FINALLY HE FINDS US

Wednesday in the Week Before Epiphany
Jn 1:35-42

Bible trivia: What is God’s first question to man?

The answer is found in Gen 3:9. God’s first question to man is “Where are you?” When man disobeyed God by eating the fruit of the tree that God forbade him to even touch, man suddenly became alienated from God. Thus, God started searching for man. Sin alienates us from God. God searches for us though. In His Son, Jesus Christ, God finds us at last!

In the Gospel today, we can imagine how Andrew was overly excited in breaking to his brother, Simon, the news regarding the find of his life: “We have found the Messiah!” Andrew’s joy was not complete until he brought and introduced his brother to Jesus.

In the light of the Gen. 3:9, I wonder whether it was Andrew (and the “other disciple” as the Gospel says; probably John the Evangelist) who found the Lord or it was really the Lord who found Andrew and his companion and, through Andrew, found Simon. I believe that God finds us even before we find Him because He has always been searching for us since sin started standing between Him and us. I believe further that we are able to find God because He has already found us in the Lord Jesus Christ. And most importantly, having found God, we should be motivated to find the others for Him by leading them to Jesus, His Son.

Christmas is a season of finding. The shepherds found the Child and His mother just as the angel told them. The magi found the newborn King of the Jews. Mary and Joseph found their Holy Child in the temple, discussing with the scholars of the Law and answering their questions. Jesus found John the Baptist at the Jordan and received baptism from him. John the Baptist found the One whom he described to be “greater than I”. Andrew and John found the Messiah. Andrew found his brother Simon and brought him to Jesus. There are so many finding-events in the Christmas story and in the first years of the private and public life of the Lord. And as Jesus goes through the three years of His public life, there are even more finding-events. But it all started with Mary and Joseph not finding a room in the inn to deliver Jesus into the world.

God has found us! Let us find the others for Him by leading them to Jesus in Whom God has finally found us.