We are sitting together on a small patch of grass next to a noisy marketplace. We've been walking for a while with our rabbi, John (whom many people call “The Baptizer”).

 

We are tired and thirsty, so we have stopped to enjoy some shade and water. We're asking John about what happened yesterday, down at the river. We haven’t stopped thinking about the man who asked to be baptized – how uncomfortable he seemed to make our rabbi and how terrified we were when the heavens opened. Neither of us slept all night because we couldn’t stop thinking about the day. Now our rabbi is saying such incredible things about this Jesus – how he will baptize with the Holy Spirit, and how he is the Son of God, the promised One for our people. As we listen to him, we feel like we are being swept into this powerful hope, something that is somehow choosing us.

 

Our whole lives have been nothing but fishing – all those hours on the water, waiting, hauling, cleaning, selling. But listening to our rabbi talk about this Jesus as the promised Messiah, it’s like something is beckoning us to go find him and go wherever he goes. We’ve never given any thought to anything but fishing, and yet we feel this strong urge to get up and go looking for this Jesus. The more John talks about Jesus, the stronger the desire grows to know more about this man, to hear what he has to say. We want to meet him, listen to him, find out who he is.

 

As John begins to respond to our hurried questions, he pauses and looks up, focusing on the road beyond us. Then his eyes widen and he smiles broadly, pointing.

“Look,” he says, “the Lamb of God.”

We follow his pointing finger and see the man from the river – Jesus! Jumping to our feet we hurry toward him as he walks calmly along the road, our hearts pounding. We pause as we get close to him, not sure what we're actually doing. What will we say? What will he say?  We whisper to each other as we approach him.

 

Suddenly, Jesus stops and looks at us.

“What do you want?” he asks.

What do we want?

“Uh,” we both stutter, “Where are you staying, Rabbi?”

He smiles. “Why don't you come and see?”

So we go and see where he is staying and spend that day with him

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***

Pause and imagine Jesus looking directly at you and asking, “What do you want?” Give this question time to sink slowly into your heart.

 

What do I want?

 

What responses fill your mind? Try not to edit them. If you do not know how to respond, invite the Spirit to help you reflect on this question: What do I want from Jesus?

 

Take a few minutes to reflect on what it would be like to spend the day with Jesus. Having just met Jesus, what would you ask him? What would you tell him about yourself?

Now imagine Jesus inviting you to “come and see” where he is staying. What might it look like for you to “come and see” Jesus at this point in your journey? What do you imagine about the “place” where he is staying?