Remaining in Jesus

Homily: Second Sunday in Ordinary Tim

John 1:35-42 

14 January 2024 

Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez

Sometimes, when we meet new people we ask veiled questions to get to know them better. When we ask: ”Where are you coming from?” (“Ano ang pinanggalingan mo?”), we are not simply asking what their hometown is but rather we want to know more of their origin. It is like asking: “Who are your parents and what do they do for a living?” and “What is your educational background and work history?” — all in one question. 

Our gospel today has two veiled questions. Jesus first asks the two men following Him:  “What are you looking for?” He doesn’t say: “Who are you looking for?” or “What do you need?” These are the normal questions we ask of strangers who approach us.  Jesus addresses them differently and this tells us that even before they introduced themselves, He already knew their minds. They had a sense of who He was and yet they were unsure of what they could get out of an encounter with Him. More importantly, Jesus knew their hearts. He saw in them a hunger and an eagerness for the truth and a desire for a sign that would give them hope. 

The two men do not respond directly to Jesus’ question but ask another question. “Rabbi, where are you staying?”  If a stranger asked you that, would you reply truthfully? We would think it to be an offensive or a dubious question. However, they are not really asking Jesus for His address. In the context of the gospel, to ask where one “stays” may be translated as “abide” or “remain”. This is a key word in John’s Gospel. According to a few commentaries I read, it refers to a

person’s source of being and ultimate purpose. In John’s gospel account, Jesus would often say that He remains in the Father, so does Jesus remain in all those who have come to believe in Him; and they, in turn should remain in Him. (John 15:4-9) It is the same as the Tagalog question mentioned earlier: “Ano ba ang pinanggalingan mo?” (Where are you coming from?”) “Saan ka ba nanggagaling?” “Ano ba ang pinanghuhugotan mo?” 

Jesus is not offended by their blunt query but He simply says: “Come and you will see”. (John 1:39) He invites the two disciples of John to follow Him and to observe what He says and does and to arrive at the conclusion for themselves. The gospel passage tells us that the two men went with Jesus and they stayed with Him. They went and they saw. Are we all curious as to what they saw? Well, we are not told anything except the outcome of their encounter. This experience of being with Jesus made such an impact on them that they committed to becoming His disciples. We can imagine how they must have been so overwhelmed emotionally that they could not help but share their experience with others and invite others to also see for themselves. Remember that one of the men was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter who immediately went to his brother and told him: “We have found the Messiah!” (John 1:41)

Like the first two disciples, we are also called upon to stay (to abide, to remain) with Jesus. That is quite straightforward but we know it is not as simple as it may seem. It can be quite challenging considering we are often distracted and discouraged by so many things in life. There are the attractions, temptations, self-absorptions, self-pity, anxieties, comparisons, and fears that we readily allow to dominate our lives. We allow all these negativities to remain with us. We create a space in our hearts for them such that there is no room for Jesus any longer.  Remaining in Jesus means freeing ourselves from whatever is making us unhappy and leaving us empty.  As St. Augustine says, “Our hearts often make a home on many worldly things that give us false joys and pleasures.  Since we are made to make our home in God, we would always find our hearts restless until they rest in God.” This confirms Jesus’ promise that if we abide in Him, we will abide in His joy and we will become fruitful. 

Today, let us remember that Jesus knows our hearts and our minds even when we do not tell Him or when we try to hide our truth from Him. In spite of that, He consistently asks us to remain in Him and come to our own realization of the truth.  Let us ask for the courage and the perseverance to remain in Jesus at all times. Let us choose to make our home in God. Let us remain in Jesus so that the fullness of joy will be ours for the rest of our lives.

Painting by Kume Bryant