Come and See

 The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’
 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter). John 1:29-42


Come And See

Traveling to strange lands opens
a new way of understanding and seeing
ears uncomfortable with strange tongues
heart aching and longing for home.

The answer to our questions is come and see
pushing beyond anxiety and discomfort
giving in to another's gracious hospitality 
 being fed strange foods in strange settings.

God is found in the foreign and different
in the places we least expect to be found
in the distant and the familiar discomforts
mostly in the stranger and not the friend.

We get lost in our clinging to the known
falling over the familiar clutter
we build walls with the detritus of long gone
and miss the new arrival of incarnate love.

When faith is diminished fading like the sun
as evening sets on our possibilities
run to the edges, the margins, the depots
come and see what God has done today.