Daily Gospel Reflection

Come and See

Hi, I'm Matthew Kelly, and welcome back to Radical and Relevant, where we're exploring today's gospel, the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, and looking for ways to allow them to sink their roots deep into our lives. Remember, as we read the gospel, we're looking for a word or a phrase or an idea, and then a virtue so that we can focus our day and allow the gospel to enrich the way we live our daily lives. Today's Gospel comes from John 1:35-42. The next day, again, John the Baptist was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by, and he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God." The two disciples heard John the Baptist say this, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and saw them following Him. And He said to them, "What do you see?" And they said to Him, "Rabbi," which means "Teacher, where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day.

And it was about the tenth hour. 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 found the Messiah," which means Christ. He brought him to Jesus. And Jesus looked at him and said, "Sir, you are Simon, the son of John, and you shall be called Cephas," which means Peter. The idea in today's gospel that strikes me is curiosity. And the virtue in today's gospel that strikes me is curiosity. These disciples of John, they go curiously following Jesus. I think in our culture, we overvalue understanding and we undervalue mystery. And when we overvalue understanding, we very often give up or surrender or quit on our curiosity. And curiosity can be a very, very holy thing.

Jesus said to them, "What do you seek?" And of course, it wasn't a what, it was a who. They said, "Where are you staying?" They didn't even know what to say to him at first, right? "Where are you staying?" And Jesus could have said, "Wow, I'm staying at that house three doors down on the left," and that would have given them understanding, but it also would have maybe dulled their curiosity. So Jesus doesn't tell them what he's saying. He says, "Come and see." He stokes the curiosity, stokes the curiosity. And the invitation today is to stoke the curiosity. I think sometimes we're so fixed on understanding stuff that we think understanding is the prize. Understanding isn't the prize. Understanding is the booby prize. The real prize is experiencing God, experiencing God's grace, experiencing the gospel. And very often that means immersing ourselves in mystery, in mysteries that cannot be understood or that can only be partially understood. So today, stoke your holy curiosity, stoke your childlike curiosity. And remember, don't just be yourself. Be the very best version of yourself, all that God created you to be.