back on the 26th to see if I am selected to
serve on this long trial, scheduled to run through mid-April. I am making plans for coverage should that
happen. The court showed several educational videos, giving us an overview of the process. One video
was about implicit bias which is our unconscious bias or attitudes towards groups of people that affect
our understanding, actions and decisions, such as how we interpret testimony and make assumptions
about people. At the core of this is how we see someone, based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual
orientation and our stereotypes about those groups. They asked us to try to be aware of our implicit bias
and interrupt their effects. To ask ourselves if someone from our own group said or did the same
behavior how would we interpret that. But let’s remember this is all unconscious. We might honestly
not be prejudiced but we still might unconsciously favor our own group or negatively see someone who
differs from us. Implicit bias hinders our ability to see someone clearly and fairly. Jesus came to help
us turn that around. To teach us that every life has value, that the color of skin is not relevant, the
women are equal to men, that immigrants are not our enemies. (My heart breaks when I think of the
murder of Rene Good who was supporting her neighbors, supporting local immigrants. May we all see
Jesus and each other more clearly.
Secondly, according to the song, we are to love Jesus more dearly. Andrew showed deep love by seeing
Jesus for who he was and telling his brother Simon Peter that he had found the Messiah, the anointed
one. What a loving gift to share Jesus with his brother. That act of love led Jesus to call Simon and
changed his name to Peter. Our encounter with Jesus is to be that transformative, where our life and
identity are altered for having seen and loved the Lord. One way we love the Lord more dearly is to be
of service. Service helps us get outside of ourselves and our own needs and see the world through
different eyes. We just ordained and installed officers who have taken God’s call seriously and offered
their time and effort to be of service. Service to our church or our community are certainly ways we can
love the Lord more dearly and maybe even follow him more nearly.
Jesus asking the disciples to “Come and see” is a way of asking them to personally engage with him, not
from a distance, but close up. You see when “Jesus became aware that they were following, he turned
and looked at them. I can imagine there was a little smile on the face of the young teacher who was just
getting started in the life work he felt God had assigned to him. He asked, ‘What are you looking for?’
That probably surprised the disciples. Scrambling for something to say, they asked, ‘Rabbi, where are
you staying?’ That really wasn’t what they wanted to know. They wanted to know much more. There
were questions they didn’t yet know how to ask. But it was the first thing they could think of. I can
imagine that Jesus smiled and waved a hand as he said, ‘Come and see’” (Sermons.com). Jesus is
saying come and see to you and me. Come draw closer, follow more nearly, be my disciples in this
world now. Because when we see Jesus for who he really is, the Son of God, the Anointed One, who
takes away the sin of the world then we fall at Jesus’ feet so thankful to be near to him, called by him,
loved by him.
Yet “in Jesus’ earthly ministry, being near did not always equate to being known. In fact, it sometimes
meant being misunderstood, ridiculed, and rejected. But if we allow Jesus to make himself known to us
as he makes himself near to us, everything changes. We begin to see in him life, a life that is the light of
all humanity, that is not overcome by darkness, that gives light to everyone. Epiphany invites us to
respond to the nearness of Christ with a devotion to knowing him as he reveals himself to be”
(https://update.gci.org/2022/01/devotional-wonders-of-epiphany/).
That is our task this epiphany season. To see Jesus as he is and also, I would add, to see others in the
best light possible, not through our implicit biases, but the way God sees each person as a precious
creation and child. So how can you follow Jesus more closely? How can you love Jesus more deeply? How
can you see Jesus more clearly? Day by Day.
Let us pray: Holy God, thank you that you not only draw near to us in your incarnation, but you reveal
yourself to us in Christ’s ongoing ministry. Guide us that we may know you more each day, each hour,
each moment, and that we would be transformed by knowing you. Amen.
