Advent is a season of anticipation, and each year I find myself looking for two things: perfect and imperfect.
As I wrote about here, I look for that moment when the Spirit of Christmas arrives. When I can’t shut out sublime tears, when goosebumps shake me with shivers of joy and revelry and hope: Christmas is coming! Christ is coming!
That describes the perfect Christmas moment. I also look for the imperfect, the things that remind me that all will be well even though nothing on earth will be perfect, that my longings will never be perfectly fulfilled, that I myself and all my striving will still result in something less than. I wrote about that here and here, and this year I laughed every time I looked at our evergreen wreath sticking out its silly tongue at me…
I look for these moments, these encounters. I seek miracles in the mundane. And yet, I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not all that observant.
My maternal grandmother collected Hummel figurines. She’s gone now so I can’t ask when she got the first one, which one?, or how she decided to collect them. She was my grandma, my Mor-Mor, and Hummels were her precious thing. I never thought to ask.
Mor-Mor gave me my first Hummel, from her collection, when Guy and I got engaged. Over years she gave me one, then another, then a couple; I don’t have many but I have some. Truly, they’re not my taste but they feel like a tangible connection to one of my most dearly beloveds, and so I treasure them.
I wish I remembered the occasion on which she gave me Mary and Joseph. I found them a home in our display case and for many Christmases I have forgotten to put them out, precisely because they have a permanent rather than seasonal home. This year, though, as we were “behind” in our typical decorating game, I plucked and placed them center-mantel.
A few days later a friend asked if I had a creche we could use to adorn a Christmas brunch table; I texted her a picture of my Hummels. She replied (with a chuckle, I imagine), “Except, Mary is holding Jesus, so that might be post-creche…?”
Egads! I hadn’t noticed Jesus! I hadn’t noticed that this wasn’t Joseph and Mary en route to Bethlehem but, more likely, fleeing to Egypt! I kept them front-and-center to remind me that Christmas is not about my vision of perfect but about Jesus who is Perfect.
Sadly, I feel like I fled through this Advent, more hustle-bustle than present to the moment. The To-Do List eclipsed attempts at a To-Be List and I found myself squelching sobs through Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services, feeling so not ready for Christmas…
I don’t want to flee through life, living on the run. I want to live in the moment, fully present, listening, seeing, full-body sensing what’s going on around me, what God is doing in and around me. The To-Do List will always be longer, but I want the To-Be list to matter.
Mostly, I want To BE with Jesus, the little guy in arms I hadn’t noticed, The Big Guy who holds me close, who holds together all things–including me.
Like the first disciples, I want to hear–and respond, and mostly, to follow–Jesus’ invitation to “Come and See.” I want eyes to see Him. I want to spend time with Him. I want to let Him change up my priorities. I want to be so excited about who He is and what He is doing that it becomes easy, essential, to issue that same invitation: Come and See…
Come & See
Week 1 – John 1:35-51
Connect
What sights would you like to be invited to come and see?
Study
Read John 1:35-51.
Notice all the words that have to do with sight (look, see, find…). What role does sight play in our relationship with Jesus?
What can we learn from this passage, both in how people refer to Him and in what He says/does, about who Jesus is?
Describe the steps of their transformation as these first disciples encounter Jesus (John pointed Jesus out, they followed, they spent time with Him…).
In vv. 43-45, Jesus “found” Philip but Philip tells Nathanael they have “found” Jesus. What truth does that convey about our relationship with Him?
How is Nathanael’s response to hearing about Jesus different than the others (v. 46)? What different responses have you witnessed when people hear about Jesus?
Jesus offers a word of truth to Simon (v. 42) and Nathanael (v. 47). What might that have been like?
Live
What helps you see Jesus? Or, how do you spend time with Jesus?
Compare the first disciples’ “come and see” evangelism approach to contemporary approaches. How is it like/unlike? How might it influence your own style?
Jesus spoke blessing to Simon and Nathanael. Do you think people expect blessing or curses from Jesus? Explain.
Who would you like to bring to Jesus? What would you tell them about Him?
What does this passage communicate about what it means to be Jesus’ disciple? About how to grow as Jesus’ disciple?
What is Jesus saying to you through this study, and how will you respond?
Pray
Pray that the Spirit will open your eyes to see God in all your circumstances, and that He will give you opportunities to bring others with you to come and see Jesus.
