Viva Variety

Today's readings: Psalms 22; 148, Deuteronomy 7:12-16, Titus 2:1-15, John 1:35-42

According to John’s gospel, the first two disciples to follow Jesus were originally disciples of John the Baptist. One day the three of them were standing around when Jesus walked by and John declared him the Lamb of God. The two disciples began to literally follow him, until he turned around and asked what they were looking for. Then they followed him home. One of them (Andrew) found his brother Simon and told him they’d found the Messiah. Upon meeting Simon, Jesus told him his new name was Cephas (Aramaic for Rock, the same meaning as Peter).

But don’t Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell a much more interesting version of this story? In that one, Jesus goes down to the docks, starts recruiting, and promises to make any who follow him “fishers of men.” The sales pitch is so good people drop their nets and follow him immediately. This tale was surely known to the author of John, so why not use it?

In both versions, whether guided by a teacher or invited directly, Jesus’s disciples feel immediately compelled to follow him. In a way, these two paths are representative of the ways we can come to know Christ: we can be born into a faith passed on to us, or Jesus can come bursting into our lives from seemingly nowhere. Neither way is more correct than the other, but one makes a more exciting story. While this was not the point the author of John was trying to make, maybe we can consider it when hearing people’s varying faith journeys.

If we have been born into a faith, some people’s conversion stories may seem more dynamic and exciting than our own lifelong belief. We should let their enthusiasm reinvigorate our own faith and challenge us to look at it as if it were new to us. If we are converts, we have recently given much thought to what we believe and why, like immigrants who’ve studied to become citizens. Though it may seem others haven’t worked quite as hard for the privilege, we can rely on the grounded experience of lifelong citizens of faith to inform us of the rich traditions we share. No matter how we’ve come to know Christ, we have gifts to share.

Evening readings: Psalms 105; 130