Who do you think of when you picture of a follower of Jesus? Maybe you think of someone who:
- Did really impressive things - some followers of Jesus could cure the sick, and many of them seemed to have the courage to leave everything behind at a moment's notice and go where Jesus called them;
- Told others about Jesus in ways that changed the course of the Christian community - perhaps Mary Magdalene coming back from the tomb, or Peter on the day of Pentecost converting thousands...;
- Simply conveyed an attitude of trust and hope in Jesus so much so that it made others stop and consider whether there might be more to this Jesus guy...;
I ask this because this week and next, we're reading Gospel accounts of Jesus calling some of his first followers. And Jesus' followers were often very different. They had different gifts and abilities; they had different political leanings; and they often clearly had different ideas about what the whole Jesus movement was supposed to be about.
But in today's Gospel reading, the first two followers of Jesus began following Jesus by doing something really important, but almost unnoticed: they accepted Jesus' invitation to come and see where he was staying, "and they remained with him that day."
They hung out with Jesus. John's Gospel doesn't report anything that went on while they were hanging out. There's no mention of Jesus teaching them deep truths about God. There's no mention of Jesus performing any miracle to show them his power. And there's no mention of Jesus being transformed before their eyes to show his glory.
Apparently, they just spent time hanging out with Jesus. And in so doing, they got to know Jesus. They began a relationship with Jesus. And as that relationship with Jesus developed, they began to experience a deeper and living relationship with God.
And that deep and living relationship with God was the center of everything else that followed.
And although we often think of the things that followers of Jesus said and did, they couldn't have been effective at any of those things unless those things sprung from that deep and living relationship with God that they had by simply hanging out with Jesus.
In fact, "hanging out with Jesus" appears to be a big part of following Jesus. The disciples hung out with Jesus while they journeyed from place to place; they hung out with Jesus while they shared meals; and they hung out with Jesus while sat together in someone's house.
Hanging out with Jesus was essential to being a follower of Jesus. It was central to them learning how to speak and act and live in a new way. And although I think we often overlook this aspect of following Jesus today, it is - or at least it should be -a big part of following Jesus for us as well.
For in fact, being a follower of Jesus has to be grounded and nurtured in having a deep and living relationship with God as real part of our everyday lives. And although we can't physically follow Jesus around like the first followers of Jesus, we hang out with Jesus through:
- Worship - worship is finally supposed to be an opportunity to connect with God and nurture our sense of God's presence around us, in us and among us; it's not something we do to make God happy, and it's not primarily an opportunity to listen to the preacher tell us stuff we already know or want to hear; it's supposed to be an opportunity to make time to experience God's presence ... (which is one of the reasons for "Sabbath"...)
- Our everyday journeys - those first followers of Jesus watched Jesus and listened to what Jesus was saying as they traveled from place to place. It may not always have seemed like what Jesus did or said was all that profound, but it had an impact. Are we open to what Jesus is doing and saying in our lives by paying attention to the stuff that's going on around us? Or the words that are being said through others? Or the feelings that we have as we interact with an often chaotic and confusing world? Finding ways to listen and reflect is part of hanging out with Jesus, and experiencing a living reality of God in our everyday lives... (this is often how the ancient prophets heard God as well...)
- The meal we share together - it's significant that when Jesus told his disciples what to do to remember him, he gave them a meal, not just a collection of sayings. And as we move from the Christmas season into the rest of the church year, it's important to remember that what we believe happened at Christmas is what we believe happens every time we come to communion - Jesus becomes part of our real, everyday lives... (that is, Jesus is hanging out with us, giving us his strength and presence to live life in the real world, not to retreat into some kind of fantasy, "spiritual" world...)
As followers of Jesus, we often focus on how our words and actions and attitudes reflect Jesus in our lives. And indeed, who we are and what we do - including our moral, political and social actions - should reflect who Jesus is in our lives.
But for that to happen, like those first followers of Jesus, we need to constantly nurture a sense of the living, active presence of God in our lives. That is, we need to first focus on hanging out with Jesus. Otherwise, instead of Jesus being the center, Jesus will just end up being the "confirmation bias" for what we already think and want.
So as important as it often is to think about what we're going to do and say in Jesus' name, it's of first and foremost importance to spend time just hanging out with Jesus. Hang out with Jesus in worship, in prayer and reflection and at his table. Be open to being nurtured in the living experience of God in your life. And be refreshed in the promise that Jesus is always willing to hang out with you.
Amen.
