The Gospels often refer to Jesus’ mission as, “He went round the whole of Galilee teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing all kinds of disease and illness among the people” (Mt 4:23; see also Mt 24:14; Lk 4:18; 7:22; 20:1)[1]. What is the good news? One way of referring to the “good news”, is to take it as the compendium of the teachings of Jesus. In this sense, the Gospels are the good news. At another level the news about the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus could be proclaimed as the good news. However, at a deeper level, Jesus himself is the Good News. Therefore, embracing the Good News just means experiencing Jesus himself.
The interesting thing about the Gospel narratives is that, as I came to discover, there is an underlying pattern in these encounters with Jesus. It is this pattern that can help us understand the stages of our own Christian life journey, and act as the map on our journey towards a deeper experience of God in Jesus.
Here, I analyse one typical encounter and use it as the template to describe the steps in the Christian life journey. The encounter that we want to begin with is that of the first disciples, Andrew and his companion, with Jesus, as narrated in the Gospel of John (1:35-42).
1. The Thirst: The two disciples, Andrew and his companion, were already disciples of John the Baptist (Jn 1:35). They somehow thought that there is more to life than just fishing in the Sea of Galilee. They left behind a flourishing fishing industry in Galilee to follow something more profound. They were perhaps responding to their inner thirst. There is an inner thirst in every one of us that makes us challenge ourselves to transcend the contingencies of daily life. Whether we are aware of it or not, we long for a relationship with the Greater Power beyond ourselves. In Christianity we call this Greater Power, ‘God’! The origin of this thirst, I believe, is the religious truth that human beings are created in the image of God (Gen 1:27). Being in the nature of God, we want to discover our true nature. We want to pour ourselves into the source of our own flow. This is the beginning of the Christian life journey.
2. Pointer: Look! The God who put the thirst within us also puts signposts on our way. John the Baptist becomes the signpost for the two disciples, that shows where they can find the fulfilment of their thirst – “Look, there is the lamb of God” (Jn 1:36). As we explore around in an attempt to find a solution to that inner thirst, there are signposts on the way – events and people that indicate where perhaps we can find the solution. But it is so easy not to see these pointers. Some signposts may be faint, others may be misleading, and real ones may be less attractive and often looking just ordinary. We might also need enlightened guides and spiritual exercises to help us put ourselves on the path. The Scriptures, the community of believers, our own personal histories, may act as effective pointers.
3. Search: What do you seek? The two disciples heard what John said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, ‘What do you want?’ (Jn 1:37-38) To me this is a very crucial question: “What do you seek?” – as the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible has it. Jesus said, “Seek and you will find” (Lk 11:9). The essential question is, what do I seek? Why do I wake up in the morning? What are my deepest desires? What can fully satisfy my inner thirst? I think, the inability to answer these questions adequately for oneself could be the source of spiritual dryness, burnout, stress and even mental illhealth.
The question of Jesus is also an invitation to self-discovery: who am I deep within? Self awareness is an important step in the journey towards the experience of God. Since I am created in the image of God, when I get in touch with my deepest self, I also get in touch with God.
The disciples were aware that it was the Messiah who was the deepest desire of their heart. On a deeper level, it was God in Jesus who could satisfy their thirst. And so they answer the question of Jesus with another apt question: “Rabbi, where do you stay” (Jn1:39)? As if to say, “It is you that we seek!”
4. Come and See! To seek God is the human response to fulfil the inner thirst. It is the choice of human free will. But what will follow is the Grace of God. Seeking is human; finding is divine. Our experience of God is just grace. However, I believe, that grace is constantly available to everyone. It is up to the human person to respond to grace.
To the question of the disciples, “Where do you stay?” the answer of Jesus is not a set of information: “I stay in a house around the corner, at the street near the synagogue in Nazareth, not far from the baker’s house!” But his answer is an invitation. It is an invitation to experience him. In the book of Chronicles, David exhorts Solomon, “If you seek him, he will let you find him” (1Ch 28:9b).
My Christian faith from my childhood through my youth was largely based on knowing – intellectually – about my Christian faith. A lot of information! I was proud of it. But I was also mistaken. Perhaps it was needed then. However, it was also possible that I would have just got stuck there. Christian life is not about memorizing a certain set of information but it is about experience. This personal experience could often be mediated by a community!
5. The Christ Experience: They went, saw, and stayed. This is the climax of the Christian life journey – to stay with him (Jn 1:39). John points out a small detail about the time, that it was four in the evening. This means that they stayed with him through the night. The evangelist Mark summarizes the meaning of discipleship: “He appointed twelve; they were to be his companions and to be sent out to proclaim the message” (Mk 3:14). To be Jesus’ companions is discipleship. To-be-with-him is the core of being the disciples of Jesus.
There is not much description about what actually happened when the disciples stayed with Jesus. The experience of God in the person of Jesus is simply ineffable. It defies all human language. In the Gospel narratives often the actual encounter itself is not described in detail. There is only a before and after. And the fruits of the experience of God in Jesus are clearly seen.
6. Conversion and Renunciation: In the passage under consideration the conversion of the two disciples is not precisely mentioned, but in the encounter that immediately follows between Jesus and Simon (Jn 1:40-42), it is expressed in the change of name. Simon is now called Peter. The one who has experienced Jesus now takes on a new identity.
Often the encounters with Jesus describe the conversion in terms of renunciation (see for instance: Jn 4:28; Mt 2:11; Lk 19:8).
7. Proclamation & Mission: Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. What follows the experience of Jesus is a conversion, and an expression of that conversion is sharing in the mission of Christ (Jn 1:41). Mission is often expressed in proclamation. Good news becomes positively contagious. The encounter with Jesus is so overwhelming that human words are not adequate enough to explain the experience itself, yet the one who has experienced Jesus invites others to come to the source of that water that can quench all thirst.
[1] All Bible quotes are from The New Jerusalem Bible, unless indicated otherwise.