The Lamb of God came to visit us

January 18, 2025 John 1:29-42 The Lamb of God came to visit us 2nd Sunday after Epiphany Human Relations Day Year A Prelude Greeting Call to Worship God calls us here together — each of us, all of us, our whole selves. We bring our questions, our longings, our hopes, our dreams and our fears. Jesus invites us to come and see where God is at work. Across the street and across the globe, Jesus is present. Within these walls and within our hearts, God is here. Let us worship the God who reaches out in love and invites us to come and see! (Presbyterian Outlook, Stephanie Sorge Opening Prayer Holy God, thank you for your gift of Jesus. Thank you for this opportunity to gather, lifting up the joy we know as followers of the Christ. We remember and give thanks for each one who decides once again to let our lives shine with hope, peace, joy and love as disciples (and Disciples) of Jesus. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Song I was there to here your Borning Cry TFWS 2051 A Sermon for all Ages Children’s Sermon: “We All Belong” Object: A puzzle piece or a picture of people holding hands (If you don’t have an object, you can use your hands) Pastor: Good morning! I’m so glad you’re here today. I have a question for you. Have you ever put together a puzzle before? (Wait for responses) What happens if one puzzle piece is missing? That’s right—the picture isn’t complete. (Hold up the puzzle piece or gesture with hands) Today is a special day in the church called Human Relations Sunday. That’s a big name, but it’s really about something very simple: how we treat one another. God made every person different—different colors of skin, different families, different talents, different stories. But even though we are different, God says every single person belongs. The Bible tells us that when God made people, God said, “This is very good.” That means you are good, just the way God made you—and so is the person sitting next to you. Human Relations Sunday reminds us that: • Everyone deserves to be treated kindly • Everyone should be treated fairly • Everyone belongs in God’s family Let’s try something together. Turn to someone near you and say: “You belong.” (Pause) When we are kind, when we share, when we stand up for someone who is being left out—we are showing God’s love. We are helping God’s big picture become complete. Jesus taught us to love our neighbors—not just the ones who look like us or think like us—but everyone. So this week, here’s your challenge: • Look for someone who might feel left out • Be a friend • Be kind • Help someone who needs help Because when we love one another, we show the world what God is like. Let’s pray. Prayer: Dear God, Thank you for making each of us special. Help us to be kind, fair, and loving to everyone. Help us remember that we all belong in your family. Amen. (ChatGPT 5.2) Prayer for Human Relations Day Gracious God, every day we’re confronted images of people who are not treated fairly. Open our eyes to see stereotypes that oppress some of us while providing entitlement to others. Open our ears to recognize both unfairness and indifference; Open our mouths to speak up when remaining silent is harmful; to speak out even if others won’t. Open our arms to embrace one another, to carry each other’s burdens, and to build bridges of understanding. Open our hearts so that we may fully receive your grace; point us toward your light so that we may more clearly understand your desires and vision for all humankind. We pray that in this new year we may remove the barriers that block us from seeing you clearly in one another; that divide rather that unite, and that keep us as strangers rather than neighbors. Give us the courage to stand up against those injustices and stand with those who are oppressed. Come Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen. (Upper New York Conference of the United Methodist Church) Passing of the Peace Scripture John 1:29-42 Sermon The Lamb of God came to Visit us “Come and See: An Epiphany Way of Living” John 1:29–42 Epiphany is a season that often feels quiet compared to Christmas or Easter. There are no angels singing in the sky. No shepherds rushing to a manger. No empty tomb yet. And yet, Epiphany may be one of the most important seasons of all—because Epiphany is about recognition and realization. Epiphany Moments Working in a small town in Latin America, a woman felt despair. She was experiencing marital problems, as well as conflicts with people she worked with. Without warning, an earthquake struck one day. In those moments of panic and fear she ran with other people to the relative safety of a garden plaza as buildings shattered and dust billowed. "For those moments I saw everything so clearly," she recalls, "how I could become so much kinder to my husband, how other relationships could work out. In an instant--and with such gratitude--I saw how it would be so easy for me to turn things around." In that dramatic moment this woman had glimpsed how the brokenness in her life could be mended. At that moment she saw clearly how she could bring about healing in her life. At that moment it was as if God had spoken to her in a most dramatic way. God had told John in a personal epiphany, "He on whom you see the spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit." When John saw the Spirit descend upon Jesus in the form of a dove, he knew without a doubt that Jesus was the Messiah. John believed that day because of a personal act of revelation. Sometimes that happens to people. The truth of God comes into their lives in such a dramatic fashion that they can scarcely deny that they have been in His presence. That's one way of finding Jesus. Arthur G. Ferry, Jr., Finding Jesus It is about seeing who Jesus really is… and then deciding what to do once we see. In our gospel lesson from John, there is no birth story. No manger. No magi. Instead, we are taken to the banks of the Jordan River, where John the Baptist stands, watching and waiting—and then suddenly pointing. “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Why This Story Matters This moment is crucial because it is one of the first public declarations of who Jesus is. John doesn’t say, “Here is a good teacher.” He doesn’t say, “Here is a moral example.” He says, “Here is the Lamb of God.” This is sacrificial language. This is salvation language. This is God-at-work language. John tells us that when Jesus was baptized, the Spirit descended like a dove, and God spoke. The dove matters. The voice matters. Throughout Scripture, the dove is a sign of new creation—from Noah’s ark to the prophets. In the story of Noah’s ark the dove was sent to find solid ground. He came back with a tree sprig in his beak – a message there their hope has been fulfilled. That became a message of peace, proof that God was watching and guiding. In the gospels, the dove appears to give us a message about Jesus – that once again, God heard our cries and sent a savior. In our story today.. And God’s voice confirms what human eyes might miss: This is not just another preacher by the river. This is the one God has sent. Epiphany is about moments like this—when heaven and earth briefly line up, and suddenly the truth becomes visible. Pointing, Not Centering What is especially striking is John’s role in all of this. John has followers. John has influence. John has credibility. And yet, when Jesus appears, John does not hold onto the spotlight. He does not say, “Stay with me.” He says, “Look at him.” The question for Epiphany is not, “What would Jesus do?” That question matters—but John’s story invites a different one: What would John do? John would point. John would step aside. John would make room for God to be seen. Epiphany reminds us that the church does not exist to draw attention to itself. We exist to point beyond ourselves—to Christ. “What Are You Looking For?” When two of John’s disciples begin to follow Jesus, Jesus turns and asks a deeply human question: “What are you looking for?” Not: What do you believe? Not: What doctrine do you hold? But: What are you looking for? That question echoes across time and lands right here, today. What are you looking for when you come to church? Are you looking for comfort? Hope? Forgiveness? Purpose? Community? Healing? Jesus doesn’t argue with their answer. He doesn’t lecture. He simply says: “Come and see.” Faith, in John’s Gospel, is not about having everything figured out. It is about being willing to walk, to follow, to discover. Come and See… and Then Go and Be The disciples stay with Jesus—and then they don’t keep it to themselves. Andrew goes and finds his brother Simon and says, “We have found the Messiah.” That is how Epiphany spreads. One person points. Another comes and sees. Then they go and tell. And this is where Epiphany moves from story to calling. How Do We Embody Christ for Others? If Epiphany is about revelation, then the church is meant to be a living epiphany—a place where people can catch a glimpse of Christ through us. Party Tonight! I was once staying in a motel in a large city and was surprised to find, posted to the elevator door, a small, handwritten notice which read, "Party tonight! Room 210. Eight o'clock p.m. Everyone invited!" I could hardly picture who would throw such a party, or for what reason, but I imagined that at 8:00, room 210 would be filled by an unlikely assortment of people - sales representatives seeking a little relief from the tedium of the road; a vacationing couple tired of sightseeing; a man stopping overnight in the middle of a long journey, looking for a bit of festivity; a few inquisitive and wary motel employees, there because of professional responsibility; perhaps some young people who had slipped out of their parents' rooms, anxiously curious about what was happening in room 210. Alas, the sign by the elevator soon came down, replaced by a typewritten statement from the motel staff explaining that the original notice was a hoax, a practical joke. That made sense, of course, but in a way it was too bad. For a brief moment, those of us staying at the motel were tantalized by the possibility that there just might be a party going on somewhere to which we were all invited - a party where it didn't make much difference who we were when we walked in the door, or what motivated us to come; a party we could come to out of boredom, loneliness, curiosity, responsibility, eagerness to be in fellowship, or simply out of a desire to come and see what was happening; a party where it didn't matter nearly as much what got us in the door, as what would happen to us after we arrived. Perhaps if there is to be such a party, the church is going to have to throw it. Thomas Long, Shepherds and Bathrobes, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. The party is not about being perfect. Not because we are perfect. But because we point faithfully. We embody Christ when: • we speak truth with humility • we love without condition • we work for justice without losing compassion • we make room for God instead of ourselves An Epiphany Illustration: Martin Luther King Jr. Think about Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King never claimed to be the savior. He never pointed to himself as the answer. Over and over again, he pointed beyond himself—to God’s vision of justice, to the dignity of every human being, to what he called “the beloved community.” Near the end of his life, Dr. King said: “I’ve been to the mountaintop… I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.” That is the voice of someone who understood John the Baptist’s role. King was not trying to be the light— He was bearing witness to the light. He pointed to something greater than himself, even when it cost him everything. The Call of Epiphany Epiphany asks us: • Who are we pointing to? • What are people seeing when they watch us? • Are our lives saying, “Look at me,” or “Come and see Jesus”? And perhaps the most important question of all: What are you looking for? Because whatever you are looking for, Christ still stands ready to say, “Come and see.” And once we have seen, we are sent—not to be the light, but to reflect it. Not to be the savior, but to point to the Savior. Not to center ourselves, but to embody the love of Christ for a world still longing for an Epiphany. Let us pray….. Amen. Song The Summons (Will you Come and Follow me) TFWS 2130 Prayer There is none like you, God of infinite patience. You promise to listen to us, always. You speak more words of hope and grace and offer more acts of mercy and hope then we can count on the fingers and toes of every person who ever lived. There is none like you, Shaper of servants. Gathering up all the words we should never have spoken, you rearrange them into stories of peace and reconciliation. Sweeping up the messes we leave littered behind us, you recycle them into gifts which soften the hardest hearts. There is none like you, Ever-listening Spirit. You gather up all our cousins scattered throughout the earth, bringing us to the Table of life. You point the way to Jesus when we have lost sight of him on the fog-filled days of our souls. There is none like you, God in Community, Holy in One, and our hearts will sing new songs even as we pray, saying…. ( Lectionary Liturgy, Thom Shuman) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment What is your gift? Baking tasty treats? Creating beautiful things? Figuring tough math problems? Making people feel loved and appreciated? Welcoming strangers? Today – on Human Relations Day – we thank God for our varieties of gifts. We can’t all be bakers, artists or math geniuses. But each of us can move out of our comfort zone and reach out to the forgotten, the unloved, the vulnerable. Through Community Developers, United Methodist Voluntary Services and Youth Offender Rehabilitation ministries, supported by the Human Relations Day offering, we share our financial gifts. Now, perhaps more than ever, God calls us to extend healing and hope that can guide us to becoming new creations in Christ. Through our gifts and support, we partner with God and God’s people to strengthen Christ’s loving presence in a hurting world. Human Relations Day offers a perfect opportunity to celebrate our special gifts and to find new ways to serve God. Offertory Prayer Loving God, thank you for making each of us unique. Help us to recognize how our talents, blended with the gifts of others, can enrich your world. Generous God, we are reminded through scripture of the spiritual gifts that you give. We know that these are not for us to hold onto but are gifts for us to share – gifts from you meant for giving. As we offer our tithes and offerings, prompt us to commit more than dollars, but to see the gifts you have written on our hearts and to share generously of these as well! We pray these words in the name of Jesus, in whose way we follow, for whose love we are eternally grateful. Amen. (United Methodist Board of Discipleship) Announcements Community Time – Joys and Concerns Benediction Go and see! God is at work all around us. Go and see! Jesus invites us to follow. Go and see! The Holy Spirit sends us out, empowered, renewed, inspired and equipped to do our part. Let us go and see, in power and in peace, to share God’s love with all. The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of our parent God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit are with us, today and always. Amen (Presbyterian Outlook, Stephanie Sorge) Additional Illustrations One of the great celebrative anthems that comes to us from the African-American culture is the powerful spiritual “Ain’t Got Time To Die.” It was written by Hall Johnson and it has these joyfully dramatic words: “Been so busy praising my Jesus, Been so busy working for the Kingdom, Been so busy serving my Master Ain’t got time to die. If I don’t praise him, If I don’t serve him, The rocks gonna cry out Glory and honor, glory and honor Ain’t got time to die.” In this inspiring and wonderful spiritual song, the composer is underscoring and celebrating the joy and excitement of being a Christian, the joy and excitement of serving our Lord in gratitude for what he has done for us. The point that this spiritual is trying to drive home to us with great enthusiasm is that when we really become Christians, when we really commit our lives to Christ; then, we can’t sit still. We become so excited, so thrilled, so grateful for our new life in Christ that we can’t help but love Him, praise Him, serve Him, and share Him with others. This is precisely what happened to Andrew. He found the Messiah, he encountered Jesus – and he was so excited he couldn’t sit still. Immediately, gratefully, excitedly, he ran to share the good news with his brother Simon. It reads like this in the first chapter of John’s Gospel… Landed on Top of a Lamb A tourist visited a church in Germany and was surprised to see the carved figure of a lamb near the top of the church’s tower. He asked why it was there and was told that when the church was being built, a workman fell from a high scaffold. His co-workers rushed down, expecting to find him dead. But to their surprise and joy, he was alive and only slightly injured. How did he survive? A flock of sheep was passing beneath the tower at the time, and he landed on top of a lamb. The lamb broke his fall and was crushed to death, but the man was saved. To commemorate that miraculous escape, someone carved a lamb on the tower at the exact height from which the workman fell. Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com, Original Source Unknown. ___________________ Word of Mouth Evangelism Everyone knows that the best form of advertising ever invented and the one that is still most successful is word-of-mouth — people telling other people. About sixty years ago there used to be an automobile named the Packard. Packard was the last car manufacturer to get into advertising. It didn’t happen until old man Packard died, because whenever he was approached to buy some advertising for his cars he always said, "Don’t need any; just ask the man who owns one." After his death, "Ask the man who owns one" became the Packard slogan. Our Lord Jesus Christ is also known through word-of-mouth advertising. That’s how the word about him gets out. Only the Shepherds at the first Christmas heard the good news from angels. Only the Wise Men were led by a Star. Just a comparative few were touched by miracles. Almost everybody came to know Jesus Christ. Daniel G. Mueller, Just Follow the Signs, CSS Publishing Company Our Misguided Goals There's an emptiness in pursuing anything less than God's call. Darrell Bock is one of those baby boomers who has entered mid-life. A teacher at Dallas Theological Seminary, he writes in Christianity Today how as a young, idealistic man, headed for seminary, he thought being a successful Christian meant "being a winner for God, taking control, and doing all I could for his kingdom...The essence of our spirituality was to do all we could for God in the 40 or so years we had." Now, at mid-life, he has discovered that such spirituality is empty. Much of it was influenced by American culture with its bent toward independence and self-fulfillment. Darrell writes: "Many pews on Sunday morning are filled with people seeking God, praying like mad, studying the Word, but who still wonder why God seems so distant. Maybe it is because our culture has taught us to pursue goals that do not bring us closer to him. Perhaps those goals undermine the relationships we are to have with him and with others. What are some of our misguided goals? "Where our culture says, 'Seek your place in the world!' our God says, 'Seek the kingdom of God.' Where our culture bids us to 'find yourself!' God calls us to 'lose yourself, and so find life.' Where our culture calls us to 'be your own self-made person!' our God calls us to become 'members together of one body...' Where our culture teaches us to 'look to your own needs and interests!' God calls us to have 'the attitude of Christ Jesus, who took on the nature of a servant.' Where our culture promises, 'You can have it all!' God calls us to 'consider it rubbish, that we might gain Christ.' Where our culture mandates, 'Be at the top of your game!' God calls us to 'be crucified with Christ.' When we perceive our existence as a call from God--rather than as a search for self--we free ourselves from the maelstrom of self-oriented ambition and find our ultimate purpose in life." That's where clarity is found--not in knowing what we are looking for, but in answering Christ's call and abiding in him. William J. Kemp Dance the Offering Forward A missionary in Africa was preaching his first sermon in a mission church. When time came for the offering, the people danced their offerings forward. They danced and sang praise to God as they brought their offerings to the altar. It was a beautiful moment. What do you think? Should we get our ushers to do that? After the service, he asked one of the people, “Why do you dance and sing when you bring your offering forward on Sunday morning?” Back came the answer: “How could we not dance? We are so grateful to God for what He has done for us in sending Jesus Christ to save us, that we have to dance and sing our thanksgiving and besides it says in the Bible, God loves a cheerful giver.” Let me ask you something. Do you feel gratitude to God that strongly? Do you have a strong case of the “can’t help its” when it come to gratitude? When you are Christians, gratitude is the spirit of your lifestyle. When you are a Christian, you can’t help but be grateful! James W. Moore, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com A Drum Major For Peace Since our country celebrates the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr day tomorrow, I thought I might share this passage from a sermon of his. Perhaps his words can be an expression of hope for us as well. May we be found to be so faithful in telling the truth that others will know our commitment to Jesus, and they will desire to experience faith for themselves. King preached: "Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice; say that I was a drum major for peace; I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind." "And that's all I want to say…if I can help somebody as I pass along, if I can cheer somebody with a word or song, if I can show somebody he's traveling wrong, then my living will not be in vain. If I can do my duty as a Christian ought, if I can bring salvation to a world once wrought, if I can spread the message as the master taught, then my living would not be in vain." May we all be so fortunate as to live those words. Carla Thompson Powell, Truth to Tell ________________________________ We Would See Jesus William Willimon notes that in many churches there is a little brass plaque attached to the preacher’s side of the pulpit. It is not something the people in the pew can see, but something that no pastor can miss as he or she prepares to speak. It is a reminder of why people have come to church that morning. It simply reads: "We would see Jesus." And it’s true, isn’t it? Isn’t that why people come to worship? Take Oscar for example. He had been in the church most of his life. Like many, he attended more or less regularly, gave as he could, and enjoyed the company of a few friends he had there. But when his wife was diagnosed with MS, his presence in worship took on a different thrust. He came wanting answers for his questions, peace amid life’s uncertainty, healing for his wife’s brokenness. He came wanting to see Jesus. And we know how that is, don’t we? We too want to see Jesus. But you know what I’ve noticed? A lot of the time we want to see Jesus, but we prefer to do it from a distance. Take the two followers of John the Baptist in our lesson this morning. They are standing with their teacher when Jesus walks by. John recognizes Jesus, points him out to them, and announces that Jesus is the Lamb of God. Now one would think they would do exactly what they did—that they would drop everything, leave John and follow Jesus. But they do so at a distance. They hang back. They seem to want to watch from afar--to get close, but not too close. That’s the way a lot of us may look for Jesus Donald M. Tuttle The Many Ways to Come and See William Muehl is on the faculty of Yale Divinity School, and he has spent many years teaching people who are about to become ministers and those who are already ministers. "The roads to Christian faith are as varied as the people who profess it," says Professor Muehl. "There in the congregation is the man who would rather be sitting in the car in the church parking lot reading the sports page of the Sunday paper were it not for the fact that his wife has insisted that he put on a suit and tie and accompany her into the sanctuary. There also is the teenager in the balcony with one ear on the pastoral prayer and the other focused on the whispers of her boyfriend. There is the couple who have come because they were invited by the family across the street and they had no handy excuse not to say yes. There is the young woman who is there because of the music and who reads the hymnbook during the sermon." The point of all this is that the calling to follow Christ is a pathway which is marked "come and see." It is a pathway which is far more important because of where it leads than because of where it begins. It may begin, as it did for Muehl, as a pain in the body, or, as it has for others, as a longing in the heart, a struggle in the soul, or a wondering in the mind. It is a path which some people enter alone, which others enter by tagging along with friends or family, and down which yet others are dragged, at first reluctantly, by parents or teachers. No matter how we begin, we see as we travel that the pathway has been cleared for us by the Christ who goes before us, making of our many beginnings a common journey. "Come and see," we are told, though the voice which calls us sometimes seems faint, filtered through the voices of the ordinary folk around us. And, for whatever reason, we do go, and, then, we do see. What we see is that, no matter who we were when we started, we end up with a new name, a new identity, given by Christ. What we see is that, no matter how we began our travel, we end the journey resting in the Christ who is all in all. Thomas Long, Shepherds and Bathrobes, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. A Change in Posture In a cathedral in Copenhagen, Denmark there is a magnificent statue of Jesus by the noted sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. When Thorvaldsen first completed the sculpture he gazed upon the finished product with great satisfaction. It was a sculpture of Christ with face looking upward and arms extended upward. It was a statue of a majestic, conquering Christ. Later that night, however, after the sculptor had left his fine new work in clay to dry and harden, something unexpected occurred. Sea mist seeped into the studio in the night. The clay did not harden as quickly as anticipated. The upraised arms and head of the sculpture began to drop. The majestic Christ with arms lifted up and head thrown back was transformed into a Christ with head bent forward and arms stretched downward as if in a pose of gentle invitation. At first Thorvaldsen was bitterly disappointed. As he studied the transformed sculpture, however, he came to see a dimension of Christ that had not been real to him before. It was the Christ who is a gently, merciful Savior. Thorvaldsen inscribed on the base of the completed statue, "Come Unto Me," and that picture of the Lamb of God in his mercy has inspired millions. King Duncan, ChristianGlobe Illustrations